Post-conflict reconstruction and women’s security : analyzing political outputs in East Timor

Women’s inclusion in the reconstruction of war-torn societies is important for sustainable peace and functioning democratic states. This paper specifically addresses women’s security situation in East Timor, seven years after the country’s vote for independence. The peace process is generally viewed as a success story but seven years later, women face several obstacles to enhanced political, economic and social status in society. What policy outputs, in particular in the political realm, can be detected, and what, if any, obstacles face women in their struggle for increased security? Are women acknowledged as important actors in the democratization or was the “gender-friendly” peacebuilding process simply a rhetorical instrument that later turned out to ignore women’s situation when policies were to be implemented? The paper highlights several important political aspects crucial for building sustainable peace and for stabilizing democracy, and examines how these issues include or exclude women in East Timor