AFRO-NETS> Women and armed conflict

[Claudio Schuftan <aviva@netnam.vn>]

Women and armed conflict
------------------------

Armed Conflict and Women's Access to Health and Reproductive Rights: 
Another Battle to Fight  (excerpts)
By Nadia van der Linde, WGNRR

Recent findings by Amnesty International show that the international 
community and the Afghan government have been unable to protect women. 
Armed conflicts around the world withhold women from their right to 
health. The Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights urges gov-
ernments around the world to take responsibility for women's health: 
Health for All, Health for Women.

Health for All

Health is a basic human right, recognized in international conventions 
and declarations, but access to health for women has been ignored and 
even directly violated by governments and international institutions. 
The last two decades have seen the simultaneous rise of privatisation, 
structural adjustment programmes, unfair trade agreements and patents 
on drugs on the one hand and increased religious fundamentalism, ter-
rorism and genocide of people on the other hand. International and na-
tional policies that result in greater poverty of populations or pro-
mote use of violence and militarism have a direct impact on women's 
possibilities to stay healthy and enjoy their sexual and reproductive 
health and rights.

Women's Access to Health

In order to emphasize the relevance still today of the Alma Ata Decla-
ration and to highlight the importance of women's reproductive and sex-
ual health and rights, the Women's Global Network for Reproductive 
Rights (WGNRR) has launched the international Women's Access to Health 
Campaign. This 3-year campaign, organized in collaboration with the 
People's Health Movement, demands that primary health care be provided 
to all people and peoples everywhere, taking into account women's re-
productive and sexual health and rights needs. The campaign goes beyond 
merely demanding access to health services, but addresses the enabling 
conditions that are essential for women to enjoy good health, like 
equal social, economical and political opportunities and peace.

Reproductive Health and Rights

For sexual and reproductive health to be attained and maintained, the 
sexual and reproductive rights of all persons must be respected, pro-
tected and fulfilled. Generally speaking, these rights include the 
rights of all women and men to sexuality education and information, ac-
cess to reproductive health care services, choice of partner, choice of 
whether or not and when to have children, and pursue a satisfying, safe 
and pleasurable sexual life.

Armed conflict and women's access to health

Armed conflicts seriously affect the health and reproductive rights of 
women. War causes greater health needs as a result of injuries from 
violent conflict lack of hygiene and lack of access to proper water and 
food. At the same time, wars reduce access to health services because 
of lack of transportation, road blocks, curfews, closures and lower mo-
bility of women due to lack of resources, socio-cultural stigma and 
care for family members. Both quantity and quality of health services 
greatly decrease during violent conflict as funds are spent on the war 
rather than on repairing, maintaining and developing health services. 
Health centres in the region and related infrastructure may be severely 
damaged, looted or even completely destroyed. War is expensive and it 
is funded at the cost of health care, education and social security.

In wartime, women face extra risk of abduction, sexual violence, traf-
ficking, slavery and harassment. Especially (mass) rape is well known 
as a "tool of ethnic cleansing" and a "weapon of war". Rape not only 
results in trauma and possible psychiatric disorders but also in physi-
cal injuries and possibly in infections that are sexually transmitted 
that will have grave consequences for the woman's health if no appro-
priate treatment is given. Violence against women limits women's access 
to health and poses demands for specific kinds of medical care. Those 
women who have survived sexual violence need to be protected from fur-
ther attacks and receive appropriate treatment for the physical and 
psychological consequences. There is little public acknowledgement of 
this and very few programs, aside from those set up by women, have been 
developed to deal with traumatized women in times of conflict.

Even when a war is over, violence against women continues.

Armed conflict often impels women to leave their homes and possessions, 
either because of lack of means of survival or fear of an attack. Or it 
can be part of a deliberate strategy of one of the fighting parties in-
volved. Displacement can have life-threatening implications, as many 
people are highly dependent on the land as a source of livelihood. Dis-
placed populations face unhygienic circumstances resulting in high num-
bers of illnesses and plagues and have a higher risk of being sexually 
abused. Health services are often not accessible and not adequate.

Reproductive health damage is caused by military toxins, increases in 
prostitution, violence against women and spread of HIV/AIDS as a result 
of military presence, budget cuts in social sectors to pay for war, 
limited mobility as a result of militarism and increased population 
control.  And finally: war kills people.

The Women's Access to Health Campaign joins women and men from around 
the world to raise awareness and actively promote women's access to 
health. This years 'Call for Action' published by WGNRR focuses on gov-
ernments' responsibility for women's health, calling on them to imple-
ment what they have committed to years ago. All across the world, or-
ganisations and individuals are organising activities to promote 
women's health and reproductive rights. On all continents organisations 
and individuals have signed up to support the Women's Access to Health 
Campaign. Let us know if you would like to join too.

Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) is an autonomous
network of groups and individuals in every continent who aim to achieve 
and support reproductive rights for women. For more information about 
the campaign or the network, please contact Nadia van der Linde 
mailto:wahc@wgnrr.nl or take a look at http://www.wgnrr.org

WGNRR
Vrolikstraat 453-D
1092 TJ Amsterdam
Netherlands
Tel: +31-20-620-9672
Fax: +31-20-622-2450
mailto:office@wgnrr.nl

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