The Foreign Service Journal, June 2006

F O C U S J U N E 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 47 taking on active and successful peacebuilding roles not only in the refugee camps, but once they return home. “They’ve been marginalized in the past, but now they have the chance to change their future,” says Pratt. Similar scenarios are taking place elsewhere. The Rwanda Women’s Network caters to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence “in the recognition that women and children bore the brunt of the genocide, and remain the most vulnerable and marginalized groups within Rwandan civil society.” These women are also creating informal social organizations. While these networks may go largely unrecognized by government entities and glob- al NGOs, they are durable replacements for all-but-van- ished formal networks and infrastructure. So in the end, there is no longer any question that women have gender-distinctive physical, psychological, social and economic needs, vulnerabilities and capabilities in disaster situations. No longer can women —who make up the “silent majority” of the world’s poor, aid recipients and displaced persons —be consigned to the “women and children” catchall classification. There is a tremendous global need to fight against the marginalization of women in disaster and aid programs. It may only be through the worldwide promotion of women’s rights — based on universal human rights and govern- ment-sponsored and enforced laws — that true equity in development and assistance might be realized. Perhaps the ancient Bahái writings speak most elo- quently to the importance and promise of equitable roles for women in disaster aid programs: “Humanity is pos- sessed of two wings: male and female. So long as these two wings are not equal in strength, the bird will not fly.” The struggle for human rights and equity in disasters must be about making women’s lives count the same as men’s — allowing justice and equality to take wing for all. For more information on gender issues in disasters, view The Gender and Disaster Sourcebook , an electronic compilation of international resources on policy, practice and research designed to help address gender concerns in disaster risk reduction. The Sourcebook is available through the Gender and Disaster Network Web site: http://www.gdnonline.org/sourcebook/.