Conflict, War, Militarism The Feminist Critique Competition over resources, political power, identity and geopolitical dominance continue to drive global conflicts and wars. Israel, Palestine and Iran, Russia and Ukraine, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo are ongoing wars, both interstate and intra-state, that show­case the drive for dominance and control. These wars reveal the insurgence of militarism both government and non-state that sustain complex networks of political, economic, and arms interests. Militarism, which is the normalization of military values, institutions, and logic in civilian life, becomes deeply entrenched during armed conflicts, and reinforce cy­cles of violence, while diverting much needed resources from human development to security apparatuses. From the Mid­dle East to the Sahel, Ukraine to Myanmar, global militariza­tion exacerbates inequality, erodes democratic institutions, and disproportionately affects civilians, especially women and girls, children, and marginalized communities. Feminist critique of militarism underscores the true nature of armed conflict which is the valorisation of dominance, aggression, and control. These values are traditionally associated with hegemonic masculinity and patriarchal notions of power. At the same time, other values such as care, cooperation, and empathy – often linked to feminini­ty – are side lined or minimised. As a result of war, women and marginalized groups are disproportionately affected, not only as victims of direct violence, including sexual vio­lence used as a weapon of war, but also through displace­ment, economic disenfranchisement, and exclusion from peace processes. Feminist scholars argue that militarized security solutions fail to address the root causes of con­flict, such as inequality, colonial legacies, and structural violence and instead reproduce systems of oppression 6 . A suitable example is the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon where the government’s military approach has led to an excessive number of checkpoints for both military and separatist fighters. On any given day, travelling between two villages could cost a civilian from 5,000F($8.00) CFA to 20,000F($33.00) as payments at these checkpoints. These are extra costs that put a burden on women who often travel with minors, so bear the burden for their security and mobility. Therefore, feminist demands for a transformation of global security paradigms, through de­militarization, gender justice, and the inclusion of diverse voices 7 in building sustainable peace remains valid today. In the middle of dystopia: War, Women and Peacebuilding Feminist theorizing on war and peace emerged from a place of enforced invisibility. Women were systematically unseen, unheard of and unacknowledged in peacebuilding discourse and work. Therefore, the early critique from feminist analysis focused on making women’s presence visible within the framework of war and peace. Their arguments highlighted the fact that women’s contributions to peace often rooted in caregiving, community mobilization, protests and advocacy, were often informal, local and non-institutional, were not recognized as traditional peace processes8. Feminist schol­ars also critiqued the tokenism approach of adding a few women to peace talks, insisting instead that peace processes be entirely transformed including the very assumptions that underlie assumptions of peacebuilding, to reflect women lived experiences, needs and priorities 9 . It was important to identify and clarify the differential effects of war/violence on women as well as the diverse ways that women actively resist and build peace. This was not an easy feat given the lack of understanding and resistance that women have faced in challenging patriarchal systems. Notwithstanding, due to sustained feminist activism and knowledge production, women have gradually become more visible in peacebuilding discourse, reshaping its terms and possibilities. 10 They say they are protecting the people and our lands, but these are nothing but fallacies. 6 Enloe,C.(2000).Maneuvers: The international politics of militarizing women’s lives.University of California Press. True, J.(2012). The political economy of violence against women. Oxford University Press. 7 Cockburn, C.(2010). Militarism and War. In Georgina Waylen et al.(Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Gender and Politics. Oxford University Press. 8 Rehn,E.,CSirleaf,E.J.(2002).Women, War and Peace: The Independent Experts’ Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conffict on Women and Women’s Role in Peace-building. UNIFEM. 9 Pankhurst, Donna.(2003). The‘Sex War’ and Other Wars: Towards a Feminist Approach to Peacebuilding. Development in Practice, 13(2-3), 154–177. 10 Azkue, 2013 Post-conffict Peacebuilding: Divergences between Women’s Organizations and International Cooperation in El Salvador and Bosnia and Herzegovina. PhD diss., University of the Basque Country, 6 Gender Justice Competence Center Sub-Saharan Africa