POLS1102 21496986, Michael Fragomeni

Word Count - 913

How does violence against women impact upon communities across the world?

Violence against women occurs much more frequently than one might suspect. It is estimated
that 1 in 3 women worldwide will experience it throughout their lifetime1234. Violence against
women provides the greatest likelihood to result in bad health and premature death, compared
with other risk factors including high blood pressure, obesity, and smoking5. It accounts for as
much as 60% of female homicides in some countries6. A study of 15 total regions from 10
countries done by the World Health Organization in 2005 on womens health and domestic
violence suggests that victims of violence often think that abuse is justified. In half the regions
that were studied, 50-90% of women thought that it was ok for a man to beat the wife under
any of the following circumstances. If she disobeys him, refuses him sex, if she does not
complete the housework on time, if she asks about other women, if she is unfaithful, or if she
is suspected of infidelity7. Beyond that, the prevalence of abuse was greatly correlated with
traditional gender norms8, which is entailed by the subjugation of women. This paper will
examine the what is known as the Hillary Doctrine and what that means for communities
around the world, while exploring the actions of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a
study of this in action.

So, what is the Hillary Doctrine? The Hillary Doctrine (named after Hillary Clinton) states
that the subjugation of women is a threat to the common security of our world and to the
national security of our country9. What this means is that when women are made subordinate
to and given fewer rights than men, there is a high likelihood that the state will become

1
Global and regional estimates of violence against women, World Health Organization, 2013,
http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241564625/en/.
2
L. Michau, et al, Prevention of violence against women and girls: lesson from practice, The Lancet, vol. 385,
no. 9978, 2015, p. 1674, available from ScienceDirect.
3
Violence Against Women Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Against Women, World Health
Organization, Nov. 2016, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/.
4
C. Garcia-Moreno, et al., Violence Against Women, Science, vol. 310, no. 5752, 2005, p. 1282, available
from ProQuest Central.
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid, p. 1283.
8
Ibid.
9
V. M. Hudson and P. Leidl, The Hillary Doctrine: Sex and American Foreign Policy, New York, Columbia
University Press, 2015, p. 3, available from JSTOR.
POLS1102 21496986, Michael Fragomeni

unstable10, remember that violence against women is also a form of subjugation and they
exhibit causal links. When a state becomes unstable it is more prone to radical shifts in ideology
and becoming a breeding ground for terrorism and other violence at the international level1112.
This underpins the necessity for universal human rights, not only for morality, but for
international peace. However, going about changing the landscape is no easy task. At the
Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, Hillary Clinton took to the stage
where she stated that womens rights are human rights and human rights are womens rights,
which led the crowd to erupt in applause13. This is the sort of deeply rooted gender inequality
that harbours violence against women; women just arent seen as equal, and so men think they
can do what they want with them. It is part of a vicious cycle of hyper masculine authority and
privilege. A small child witnesses violence against women and thinks that it is ok, so is more
likely to be involved with violence against women later in life. A 2013 analysis of existing data
from over 80 countries found that witnessing family violence was a significant risk factor both
for experiencing and perpetrating intimate partner and sexual violence14.

Now, lets take a look at the relationship between gender inequality and global unrest. The
Taliban rose to power in Afghanistan in 1997 and immediately banned girls from attending
public schools, which prompted female citizens to set up private schools in private homes 15.
However, not too long after, the Taliban stipulated that privately funded education must only
be for girls under age 8 and limited the teachings to that of the Koran 16, thus womens rights
were being eroded. After the US led invasion into Afghanistan in 2001 drew the Taliban out of
Afghanistan, the Taliban would go on to grow in size in Pakistan in the forthcoming years. In
2009, after it reached a deal with the Pakistan government to take control of the Swat Valley17,

10
V.M. Hudson, et al., Sex & World Peace, New York, Columbia University Press, 2012, p. 102. Study by M.
Caprioli on conflict found that states with higher levels of gender equality are less likely to experience
domestic conflict.
11
Ibid. norms of inequality and violence at the domestic level, may help replicate violence at the international
level, V. M. Hudson says about D. Sobeks (and co-authors) findings.
12
C. L. Mason, Global Violence Against Women as a National Security Emergency, Feminist Formations,
Vol. 25, No.2, Summer 2013, p. 56, available from ProQuest Central.
13
The Hillary Doctrine: Sex and American Foreign Policy, p. 7.
14
Violence Against Women Intimate Partner and Sexual Against Women.
15
A Woman Among Warlords Womens Rights in the Taliban and Post-Taliban Eras, PBS.org, September
11 2007, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/uncategorized/a-woman-among-warlords-womens-rights-in-the-
taliban-and-post-taliban-eras/66/.
16
Ibid.
17
R. Westhead, Brave defiance in Pakistans Swat Valley, thestar.com, Oct. 26 2009,
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2009/10/26/brave_defiance_in_pakistans_swat_valley.html.
POLS1102 21496986, Michael Fragomeni

it began to clamp down womens rights. They had blown up more than 100 girls schools 18.
Disappointed by this, and following in her fathers activist shadow, Malala Yousafzai became
an outspoken advocate against the actions of the Taliban. She wrote an anonymous blog in
correspondence with the BBC about life under Taliban rule and was becoming an advocate for
girls education, however a few months after the blogs ended, her identity was released19. This,
and further activism over the next few years, prompted the Taliban to declare that they were
forced to act, and that they had to kill her20, all for trying to restore rights to girls. This lead to
an attempted murder where she was shot in the head and neck when she was on her way home
from school21. Acts such as this have a profound effect on global stability, not only because it
is in violation of human rights, but because it becomes a potential threat to other states.

There is an inextricable link between the violence against and the subjugation of women with
potential for terrorist breeding culture that effects both the local community and the
international community. This is based on the traditional gender roles that are causally linked
with violence against women, and subscription to such gender roles is highly prevalent in
fundamental religions, which is used as a tool to radicalise. Violence against women impacts
communities in a variety of ways, not just with the obvious health problems associated (higher
rates of HIV, suicide, depression, etc)2223 but also, as explored, in ways of fostering instability
of the state which leads to global unrest2425.

18
B. Peer, The Girl Who Wanted To Go To School, New Yorker, Oct. 10 2012,
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-girl-who-wanted-to-go-to-school.
19
Biography.com authors, Malala Yousafzai, Biography.com, last updated Aug. 17 2017,
https://www.biography.com/people/malala-yousafzai-21362253.
20
Reuters, Radio Mullah sent hit squad after Malala Yousafzai, The Express Tribune, Oct. 12 2012,
https://tribune.com.pk/story/450639/radio-mullah-sent-hit-squad-after-malala-yousafzai/.
21
Ibid.
22
Y. S. Kusuma, and B. V. Babu, Elimination of violence against women and girls as a global action agenda,
Journal of Injury and Violence Research, Vol. 9, No.2, July 2017, p. 119, available from ProQuest Central.
23
Violence Against Women Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Against Women.
24
Sex & World Peace, p. 102.
25
Global Violence Against Women as a National Security Emergency, p. 56.
POLS1102 21496986, Michael Fragomeni

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A Woman Among Warlords Womens Rights in the Taliban and Post-Taliban Eras, PBS.org, September 11
2007, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/uncategorized/a-woman-among-warlords-womens-rights-in-the-
taliban-and-post-taliban-eras/66/.

Biography.com authors, Malala Yousafzai, Biography.com, last updated Aug. 17 2017,

https://www.biography.com/people/malala-yousafzai-21362253.

Garcia-Moreno, C., et al., Violence Against Women, Science, vol. 310, no. 5752, 2005, p. 1282, available from
ProQuest Central.

Global and regional estimates of violence against women, World Health Organization, 2013,
http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241564625/en/.

Hudson, V. M., and Leidl, P., The Hillary Doctrine: Sex and American Foreign Policy, New York, Columbia
University Press, 2015, available from JSTOR.

Hudson, V. M., et al., Sex & World Peace, New York, Columbia University Press, 2012, available from
ScienceDirect.

Kusuma, Y. S., and Babu, B. V., Elimination of violence against women and girls as a global action agenda,
Journal of Injury and Violence Research, Vol. 9, No.2, July 2017, available from ProQuest Central.

Mason, C. L., Global Violence Against Women as a National Security Emergency, Feminist Formations, Vol.
25, No.2, Summer 2013, available from ProQuest Central.

Michau, L., et al, Prevention of violence against women and girls: lesson from practice, The Lancet, vol. 385,
no. 9978, 2015, available from ScienceDirect.

Peer, B., The Girl Who Wanted To Go To School, New Yorker, Oct. 10 2012,
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-girl-who-wanted-to-go-to-school.

Reuters, Radio Mullah sent hit squad after Malala Yousafzai, The Express Tribune, Oct. 12 2012,
https://tribune.com.pk/story/450639/radio-mullah-sent-hit-squad-after-malala-yousafzai/.

Violence Against Women Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Against Women, World Health
Organization, Nov. 2016. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/.
POLS1102 21496986, Michael Fragomeni

Westhead, R., Brave defiance in Pakistans Swat Valley, thestar.com, Oct. 26 2009,
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2009/10/26/brave_defiance_in_pakistans_swat_valley.html.