Abstract:
Abstract
Women are half parts of the community. They have their own knowledge, experience, skill and
capacity. These features of the women are so essential for conflict resolution. However, in
practice except few areas of the world women have been prevented from conflict resolution
process, including Ethiopia. This paper explores women's participation in conflict resolution
process in the case of Dabat woreda, North Gondar Zone, Amhara national regional state. The
study used social constructivism paradigm, qualitative research approach and case study design
was employed. The data were obtained from primary source and collected through interview and
focus group discussion. The collected data was qualitatively described; interpreting and
analyzed systematically. Youth, men, women and institutions are important actors of conflict
resolution. However, women have special qualities than men in resolving conflict by serving as a
bridge to bring the divided groups through the sense of mother. This paper shows that conflict is
so common in the study area because of farm land, family's property distribution during death,
common pastoral land, problems related to blood revenge, health and economic problems. In
fact, to solve these multi-dimensional problems the community needs both men’s and women’s
involvement. But in practice women are not seen participating actively in the study area. Rather
men are always appointed to resolve such conflict in the community. women have low
participation and have been inhibited from conflict resolution process in the study area because
of various preventive factors as obtained from collected data; culture of the community,
economic dependency, the perception women developed through time and religious perception of
the community are played a positive contribution to prevent women in conflict resolution process
in the study area . The paper argues that women's involvement in conflict resolution is
significance to use their unique qualities for the community and similarly it helps to improve
women's involvement in all important activities.
Key words: Conflict resolution, Women, Participation, Role, community