Militarism, a system that secures and defends power, wealth and resources of global power structures and preserves ruling systems, has long paved the way for colonial and autocratic domination across Asia and the Pacific region. It has perpetuated the capitalist system’s power to control people, resources, markets and other critical assets to amass profits, all while leaving women and other marginalised communities in distress.
In many countries and territories across the region, states are increasingly using military power and security forces to protect and advance the interests of the ruling political and economic elites, putting profit over human rights, peoples’ lives and the planet. This includes practices such as militarisation of rural and indigenous communities, presence of foreign military forces, forced evictions and displacement.
As a result, women, especially in rural communities are deprived of their rights to land and food sovereignty; indigenous women are denied their right to traditional livelihoods and territories; and women in urban centres are forced to resettle in areas of even poorer living conditions. Worse, women human rights defenders are subjected to different forms of attacks such as harassment, persecution, sexual violence and extra judicial killings when women and their communities show any form of resistance and defend their rights.
This fellowship aims to bring to light the struggles of women and their communities to provide a deeper understanding on how war and conflicts violate women’s rights, particularly their right to life and be free from any forms of violence. It intends to scrutinise how militarism increases women’s vulnerability to violence and obstructs their access to justice. Likewise, it hopes to examine the environmental costs of militarism and expose the worsening culture of impunity.
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