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Women and militarization

From all accounts, the experience of the village folk about militarization in the Cordillera has been agonizing. Their harrowing ordeal had doubtlessly stuck on the minds of the victims, perhaps would hound them for the rest of their lives.

Militarization brings with it a domino effect of catastrophic proportions. It has resulted in the destruction and displacement of communities, damage to properties and the loss of civilian lives. Bombings, mortar shelling, and ground attacks by military troops force the people to flee or evacuate their villages. Evacuations leave people homeless and force them to stay in shelters where there are not enough food provisions and are under sub-human conditions. People are dislocated from their daily economic and social activities. Stress and trauma are common in the affected communities.

Usually the women and children suffer the consequences of war and militarization. Besides equally suffering the onslaught of militarization together with the general populace, they also withstand the worst of the particular effects of militarization and suffer specific forms of abuses because they are women. Children comprise another disadvantaged group. They are defenseless in times of military offensives and are open targets as well. Their being women and children are not a guarantee for them to be spared from the brutal attacks of government soldiers.

The use of civilians as human shields has been a practice of the military to protect themselves from being attacked by their enemies. They let children accompany them to roam around the communities. They feel more secure when civilians especially children are with them.

Massacres and extra-judicial killings such as salvaging are genuine fears of the people in the communities because these are realities that occur in their midst.

Red baiting, “communist hysteria,” and misinformation drives are procedures familiar among the people who have been targets of attacks by the military. Mere suspicion of individuals or families as being supporters or members of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA) makes them open targets. Harassments and threats, illegal search, arrest and detention are systematically carried out by soldiers in the communities they allege to be supportive of rebel activities.

Militarization is detrimental to the health and well-being of the people, especially the women and children. But vicious military campaigns do not only impact on the physical wellbeing of the people but on their psychological and mental health as well. Mental anguish, stress, and trauma are aspects of life in heavily militarized communities. High incidences of stress-related disorders and diseases were observed among the people such as ulcers and hyperacidity. Women and children exhibit signs of war shock syndrome: inability to sleep, frequent nightmares, restlessness, emotional outburst without apparent reason.

Complications in reproductive health of women are also concerns needing specific attention. The pregnant and lactating women suffer because of problems brought about by their condition. Several women experience birth complications, even miscarriages, because of stress and fatigue due to military operations.

History would show that the government soldiers have systematically made use of women in the communities as objects of pleasure. The military institution has condoned these acts, justifying that their men deserve a little enjoyment, having to bear the loneliness of being away from their families. Women have been lured into relationships with military men as part of a strategy to gain acceptance in the community. Many of these women and their children were eventually abandoned when the soldiers were deployed elsewhere.

In addition to women being made mistresses and later on being abandoned, rape and other forms of sexual aggression are also committed against women during military operations. There have been numerous testimonies by women raped by the military while in detention or while undergoing tactical interrogation.

In a system, which promotes the macho culture, rape and sexual harassment are said to be an assertion of male superiority and identity. Gang rape, or rape done by a group of men, has been analyzed as a mode by which males jointly assert their supremacy over women. Rape by military forces, however, puts an added dimension to this problem. Sexual abuse and other violent acts committed against women by government soldiers in time of war are intended to put across a message to the communities perceived by the military as enemy lines. These are ways of putting pressure on communities perceived to be coddling enemy forces in order to intimidate and humiliate the women and their village mates. It is a means for the military to deliver the message that they are in control.

The particular problems of women and children in militarized areas are often overlooked or overshadowed by some of the more gruesome human rights violations. But we cannot and should not discount the long-term effects of militarization on women and children. The trauma of being raped or abused, of witnessing the killing or torture of a loved one, of being forcibly evacuated, of being abandoned by husband or father, could leave one scarred for life.

It is to their credit that the women have not been passive or silent. Many victims have sought redress through various means. Complaints were filed in court. Dialogues with government and military authorities were held. Mass actions were launched to demand the withdrawal of military troops. Yet the government has been slow to act on these complaints and few, if at all any, of the perpetrators have been brought to justice.

Yet we should not let our hopes be dashed by the long years of inaction by the government on the issue of human rights. There is still much work to do to end the sufferings of the women and children and to pursue justice until justice is served. #

This article was taken from Chaneg February 2003 special issue.

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