This paper examines how a gendered security approach can empower women in post-conflict societies to reimagine security. It discusses how focusing on women's voices and experiences can lead to new understandings of security outside traditional frameworks. The gendered approach was found to highlight three key aspects of women's security: economic security to ensure independence, combating gender-related violence, and increasing women's participation in governance. However, some questions remain about whether the experiences of women are truly homogenous and whether this approach sufficiently considers other minorities.

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L A U R A K U I V A L A H T I
Discourses in Transition:
Re-Imagining Women’s Security

2. About the paper
 The primary data: women in post-conflict societies
(Lebanon, Northern Ireland and South Africa)
 How a gendered security approach might empower
women to re-imagine security and advocate social
transformation.

3. Gendered security approach
 Non-traditional approach which centralises gender
and women’s voices within security dialogue.
 Human security has also dealt with problems of
women’s security.
 UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and
security
 The human security approach isn’t always the
solution to these problems.

4. Gendered security approach
 Mainstreaming of gender within human security.
 “Engender” security: make gender a leitmotif which
cross-cuts the range of security concerns relevant
today.
 The security needs of women are best determined by
women themselves rather than by elite.

5. So what did we learn?
 Women think different things when they are re-
imagining security.
 Women see security as a holistic concept.
 Their efforts are often confined to civil society.
Women are marginalised from the institutions of
peace-building.

6. Key aspects of women’s security in transition
 Genderen security approach found three key areas.
 There is still lot of work to do in these areas.
 Women should be “doing” security in all levels.

7. Economic security
 Economic security ensures women’s independence.
 It correlates with physical security.
 E. g. micro loans for women to start their own
business.

8. Violence and security
 Women feel that they need to combat gender-related
violence.
 We need transformation in laws and in ways of
thinking.
 E. g. campaigns against female genital mutilation,
WHO against violence.

9. Women, governance and security
 Women’s equal participation at all level of political
engagement.
 It changes gender roles, so some people see it as a
threat to the existing political culture.

10. Problems
 Is there really a homogenous group of women and
can they say what is women’s security?
 The thoughts are similar to the first and second
waves of feminism.
 What about other minorities?