Rethinking Women, Peace and Security: A Critique of Gender in the Canadian Human Security Agenda
Erin Baines, Liu Faculty, UBC
April 1, 2005
On the cover of Canada’s 2001 Foreign Policy for Human Security, Freedom from Fear, a photograph is presented of Afghan refugee children atop abandoned military hardware. The photograph stirs conflicting emotions of hope and despair in the viewer. Will these children grow up to know peace, represented by their defiant stand atop the ruined metallic beast? Or does the picture foreshadow the loss of innocence? Will some of these children become soldiers, their playground to become their battleground? Beyond some sense of international moral obligation, the Canadian viewer might question why they should care about the undetermined fates of these children. In anticipation, the opening paragraphs of the Policy states ‘the safety and security of Canadians at home are inextricably linked to the safety of those living beyond our borders. In this context, our work to advance Canadian values abroad … enhances the safety and security of Canadians’(5). Canadian values on human rights, democracy, good governance and humanitarianism then, are for export. This paper is centrally concerned with the question of whether or not gender equality is among the values being promoted within Canada’s foreign policy on human security. Is the Freedom from Fear Agenda feminist?
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