In 2019, the Center for Progressive Security (CPS) has started its journey as a volunteer-based collective of professionals from the field of development, communications, peace and security and gender studies. Together, we have done our first steps to advance CPS’s mission of advancing inclusive terrorism prevention and response grounded in human rights, gender equality, and context-specific analysis.
The following projects have been highlights of the beginning of our journey:
Exploring the Contours of Gender Analysis:
We have started our journey with thinking what gender analysis means and how it can be more practical. We realized that developing an understanding of what gender analysis means in practice must start with an understanding of the various (gender-unaware) methods used to conduct research on the ground and the gendered impacts of these research methods.
Read more about our work:
- Where to Start? (By Tannuja Rozario)
- Gender or power? (By Marina Kumskova)
- Sustainable Development, Counterterrorism and Violent Extremism: Are they related? (By Alexandra Rojas and Marina Kumskova)
- Feminist Foreign Policy: A Fine Line between “Adding Women” and “Pursuing a Feminist Agenda” (By Marina Kumskova and Victoria Scheyer)
Understanding the Gendered Nature of Violence in the Context of Environmental Devastation in Nigeria:
Together with Stand to End Rape and the Angel Support Foundation, CPS has worked to (1) document the unique experiences of Nigerian women in the Fulani Herders-Farmers conflict and (2) provide an alternative method to expose and analyze the gendered nature of localized violence.
Read more about our work:
- Doing, Undoing, and Redoing Gender: Farmers and Herders Conflict in Benue State (By Tannuja Rozario – will be published in an academic journal shortly)
- A Fight to Survive without Justice, Empowerment and Security in the Pastoralist and Farmers Conflict in Benue State, Nigeria (By Tannuja Rozario and Alexandra Rojas)
- Where are the women in the Fulani Herdsmen crisis? (By Tannuja Rozario)
Exploring Experiences of LGBTQI+ People in the Context of Counterterrorism and Violent Extremism:
When it comes to the understanding of gender analysis in the field of terrorism prevention and response, it is most often thought out as an issue of women’s rights. We have decided to change this narrative and amplify existing intersectional gender analysis and experiences of other groups of people largely sidelined in research and policy, focusing specifically on LGBTQI people.
Read more about our work:
- Queerness and Terrorism… (By Marina Kumskova and Victoria Scheyer)
Learning from Experts from Various Security Sectors and Institutions:
We provide space for experts in the field across various levels, including community level, to share their understandings of gender analysis and good practices on the integration of such an analysis in the field of terrorism and violent extremism.
Read some expert opinions published in 2019:
- Engaging Imams to Create Positive Change in Afghan Society (By Jamila Afghani)
- Marginalization of Women in UN Counterterrorism Work (By Anwar Mhajne)
- Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Examining the Shrinking Space for Women’s Civil Society (By Lana Baydas)
Sharing Our Learning:
We learn from all of you and we share what we learn! We have also established our Facebook and Twitter to keep you up-to-date in the recent developments around gender in terrorism prevention and response. Follow us!
There are some substantial wins achieved by CPS in 2019 as a volunteer collective. As we are currently in the process of obtaining a legal non-profit status, we hope that you would be interested to support our work as a partner and as a supporter.
- If you would like to discuss the ways CPS can support your work, reach out to Katie Krueger, Executive Director, at katie.krueger@progressive-security.org
- If you would like to donate, please reach out to Alexandra Rojas, Director of Outreach and Communication, at alexandra.rojas@progressive-security.org
