Basque Research Team Continues Conversation with Emakunde

emakundeThe Basque Research Team engaged in a conference call with Ander Bergara Sautua, the Head of Institutional Cooperation at Emakunde, the Basque Institute for Women, on December 3. Ander shared details of the ongoing annual forum, an important campaign that spans the course of three months. Since October 5, Emakunde has been collaborating with representatives from public administration, the private sector, and schools to promote and implement their many gender equality initiatives. More specific outcome documents from the forum, which last year brought together around 100 companies and 500 participants, will be released following the end of the campaign on December 18.

The forum aims to increase implementation of Emakunde’s many educational training programs. Ander described a two-sector approach to spreading the word. Within the educational sector, Emakunde trains primary and secondary school teachers on material aimed at preventing violence against women. Within the private sector, the institute works with corporations to increase gender equality within the workplace. From working to eliminate sexual harassment to drafting gender-sensitive clauses for company contracts, Emakunde’s programs seek to promote more inclusive corporations. Emakunde rewards companies that have exceptional progress through subsidies.
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Women in Conflict Creation: The Misattribution of Political Agency

A woman’s role in peace and security has always been a topic of hot debate. After decades of victimization, the groundbreaking UN Security Council Resolution 1325 redefined the women’s role and welcomed a feminine approach to peace and mediation processes. The international community watched in awe as leaders like Liberia’s Leymah Gwobee proved that women possess both the agency and determination to make a difference in conflict resolution. In light of the 15th anniversary of Resolution 1325, a wealth of feminist literature has been created recognizing the role of women as harbingers of peace and justice. Governments and NGOs alike have conducted and published studies measuring the significant impact of the women, peace, and security global agenda. However, modern inquiries have historically neglected to question the portrayal of women combatants in armed conflict. Carrie Hamilton, in “The Gender Politics of Political Violence: Women Armed Activists in ETA”, offers an insightful exploration of active participation of women in armed conflict through a study of the Basque case. Hamilton traces a series of patterns throughout 4 decades of the organization’s activism to underline the misogynistic misrepresentation of women in armed conflict.
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