Page 30 - A Gender-Sensitive Indian Foreign Policy- Why? and How?

Indian Council
of World Affairs

participation in the country, especially at the panchayat level. A statement
made last year noted, for instance, India’s ‘experience of mainstreaming
women’s leadership and political participation will continue to inspire
India’s actions.’ It has generally refrained from drawing attention to regional
concerns or violence within the country at the WPS opening meetings; some
exceptions here are references to cross-border terrorism and its impact on
women, and a 2019 statement that recalled ‘appalling atrocities perpetrated
with impunity against women by the armed forces of a State’. This was in
relation to the 1971 Bangladesh war. I am ambivalent about the need for a
National Action Plan, but there ought to be greater attention to gender and
security issues within the country in order to strengthen India’s legitimacy to
talk about gender at international forums.

Second, any discussion on India and the Security Council gets caught up
in the debates around its long-standing campaign for a permanent seat.
While this goal is important, such Charter changes are extremely difficult
to realize. I’d be happy to discuss this further in the Q&A session. India
should instead devote additional resources towards having a greater voice
in decision-making at the Security Council (more broadly), as it has sought
to do in relation to peace operations. I have more to say on this international
aspect, especially the challenges that come up. For instance, Brazil’s
approach to commanding MINUSTAH was well-received in Haiti, but did not
give it the international mileage that it had hoped for with its efforts to do
peacekeeping differently. India would need to balance its different interests,
8
as it moves forward with a gender sensitive foreign policy. Certainly, greater
engagement with gender, including aspects of the WPS agenda, is both
timely and sensible. Thanks very much.

Amb. Nirupama Thank you, Soumita that was absolutely fascinating. These discussion points
Menon Rao (Chair on women in peace and security and the way forward for India and the
and Moderator)
manner in which the Indian approach has also been evolving, I think you
presented it in a very nuanced fashion, you know, the threats to international
peace and security, our peace building operations, the protection pillar
and now possibly a prevention pillar also. So this is something I think that
necessitates in-depth discussion, but thank you once again for making
those points.

In the interest of time I think we’ll have to now move on to our next speaker
Dr. Bindulakshami Pattadath, Associate Professor at the Advanced Centre
for Women’s Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Her
research interests are in the area of gender studies, labour, transnational
migration, health and disability. She has years of experience in doing

30 8 de Paula, Francine Rossone (2019) ‘Brazil’s non-indifference: a case for a feminist diplomatic agenda or geopoli-
tics as usual?’ International Feminist Journal of Politics, 21:1.

Indian Council of World Affairs An ICWA Conversation