A Global View of Women\u27s Involvement in Peacekeeping Activities in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia

Related literature showed that women’s participation in peacebuilding activities are for the survival of the family and for the protection loved ones. In that note, this paper looked into the peacebuilding activities of women from three Southeast Asian countries, namely: Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, to see: 1) if women from these three countries also engaged in peacebuilding for the survival and the concern over the family; and 2) if their engagement in peacebuilding activities served as opportunities for them to become empowered or it greatly supported and extended the existing traditional roles assigned to women. Seven profiles of women from 1000 PeaceWomen were examined to find answers to the inquiries raised above. These profiles, particularly the women’s activities, were compared and contrasted. The results confirmed the literature. It showed that the seven women peace activists from Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, engaged in peacebuilding activities to ensure that the children, youth, women, and the members of their respective communities, in general, were safe and secured. Furthermore, the peacebuilding activities that these women initiated still supported the traditional image of women, as the protector of life, the caretaker, and extended the performance of women’s traditional roles, such as taking care of the children, in their respective societies. It is proposed that women should not just be limited into this sphere of peacebuilding, but should also be included in the decision-making arena. This would not only enhance women’s image and role in their respective societies, but also provide a new face to any peace processes and the status of armed conflict in these countries