Gender, National Security and Counter-terrorism: Human Rights Perspectives

From its inception, the "War on Terror" has been a heavily gendered endeavour. Governments have overwhelmingly targeted men for profiling, detention and interrogation, have used gendered narratives in support of military action, and have actively deployed gendered forms of coercion in their interrogation programs. These explicit gendered impacts join many unexamined but nevertheless equally forceful indirect impacts that have gender dimensions, including the effects on women of detention policies and the economic and social impacts on women of shifting government priorities toward security measures. A careful examination of counter-terrorism campaigns outside the current "War on Terror," reveals that such national security efforts also have a complex--but often unexplored--relationship to gender.

This edited volume brings together scholars from various disciplines to consider, from a human rights perspective, the many ways in which gender interacts with counter-terrorism and national security efforts by modern states. The book provides a systematic overview of the key intersections between gender and counter-terrorism considering what it means to take a gendered human rights approach to counter-terrorism measures, the patterns that emerge from such an approach, and the human rights tools that can be utilized in this endeavour. The book includes case studies of specific countries including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the USA, exploring the intersections of gender and counter-terrorism in the specific country context, drawing both country-specific and general conclusions. It goes on to examine the narratives and common assumptions at work in the counter-terrorism context and the gendered impacts of specific policies, analyzing through a gender lens the counter-terrorism efforts associated with the post-9/11 "War on Terror" as well as other campaigns against terrorism. This book will be of interest to scholars, students, policy analysts, and advocates concerned about women's rights, gender studies, human rights law, national security, and counter-terrorism.