Policy Update
Naushaba
“Where are the Women?” was correctly quoted by Cynthia Enlie, questioning the gendered aspect of dimensions of global politics, particularly in areas like militarism, security, and international relations. Women have long been underrepresented in discussions on military, security, arms, and hard power politics, hence thinking of their inclusion in talks on nuclear disarmament seems to be a pipe dream. Eleanor Smeal, a women’s rights activist has stated that,
“Nowhere have women been more excluded from decision-making than in the military and foreign affairs. When it comes to the military and questions of nuclear disarmament, the gender gap becomes the gender gulf. ”
Gender and Nuclear Disarmament
The basic discourse on nuclear weapons is highly gendered as acquiring nuclear weapons and showcasing the power is seen as masculine and strong. In comparison, the demand for disarmament is often described as feminine and weak among elite circles. This gendered view on nuclear disarmament by decision-makers, media, and advocates shapes the narrative around nuclear weapons. For instance, The U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Nitze called U.S. President John F. Kennedy a “pantywaist,” for making more cautious decisions about nuclear war.
The impact of nuclear weapons on women is quite different from that of men, for instance, the detonations of nuke affect women and men differently. Both in terms of the biological effects of ionising radiation and the social, economic and psychological impacts of nuclear weapon detonations. International Law and Policy Institute with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research has listed the various gendered impacts of nuclear weapon detonations. The detonation of one or more nuclear weapons in a populated area would cause massive death and injury to women, men, transgenders, and kids alike.
However, women in Hiroshima and Nagasaki had nearly double the risk of developing and dying from cancer due to ionising radiation exposure. Research from Chornobyl indicates that girls are considerably more likely than boys to develop thyroid cancer from nuclear fallout. Pregnant women exposed to nuclear radiation face a greater likelihood of delivering children with physical malformations and stillbirths, leading to increased maternal mortality. And yet, official evaluations have not considered gender- and age-sensitive impacts, meaning that the harm of ionising radiation has been systematically underestimated and under-reported (Borrie et.al, 2016).
This is just one example, other factors that affect women and men differently are mental health, culture, displacement etc. Hence, applying a gender lens to the nuclear weapons discourse gives insight into how ideas and policies related to nuclear weapons are gendered i.e. – underpinned by notions of masculinity and femininity.
Women in Nuclear Disarmament
According to the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), women remain underrepresented in nuclear disarmament discussions, though their participation has been gradually increasing over the past few decades. In 1980, women constituted less than 10% of participants in disarmament diplomacy. By 2022, this figure had risen to approximately 35%.
(The proportion of Women and Men in Large Disarmament Forums; Source: UNIDIR)
This increase in women’s representation was only made possible after the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 which established the basis for the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda. UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) is a landmark resolution that addresses the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women and girls. It recognises the crucial role that women play in conflict prevention and resolution, as well as their right to full and equal participation in all efforts to maintain and promote peace and security.
The agenda makes the pursuit of gender equality relevant to every single Security Council action, ranging from elections to disarmament efforts. In the area of disarmament in general United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 65/69, titled “Women, disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation” was adopted in 2010 and UNGA Resolution 67/48 was adopted in 2012. Both the resolutions urged the member states and other relevant actors to promote equal opportunities for women in disarmament and its decision-making processes and to support and strengthen the effective participation of women, including through capacity-building efforts, in the field of disarmament.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
The Treaty was adopted in 2017 to mark itself as the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, with the ultimate goal of total elimination. Signed under the aegis of the UN, the treaty prohibits participating states from developing, testing, producing, acquiring, possessing, transferring, using, or threatening to use nuclear weapons. TPNW not only forbids assisting, encouraging, or inducing anyone to engage in such activities but also obligates states to provide assistance to victims of nuclear weapon use and testing and to remediate environments contaminated by these activities (UNODA, 2017).
(Signatures, Ratifications, and Vote on TPNW Adoption; Source: ICAN)
It is also the first nuclear disarmament treaty to acknowledge the disproportionate impact of nuclear weapons on women and girls due to biological and social factors. The treaty rather than focussing upon the state and security aspect of nukes, focuses on the humanitarian aspects of nukes. Thus making it intersect with gender considerations and furthering the inclusion of women in disarmament efforts as a moral and practical necessity. TPNW highlights the need for victim assistance and environmental remediation which reflects the feminist principles of care and justice. The treaty thus sets a prime example for demonstrating how gender-inclusive perspectives can enrich global disarmament efforts.
More Women, Fewer Nukes?
These gendered notions often hinder the path towards disarmament, which is a path towards a nuclear-free world, if not peaceful. Such prejudices restrict the individual decision-makers from coming out with and adhering to disarmament negotiations as it seems to make them less masculine and more feminine, less powerful and more weak. This gendered narrativisation does not hold true as not all women leaders support nuclear disarmament and not all male leaders support nuclear proliferation.
Jana Wattenberg in ‘More Women, Fewer Nukes?’ portrayed women in the nuclear discourse by identifying three narratives as prominent themes: women are missing, women are change-makers and women are victims. The missing women narrative preserves the image of women as peaceful by writing them out of the nuclear space. If women were missing, then they could not have caused nuclear harm.
The change-maker narrative predicts that women’s inclusion will change work environments, processes, and outcomes. It builds the image of women as peaceful by turning women into a resource for peace. The victim narrative portrays women as female bodies that suffer from the development and use of nuclear weapons. It adds another layer to the image. Women appear as innocent non-aggressors who are affected by nuclear harm but do not cause it. These narratives aim to promote gender inclusivity, however, they inadvertently also reinforce traditional gender stereotypes. Thus, portraying women as peacemakers and limiting their diverse contributions in nuclear diplomacy.
Many women support the development and possession of nuclear weapons but are either put behind the curtain or are missing in the portrayals of women in the nuclear field. Thus, it is rather necessary to fully appreciate the complexity of women’s participation in nuclear disarmament efforts, than essentialising their role as peacemakers. A gender perspective is essential and highly relevant in understanding the impact, discourse and actors dealing with nuclear weapons.
Way Forward
Our failure to apply a gender perspective and a lack of female participation in the discussion forums may act as contributing factors towards the current lack of nuclear disarmament progress and various other international agreements to tackle common global problems such as the Sustainable Development Goals. Such inclusion of women and their diverse perspectives has often been ignored and is rather considered contradictory to the prevailing international policy discourse on nuclear weapons.
Gender inclusion helps in coming up with diverse experiences, hence recognising the needs of all genders, which ensures the creation of a more equitable and sustainable approach. Women-led organisations like the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) have helped spread awareness and activism on disarmament. Thus such women’s inclusion in the policy circles itself will be quite beneficial towards creating a nuclear-free world, if not war free world.
References
- Wattenberg, Jana. “More Women, Fewer Nukes?” Aberystwyth University Journal, United Kingdom, 2024.
- “Gender and Disarmament.” Reaching Critical Will. Critical issues
- UNIDIR (United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research). Gender, Development, and Nuclear Weapons. Geneva: UNIDIR, 2021. https://unidir.org/files/publication/pdfs/gender-development-and-nuclear-weapons-en-659.pdf.
- ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons). Gender and Nuclear Weapons. February 2020. https://icanw.org/gender_and_nuclear_weapons_february2020.pdf.
- “Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” UNODA. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – UNODA
- “Gender and Disarmament Hub.” UNIDIR. Gender and Disarmament Hub → UNIDIR
- “Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor on the way.” ICAN Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor on the way – ICAN
About the Contributor: Naushaba (she/her/hers) is a research intern at IMPRI, who has currently been appointed as a guest faculty member for Human Rights at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS, Tuljapur). Her research interests lie in Gender Studies, Global Politics, Climate Change and Disarmament.
Acknowledgement: The author would like to thank Dr Arjun Kumar and other esteemed IMPRI researchers for the successful completion of this article.
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