The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
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<strong>The</strong> cooperation with the system <strong>and</strong> the life in the shadow <strong>of</strong> the war,<br />
as well as the impact <strong>of</strong> tradition, encourages families <strong>to</strong> have more children<br />
compared <strong>to</strong> other western counties, thus further increasing wom -<br />
en’s dependence on men.<br />
Wives <strong>of</strong> high rank <strong>of</strong>ficers, interviewed in the media, occasionally speak<br />
proudly <strong>of</strong> their functioning as single mothers, freeing their husb<strong>and</strong>s<br />
from taking part in raising <strong>and</strong> educating the children, <strong>and</strong> releasing them<br />
from any obligations as fathers or partners. <strong>The</strong> media represents these<br />
wives as admirable women <strong>and</strong> role models.<br />
It must be said that the conflict <strong>and</strong> war are not the only origin <strong>of</strong> gender<br />
inequality in Israel. Nevertheless, they constitute a fac<strong>to</strong>r perpetuating<br />
this inequality, <strong>and</strong> even serve <strong>to</strong> legitimize its continuation.<br />
<strong>Peace</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Reconciliation</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska writes in her poem “<strong>The</strong> End <strong>and</strong><br />
the Beginning” (1993): “Someone has <strong>to</strong> clean up when the war is over.<br />
It is not pho<strong>to</strong>genic, you know. It takes many years. <strong>The</strong> cameras have<br />
long since w<strong>and</strong>ered on <strong>to</strong> another war.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> most ambitious attempt at reconciliation between Israelis <strong>and</strong> Palestinians<br />
was made in the so-called people-<strong>to</strong>-people processes <strong>and</strong> encounters<br />
after the Oslo Accords (1995). <strong>The</strong> rationale behind this<br />
people-<strong>to</strong>-people programme was <strong>to</strong> enable the individual <strong>and</strong> the collective<br />
<strong>to</strong> get <strong>to</strong> know each other, <strong>to</strong> encourage a process <strong>of</strong> re-hu man -<br />
iza tion, <strong>to</strong> create a greater sense <strong>of</strong> empathy, cooperation, <strong>and</strong> un derst<strong>and</strong><br />
ing among Israelis <strong>and</strong> Palestinians. It was assumed that this proc -<br />
ess would ultimately lead <strong>to</strong> reconciliation, which is one <strong>of</strong> the most<br />
meaningful conditions for a true <strong>and</strong> stable peace.<br />
<strong>The</strong> saddest notion, retrospectively, is that no synchronization between<br />
the political dimension <strong>and</strong> the civic-rapprochement was made.<br />
It must be stated that neither political leadership <strong>of</strong> the two sides put<br />
any serious effort in<strong>to</strong> promoting it. Moreover, the conduct <strong>of</strong> behaviour<br />
<strong>of</strong> the political leadership jeopardized <strong>and</strong> hampered the genuine sentiment<br />
<strong>of</strong> both peoples <strong>to</strong> meet each other.<br />
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