The Women, Gender, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda has been a fixture in peace and conflict discussions with the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 in 2000. The goal of this agenda is to ensure women’s active participation in peacebuilding efforts, and matters of peace and security overall, since peacebuilding is more sustainable with women’s inclusion. The larger vision of WPS, and Gender, Peace, and Security (GPS), is intersectional and aims for women and girls of all ages and backgrounds to contribute to peace and security. Ultimately, this process should include marginalized groups and not be limited to elite and privileged women and girls.
This research report aimed to understand women’s roles in community-level conflicts and local-level peacebuilding in Ségou. The study sheds light on several findings about how women participate in peace and conflict within these communities in central Mali. Reflecting on these findings, this report presents lessons learned from the research process about how to effectively conduct research within W/GPS programs. Considering these lessons learned, the report then provides recommendations for a diverse set of stakeholders, including implementation teams, donors, and researchers, on conducting quality W/GPS research as well as recommendations for designing W/GPS programs.
Background
The research project that is the source of data for this report was conducted alongside a Mercy Corps program called Ben ni Baara (BnB). BnB is a peacebuilding program implemented by Mercy Corps Mali and funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), which aims to address the root causes of conflict between communities living in the buffer zones of the Ségou and Mopti regions in central Mali. With many in Ségou and Mopti engaged in agriculture as their main form of livelihood, conflicts over land and natural resources threaten the population’s human security, particularly given shocks from climate change and resource scarcity. Additionally, due to the lack of a state security presence, some communities have even created their own self-defense groups for protection, though some locals view these groups as instigators of violence rather than mechanisms for stability