If women are left out of peace talks

The narrative of war commonly portrays women as victims only, taking away their agency and leaving them voiceless in the reconstruction of their country. However, women's experiences as victims of violence and women's active participation in peace making and peace building are not mutually exclusive, and both aspects need to be recognised when negotiating peace. During the peace process that preceded the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995 not a single woman participated. This absence of women in the formal peace process has had concrete consequences both for the society as a whole and also for women as a distinct group in the society and their ability to be recognised as agents of change in later processes. The identification of what was needed could only be done by an inclusive process, and the absence of women made the failure inevitable. This continues to pose a challenge, as the space lost at the negotiating table has proven impossible to regain. Adapted from the source document.