able women as a way to recruit young men into the White Army militia of South Sudan . 3 Women have also compensated for shortages in militias personnel ; in Peru ' s countryside , women joined the ronderos campesinos militias as losses among male militiamen rose . 4 In another well-known case , the Women ’ s Defense Units ( YPJ ) in the Kurdish region of Syria is an all-female militia that has fought alongside its all-male counterpart , the People ’ s Protection Units ( YPG ), against ISIS .
However , female militia participation has not translated into female empowerment in the political realm . Women still remain as adjuncts to male dominated militia movements , while militia activity in a country has not shown to increase respect for the human rights of women . Rather , militias destroy women ’ s sense of security , while weakening the ability of a state to create needed structures for gender equality . As a result , militias reduce both the advancement of gender equality and the potential for international peace .
Notes :
1
Mary Caprioli , “ Gendered Conflict ,” Journal of Peace Research 37 , no . 1 ( 2000 ): 51-68 ; Valerie Hudson , Bonnie Ballif-Spanill , Mary Caprioli and Chad Emmett , Sex and World Peace ( New York : Columbia University Press , 2012 ), 110-112 .
2 http :// www . womensmediacenter . com / women-under-siege / minerals-militias-and-rape-how-do-we-make-peace-a-reality-incongo
3
Noel Stringham and Jonathan Forney , “ It Takes a Village to Raise a Militia : Local Politics , the Nuer White Army and South Sudan ’ s Civil Wars ,” Journal of Modern African Studies 55 no . 2 ( 2017 ), 179 .
4
Witold Mucha , “ Securitisation and Militias during the Civil War in Peru ,” Conflict , Security and Development 16 no . 4 ( 2016 ), 335 .
To contribute to the advancement of the WPS agenda , greater research should be directed at understanding women ’ s roles and motivations in defending their communities from rebels , terrorists and criminals . Female participation in self-defense groups supplements the question of “ why women rebel ” with the question of “ why women repel .” Finding linkages between female understandings of collective self-defense and the path to political power may help scholarly and policy-making communities create political arenas that are genuinely dedicated to female well-being . After all , international peace may depend on it .
About the Author : Dr . Paul Rexton Kan is the Professor of International Studies for the Department of National Security Studies at the U . S . Army War College . Dr . Kan , who received his doctorate from the University of Denver in International Studies , is a member of the editorial board at Parameters and a fellow of the Small Wars Journal . In addition to numerous articles and monographs , Dr . Kan authored “ Cartels at War : Mexico ’ s Drug Fueled Violence and the Challenge to US National Security ” and “ Drugs and Contemporary Warfare .” His current book project is entitled " Militias : The Global Challenge of Paramilitary Violence ."
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