Role of women in security and development process focus of OSCE-organized lectures for students in Turkmenistan

Over 70 university students and teaching staff attended lectures on the role of women in the security and development process from 3 to 5 December 2018 in Ashgabat. The event was organized by OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. Swanee Hunt, the Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in the United States, delivered the lectures, focusing on women’s active participation in conflict prevention and resolution, peace building and policy making.

The students had an opportunity to discuss traditional concepts of security and the issue of women in leadership. They examined real cases that demonstrate the critical role played by women in forestalling or stopping violent conflicts. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, the seminars explored theoretical questions at a practical level, highlighting successful women-led initiatives with respect to conflicts around the world.

In addition to presenting various women’s experiences across cultures in confronting violent conflict, the seminar explained how gender stereotypes impact public policies to address security threats and peace challenges. The participants were presented with several examples of individual countries’ successes and failures in relation to women, peace, and security.

“The lectures for students and professors of the International University for Humanities and Development and Institute of International Relations of Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry were organized in the framework of the Centre’s project on preventive diplomacy and aimed to share international instruments and best practices in the area of early warning and conflict prevention,” said Natalya Drozd, Head of OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. She also added that the seminars will add value to OSCE efforts in promoting gender mainstreaming and encouraging the active participation of women in security sector reform and the peacebuilding process.

“A strong emphasis was laid on women’s exemplary contribution to ensuring just and lasting peace and to changing the international security paradigm by increasing the participation of all stakeholders, of women in particular,” Hunt said.

In addition to the lectures, Hunt conducted the seminars on the same topic for public officials and representatives of civil society in Turkmenistan.