The last couple of days we have been studying the peace process in Angola. We read a book by Ambassador Paul Hare on the Lusaka peace agreement and then he came and spoke to us. I was also one of two students to eat at the presidential dinner with the Ambassador and important figures of the university. (Best meal I've had in a while- how could I pass that up :0)
Last night in class we discussed what we had learned and raised questions here and there. A question was asked about how a person gains the status and authority that the Ambassador had as an international mediator. Our professor proposed the Ambassador used everything he could for leverage- his gray hair, his American citizenship, etc. I cringed when he said this, and come to find out many of the other girls in class did as well, for there was an implication in this statement. How much more does gender give status than does gray hair?
Interestingly enough, when this question was raised in class, it was mostly the men that responded. Perhaps that was what made me most angry. The sad reality is that because of my gender I may always have to work harder to prove I belong in the international peace keeping field. And yet the men were discussing it from the perspective of the dominant culture like they were a) in control of it and b) that it somehow affected them. But at the end of the day they can walk away from that discussion and I will still be living it.
A classmate brought a funny image to our minds: a female mediator meeting with African rebel leaders in the bush. "The rebel leader would probably think she was in love with him." We all laughed. I laughed.
Why am I laughing??
3 comments:
Did you know, you're inspirational?
I know it’s not exactly what you want to do, but (for example) Joyce Barr (a PLU alum) was our commencement speaker last May and she was the United States’ chief representative to Namibia and is now the executive director of East Asia & Pacific Foreign Affairs at the State Department in D.C. She also was a human rights officer for the Middle East and South Asia. It’s just crazy to think you can’t make a profound impact on the world and in your field as a woman. Puleese. :) PS: you’re amazing. I can’t wait to see what you do in the world, Mich.
I think we laugh because, sadly, it's true that people assume different intentions from women or men based on their sex. Why would women be involved with political diplomacy of any kind? They want to take over the world. Why would they promote non-violence? Because women are non-confrontational. Or at least that's what I've heard. It's a struggle we will continue to face, and the stereotypes have become structuralized. But sometimes I think, while that does not help us in some respects (such as gaining the confidence of those who made aid us in our work), it has helped me to empathize with marginalized and oppressed people, and to practice patience and reconciliation myself (often, though, I still get super angry). But I think we would be better off without sexism and gender stereotypes! Such things and their relatives contribute to violence more than they aid those who seek to end it.
I miss you, Michelle!
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