Pacific Regional Perspectives on Women and the Media: Making the Connection with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace, and Security) and Section J of the Beijing Platform for Action

Abstract

If empowerment means challenging social norms, equalizing power relations, and enabling individuals and groups to actively claim their rights, then what does it mean for women in rural communities in the Pacific Island region, where the basic necessities of life remain unfulfilled? Where is the peace if there is poverty of information and communication? What does it mean for small Pacific Island states where national budgets for gender equality rely on bilateral support rather than real investment and equity in the allocation of national budgets? What does all this mean for women working to transform information and communication systems to ensure that women in our rural communities are not just informed but are also able to inform and influence both the security-sector-governance and truth-and-reconciliation processes as well as to articulate our economic security priorities, which are linked to our political security? These questions are critical when trying to decipher the implications of Section J of the Beijing Platform for Action for women of the Pacific region, which includes a diverse media environment ranging from a major global news hub in Australia to our mobile women’s radio station in Fiji. They are equally critical in our work of coordinating a regional women’s media network dedicated to advancing the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.