Journal of Women, Peace and Security

Women-Led Peacebuilding Initiatives in Post-Conflict Societies: A Comparative Study of Liberia, Colombia, and Nepal

2026-07-08T05:45:31+00:00

Women’s participation in peacebuilding has increasingly gained attention in international peace and security discussions. Despite being heavily affected by armed conflicts, women have historically been excluded from formal peace negotiations and decision-making processes. This study examined the role of women in peacebuilding initiatives through a comparative desk analysis of three post-conflict contexts: Liberia, Colombia, and Nepal. The purpose of the study was to explore how women contribute to conflict resolution and peacebuilding and to identify the challenges they face in these processes. The research was based on qualitative desk analysis using secondary sources including academic literature, policy reports, and institutional documents related to women’s peacebuilding initiatives in the selected countries. The study analysed women’s roles in grassroots peace movements, political participation, community reconciliation, and post-conflict reconstruction. The findings indicated that women have played a significant role in promoting dialogue, mobilizing communities, and advocating for inclusive peace agreements. In Liberia, women’s collective activism helped initiate peace negotiations that contributed to ending the civil war. In Colombia, women’s organizations successfully advocated for gender inclusion in the peace process, leading to the establishment of a Gender Sub-Commission during negotiations. In Nepal, women contributed to post-conflict recovery through political participation and community-based peace initiatives. However, the study also finds that women peacebuilders continue to face structural barriers such as patriarchal social norms, limited political access, and security challenges. The research concluded that meaningful inclusion of women in peace processes can contribute to more inclusive and sustainable peacebuilding outcomes.

The Listening to the Unheard Voices: Perceptions, Challenges and Coping Strategies of Hegemonic Masculinity among men in Pakistan

2026-07-08T05:52:54+00:00

Gender issues in Pakistan are increasingly prominent, with studies primarily focusing on women, while men are often absent, prompting a revisit of hegemonic masculinity (HM) definitions and patterns. Therefore, this research endeavored to analyze and understand the hegemonic masculinity construction, challenges, and copying strategies among men. Twenty adolescents and young adults who are married, unmarried, professionals in respective fields and students among others and aged between 19-40 years were used as the participants of the qualitative research. Purposeful sampling was employed to select all the participants who were interviewed through in depth semi-structured interview. The coding and thematic analysis method were used to analyze collected data. Normative perceptions, Performativity, Challenges and Copying Strategies of Hegemonic masculinity were the main themes of this research. Hegemonic masculinity dominates in Pakistan, but obstacles arise for boys and men, as they conceal identities and personal problems. Self-solving strategies are adopted, and recommendations are made.

The Paradox of Protection: Structural Impunity and Violence Against Women in Punjab

2026-07-24T12:08:33+00:00

This article investigates the reasons for the persistent rise in violence against women (VAW) in Punjab, Pakistan, in the face of the growing legal and institutional frameworks. Employing qualitative document analysis of government reports, data from human rights abuse monitoring, and records from case studies conducted from 2025 to 2026, this study poses the question on why provinces such as Punjab with more institutions nevertheless continue to see the increase in GBV cases instead of the decline. Using the theory of legal endogeneity by Edelman (1992) and the rights vernacularization framework by Merry (2006) as a basis for understanding the circumstances surrounding VAW in Punjab, this paper claims that the protection mechanism in Punjab generates a considerable amount of costs associated with actions as per formal compliance and that the authorities are not able to deal with the situation effectively creating a large gap. More specifically, it identifies four structural gaps, which include (i) inconsistent case registration system; (ii) chronic shortage of resources allocated to the relevant services; (iii) the fact that many acts are referred to as civil and not criminal offenses; and (iv) the introduction of extrajudicial killings called “encounters.” The study suggests various structural changes, one of the changes being organizational evaluation or audits, data management systems, and independent inquiry of encounters and cases to narrow the gap between the laws and women’ safety.

Barriers and Opportunities in Girls' Education: Perceptions of Teachers in PEF Schools of Southern Punjab

2026-07-18T10:47:50+00:00

The research focuses on the ongoing challenges and new prospects for girls’ education in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. A survey was conducted with 522 teachers of PEF schools in 8 districts. The study employed Descriptive Statistics in understanding respondents’ perceptions regarding the barriers and opportunities. The study established that there are still several barriers to girls’ enrollment in schools, particularly beyond the primary level, due to poverty, early marriages, nutrition, lack of safe transport, and gender discrimination. However, there were high levels of optimism about opportunities, including literacy, TVET, non-formal education, and public-private partnerships. The study concludes that although there is a framework, there are gaps in implementation, socio-cultural issues, and resource issues, which need to be addressed in a sector-specific manner. The recommendations include infrastructure, provision of safe transportation, scholarships, and challenging socio-cultural issues with a community awareness program.

Perceptions of Women in Leadership: An Exploratory Study Among University Students in Pakistan

2026-08-10T07:27:20+00:00

The purpose of this study is to explore students' perception of female leadership in Pakistan, the factors that affect these perceptions, obstacles to women in leadership positions and the societal and cultural factors which impact on the perception. The findings of the semi-structured in-depth interviews with university students across different disciplines have been analyzed. Results indicated that there is an increasing trend of acceptance of women as leaders, particularly in the field of education and healthcare while other challenges still persist in the areas of politics and business. The key barriers identified to women's advancement in leadership positions were cultural norms, societal expectations and lack of institutional support. It was found that perceptions were significantly affected by gender, socio-economic status and education of the students, with a high level of agreement among the urban students and students from gender-focused disciplines, for the female leadership position. There is a focus on the importance of education, media and societal change as key vehicles to changing attitudes towards women in power. Recommendations referred to mentoring, tackling gender biases, and institutionalizing more opportunities for women in leadership positions.