In the face of many global conflicts, the effects of militarisation and militarism are most keenly felt by the most vulnerable in society – the women and children. Women, in particular, are forced to deal with loss and violence, both psychological and sexual.
“[Women] always incur the first wave of violence as well as the final one,” as observed by feminist scholar Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian in 2009.
Taking a stand against the evils of militarisation and the life-denying ways of militarism, women from different conflict zones in the world gathered in Juba, South Sudan as part of the Gender and Militarisation Conference organised by the Council for World Mission (CWM), in partnership with the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
The gathering, which took place 24-28 September with eight panel sessions, served as a platform for the gathering of minds and voices of female survivors who spoke out against Empire, domination and subjugation related to warfare, and the weaponisation of sexuality.
The event decried the various machinations deployed by Empire as exemplified by the USA as it prolongs conflicts, arms nations against nations, and begins new sparks of warfare to gain influence, wealth, and power.
Shining a spotlight on the intersections between gender, sexuality, and war, the conference examined closely the debilitating, crippling, and dehumanising effects that women have been made to suffer. These include glorifying toxic masculinity by forging men to be the protectors and women as the protected—but only of women on the side of the oppressors, making those on the opposing lines fair game for rape, torture and violence.
Conversations also focused on caste hierarchies which create cruel social and political structures in India that then form the backbone of the spirit of militarisation and militarism in the state. Anecdotes also touched on the plights of war widows, women who are forced to become sex workers, and the conscription of women into military service under the guise of gender empowerment.
Even female spouses and partners of soldiers are not spared from the evils of Empire as they endure marital rape and domestic abuse. In countries where the military service of men becomes the only means of income in impoverished countries, marital rape becomes a means of survival for women.
The anecdotes shared also exposed the eulogising of women as producers of war heroes, leading them to bear the pain of loss as a sacrifice and national virtue. To publicly state that their sons chose to join the military as the only viable way of sustaining the family is viewed as unpatriotic while mothers whose sons and daughters who gave their lives to resisting the powers are treated with disdain by the racial hierarchy and imperial power.
Yet the 23 female participants comprised of church leaders, activists, academics and ecumenical partners also displayed their unbowed spirits by testifying their unending quest for life in abundance and true faith.