The Role of Gender Budgeting in Mainstreaming Women in Peacebuilding in Africa

Abstract

The participation of women in peacebuilding is often low due to several reasons ranging from societal norms, gender inequality, and underreporting of women’s work. The sphere of peacebuilding does not recognize women as active participants due to the narrative that women are not actively participating in fostering peace. However, studies have been written to counter this narrative to demonstrate that women are participating just that their work is not recognized in mainstream peacebuilding. This is often a consequence of their peace activities being mainly in the informal space, which leads to non-recognition/erasure. Apart from the above factors that perpetuate the underrepresentation of women in peacebuilding, the lack of gender-responsive financing in peacebuilding is also an issue. Most women organizations that engage in peace work do not get the funding to support their work. Thus, this chapter intends to explore how gender budgeting can be used to mainstream women in peacebuilding. By asking how gender budgeting can help mainstream women in peacebuilding, this research moves away from cause to proffering solutions. Using a qualitative methodology, this chapter argues that the intersection of gender-responsive budgeting and peacebuilding will yield better results in increasing women’s participation in peacebuilding. This is to contribute to studies on women in peace and security as well as the role of gender budgeting in increasing women’s representation in different spheres.