Page 15 - A Gender-Sensitive Indian Foreign Policy- Why? and How?

Indian Council
of World Affairs

In practice, feminist foreign policies have meant that they will consider
human rights absolute and non-negotiable; that development and
humanitarian aid will become a more important foreign policy instrument,
and in both of these, it will be the advancement of women’s rights and
opportunities that will be prioritised.

At first glance, to me, a “gender sensitive foreign policy” sounds like a sweet
but deferential act of sensitivity intended to please (or appease) touchy male
decision-makers who take feminism as a personal affront. But, of course, that
cannot be true.

Therefore, in the blessedly short time allocated to me, I will try to understand
what a gender sensitive foreign policy might mean.

1. What are the elements of a Gender Sensitive Foreign Policy?

A Gender Sensitive Foreign Policy calls for a re-orientation of our thinking,
our style, our structures and of course, our relationships, both internal
and outward-facing.

Internal Elements

The good news about a gender-sensitive foreign policy, I hope, is that
it acknowledges that gender is a spectrum, and that it refers to both
assignment and identification. Therefore, those who would make, those
who would implement and those in whose name a gender sensitive foreign
policy is made, must belong and be seen to belong to all genders along the
spectrum. In other words, the first element of a gender sensitive foreign
policy might be that its universe is more closely aligned with the gender
composition of the real world.

A gender lens essentially makes it imperative to look so carefully as to see
all people as they are, and to take cognizance of their
perceptions and needs. The second element
must be that gender equality must be a
cardinal principle of that world, applying
first to those within the establishment
- pay parity, equality of opportunity, a
re-casting of work that takes into account
the double-burden that women diplomats carry,
the creation of support systems within
the establishment for all marginalised
groups - minority genders including
women, different sexual orientation groups 15

A GENDER-SENSITIVE INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY Why? and How?