BREAKING GENDERED CONSTRUCTION OF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: SECURING THE UNSECURED

This article provides a feminist critique of the mainstream discipline of international security, arguing that its core concepts and theories are based on a deeply "gendered construction." It examines how traditional security studies, with its focus on states, wars, and military power, has been a predominantly masculine domain that has rendered the experiences of women invisible. The study deconstructs the gendered dichotomies that underpin the field, such as the association of masculinity with strength, protection, and combat, and femininity with weakness, passivity, and victimhood. The research then advocates for a fundamental "breaking" of this construction. It calls for a redefinition of security from a feminist perspective, one that places the security of individuals, both men and women, at its center and that recognizes the diverse forms of insecurity, including domestic violence and structural inequality, that are often ignored by the traditional paradigm. The paper concludes that securing the "unsecured"—the women and other marginalized groups who are the primary victims of conflict—requires a fundamental transformation of how we think about and practice international security.

The field of international security has traditionally been one of the most male-dominated and "gender-blind" areas of academic inquiry. This paper offers a powerful feminist critique aimed at "breaking" this gendered construction. The analysis begins by deconstructing the core concepts of mainstream security studies, such as "power," "threat," and "the state." It argues that these concepts have been defined in a way that reflects a specifically masculine experience of the world and that systematically excludes women's perspectives and security concerns. The core of the article is an exploration of how a feminist lens can provide a more complete and accurate picture of international security. It highlights the specific and often-horrific ways in which women are victimized in armed conflicts, particularly through the systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. However, the paper moves beyond a simple focus on women as victims. It also examines the crucial but often-overlooked roles that women play as active agents in both conflict and peace-building. The findings lead to a call for a radical redefinition of security itself. The paper advocates for a shift from a narrow focus on "national security" to a broader concept of "human security," one that is attentive to the security of all individuals in their daily lives. The paper concludes that by "securing the unsecured," by placing the experiences of the most vulnerable at the center of our analysis, we can develop a more just, more comprehensive, and ultimately more effective understanding of security.