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Published: 12:27 AM, 07 April 2019

Shalish and Sulha with participation of women

M S Siddiqui

A successful process of peace-building should be locally owned and focusedon social

transformation and the re-establishment of trust through the participation of the national
authorities as well as the local population, including women. The process should be designed to
meet the specific needs of the country or region, and address the immediate security and
humanitarian needs as well as the root causes of actual and potential crises.

Conflict prevention requires a variety of approaches, including measures aimed at building

mutual confidence, reducing perceptions of threat, eliminating the risk of surprise attack,
discouraging competitive arms accumulation and creating an enabling environment for
agreements on arms limitation and reduction, as well as on military expenditures. All actors
committed to equality and non-discrimination - whether male or female - should have the
responsibility and capacity to ensure that peace agreements incorporate gender equality issues.

A formal peace negotiations aim at achieving a settlement between the protagonists in a

conflict, which are usually Governments, political parties, opposition groups, armies, warlords or
militias etc. As a community women and children are worse suffer of any conflict. Unfortunately,
most of the negotiation processes exclude a significant number of actors, including women who
are equally affected by the conflict and are essential for building lasting peace.

Women are under-represented in formal peace negotiations, whether as local participants

representing warring factions, or as representatives of international authorities overseeing or
mediating deliberations and institutions invited to the negotiating table.

There are number success story of active role of women in peace building around the world in
the recent time. Some women's groups, such as the Liberian Women's Initiative and the
Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, have had success in including their proposals for peace
and reconciliation in formal peace negotiations and plans.

In conflict areas across the world, women's movements have worked with the United Nations to
rebuild the structures of peace and security, to rehabilitate and reconcile societies, to protect
refugees and the internally displaced, to educate and raise awareness of human rights and the
rule of law.

On 31 October 2000, the UN Security Council adopted resolution1325 (2000) on women, peace
and security and a series of Council resolutions on children and armed conflict, the protection of
civilians in armed conflict and the prevention of armed conflict. The Security Council highlights
the importance of bringing gender perspectives to the centre of all UN conflict prevention and
resolution, peace -building, peacekeeping, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.

It may be mention here that a good number of women member of Police, Army and other
defense forces of Bangladesh actively participating in the UN peace keeping forces in some
countries and territories. There are instance of national law to make mandatory participation of
women in peace building process. The United States promotes the meaningful participation of
women in mediation and negotiation processes seeking to prevent, mitigate, or resolve violent
conflict.

The Congress has passed 'The Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017'.US Congress makes
observations in preamble of a such law: (1) Around the world, women remain under-represented
in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and post-conflict peace building efforts. (2) Women in
conflict-affected regions have achieved significant success in- (A) moderating violent extremism;
(B) countering terrorism; (C) resolving disputes through nonviolent mediation and negotiation;
and (D) stabilizing societies by enhancing the effectiveness of security services, peacekeeping
efforts, institutions, and decision making processes.

In the conflict of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese women from Government
and rebel-controlled parts of the country gathered in Nairobi in February 2002, organized by
Femmes Africa Solid arité and Women as Partners for Peace in Africa - Democratic Republic of
the Congo, and issued a Nairobi Declaration and a Plan of Action to integrate gender
perspectives in the peace process in conflict within Congo.

The Plan of Action sets out goals, strategies and follow-up mechanisms for the incorporation of
gender perspectives in the peace process, and the political, economic, social and human rights
aspects of the reconstruction of the society.

But women still form a minority of those who participate in peace and security negotiations, and
receive less attention than men in post-conflict agreements, disarmament and reconstruction.

The social system has some Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Sulha is a mediation of
disputed in Arab region from a long time. Sulha of Middle East and Shalish of South Asia is very
much identical system. The role of culture is crucial in fostering mutual understanding in conflict
resolution. Both the process is not replacement of civil and criminal law of the countries.

In dispute resolution Sulha, usually, one of the parties in dispute take the dispute to one or
more highly respected, influential people in the society and request them to intervene in the
disputing issue. The Jaha being the most respected members of the community but women are
not permitted to serve on it.

These interveners are collectively known as Jahaot mediator or Shalishder. Jaha use to inquire
about consent of both the parties in dispute and ask for a taffwith, a written document that
authorizes the Jaha and committing to abide by the Jaha's decision.
In case of Middle East, and If a conflict involves family matters, it may be adjudicated between
the individual disputants in religious court. If a conflict involves a criminal offense, the matter will
be adjudicated in criminal court (a Sharia court if Sharia is the official law of the land). In both
situations, the conflict is likely to provoke a dispute between the clans to which the victim and
offender belong. The Sulha process will address the clan level dispute.

The Shalish is a voluntary methods depending upon acceptance of mediation (Shalish) and
mediators (Shalishder) in South Asia including Bangladesh. Shalish is use to dispute between
two individual or two families and communities. Shalish use to address some civil and small
criminal offences.

Shalish is of two types. One is non-binding compromise meeting and another arbitration type
with an understanding of acceptance of judgment on both the parties. Shalishders take the sit
for mediation or arbitration with the full consent of both the disputed parties accepting them as
Shalishder (Judge or mediator) and unconditional promise to accept their judgment.

The enforcement of verdict of second category of Shalish is social enforcement and earlier one
is a mutual agreement. Historically, mediators are village elders, religious leaders, elected
representatives or other influential community members but not a woman.

There is a norm that even woman witness is not accepted unless allegation proved beyond
reasonable doubt. In rural Bangladesh, traditional forms of community justice i. e. Shalish, in a
very special situation, women rarely even attend their own hearings, not to talk about becoming
mediator in the Shalish. They are represented by male member of her family.

The situation has started changing in the recent time and in some cases, women participation in
community dispute resolution tends to be restricted only to 'women's issues', which excludes
issue such as land and property disputes and small offences. A major reform is going on with
the long time persuasion in NGO to accept to accept NGO- sponsored Shalish sits with woman
Shalishder.

A study by one NGO in poorest areas of the country suggests women's participation as leaders
in Shalish has been increased, although society has doubt whether women have enough
knowledge and quality to deliver any concluding judgment. In-depth interviews with women
leaders at the community level in some rural area suggest their ability to participate depends on
their family dynamics, political connections, and household economy, education and NGO
networks.

Shalish is now supported by law of the land. Bangladesh government brought the system under
legal framework of local government. The law incorporated the provision of 'village court' having
mandatory women mediator or judge in case of involvement of women or minor as defendant or
complainer.

The Sulha process is an informal conflict resolution mechanism in Middle East. Many different
kinds of disputes can be resolved through Sulha dispute resolution, including business, financial
and consumer conflicts, although many disputes arise out of acts of violence, including murder.
Shalish in Bangladesh also deals with minor criminal offences not like murder.
The Sulha practice and process embodies "ideals of cooperation, negotiation, honor and
compromise" highlighting interpersonal conflict management strategies that impact the larger
community through "indigenous sociopolitical interaction". It is a conflict management and
reconciliation process that is employed to resolve an extensive range of disputes often times
dealing with inter and intra-familial conflicts such as divorce and murder.

The United Nations has organized peace keeping forces to maintain peace in certain area with
political and social unrest. A woman member of UN peace force can enter inside the house of
conservative societies.

Some unique tactical skills female military bring to this field include screening of female civilians
and conducting of house searches in areas where it is not culturally appropriate for men to enter
private spaces. Local populations in host countries often feel more comfortable liaising and
sharing information with military troops that include women alongside men. By obtaining better
information, we are able to better protect these communities.

Only women member should be deployed in conservative country like Afghanistan. Access to
the local population becomes particularly relevant when considering the current nature of
conflicts in which UN peacekeepers find themselves.

UN has set example by introducing women peace-keepers and now rapidly increasing the
number of senior female civilian personnel in peace support operations in all relevant
Headquarters departments, including the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and
in the field. Women peacekeepers act as role models in the local environment, inspiring women
and girls in often male-dominated societies to push for their own rights and for participation in
peace processes.

The ADR like Sulha or Shalish may be introduced in any categories of disputes and conflict
resolution including the conflict between Arab/ Israel, Kashmir and any other dispute around the
world.

The writer is a legal economist. Email: mssiddiqui2035@gmail.com