It is laudable that at a time when the world is afflicted with war, conflict and violence, bringing misery and suffering to innocent civilians in war zones, the UN has adopted June 24 as “International Day of Women in Diplomacy,” recognizing of the role of women in diplomacy, and to sensitize the imperatives for greater representation and their participation in diplomacy at various levels.
The resolution reiterates that the participation of women, on equal terms with men, at all levels of decisionmaking, is essential to the achievement of sustainable development, peace and democracy.
It also draws attention to the persistent underrepresentation of women in senior diplomatic positions, pinpoints the challenges that women in diplomacy face and discusses barriers that still need to be removed.
The resolution further states that the lack of parity in women’s representation in foreign policy is detrimental to peace.
Biologically, psychologically and emotionally, women are different from men. The very instinct of childbearing and child-rearing enables them to be more caring, sensitive and understanding of human misery and suffering.
Historically, women and children have been the worst sufferers in war and conflict. They are the hapless victims of such human-caused tragedies of humongous proportions.
What is happening in Ukraine and the Middle East today bears out this fact of life.
If a picture can tell a thousand words, the Pulitzer award-winning photograph of a girl running naked in Vietnam during a napalm attack in 1972 is a poignant reminder of the horrors of war and that such tragedies still occur where innocent civilians, including women and children, fall victims to terrorist attacks.
Who can understand their predicament better than women in positions of decisionmaking, such as diplomats in foreign office, ambassadors or multilateral bodies such as the UN?
The role of a diplomat is manyfold.
In a limited scale, it refers to the role of a diplomat to promote and protect the interest of the country and its citizens, and to negotiate with another country or multilateral body to achieve the goal tasked by the political executive — be it the president, the prime minister or minister of foreign affairs.
A diplomat can be a member of the professional civil service, the foreign service or the parliament. They could also be the minister, or the presiding officer of the legislature or the parliament.
The dividing line between politics and diplomacy is wafer-thin. It would be appropriate to include successful female politicians in the category of diplomacy. There is no dearth of female politicians who have immensely contributed as stateswomen and diplomats to the fight for justice and the mitigation of human suffering.
Current and former prime ministers Margaret Thatcher of the UK, Golda Meir of Israel, Indira Gandhi of India, Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan and Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh in their inimitable way have contributed to the cause of democracy and human development.
Bandaranaike was the world’s first female prime minister. US Vice President Kamala Harris, former US secretaries of state Hillary Rodham Clinton and Madeleine Albright — who was the US’ first female secretary of state — and former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi also contributed to diplomacy in their own way.
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in September last year, defying the threats and intimidation of China, was courageous and awe-inspiring. It boosted the morale of Taiwanese committed to democracy and development. Pelosi has been a strong advocate for human rights, including in Taiwan and Tibet.
Harris during the international gathering on Ukraine in Switzerland recently extended the US’ support and backing to achieve “a just and lasting peace” in the face of Russia’s invasion. She also announced assistance of US$1.5 billion for Ukraine.
The contributions of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) merit a special mention. Tsai not only strengthened democracy in Taiwan in the face of formidable challenges from China, but also refused to buckle under pressure. She faced the provocations in a statespersonlike manner without precipitating the matter.
During her eight years as president, she improved the livelihood of the people and handled the COVID-19 pandemic in an exemplary manner, earning the laurels of the world. She also reached out to the world with the help of medicines and other materials.
One more achievement was Taiwan’s engagement with Southeast Asian countries through her New Southbound Policy. Internationally, she enhanced Taiwan’s prestige through effective parliamentary diplomacy, culminating in the visit of Pelosi in spite of China’s belligerence.
She also reached out to Ukrainians and Hong Kongers who expatriated to Taiwan.
There are many outstanding women in different parliaments who have significantly contributed to diplomacy, and the mitigation of human misery and distress.
History would always remember the contributions of late Indian minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj. The prestigious Foreign Policy magazine in 2016 named her as one of its 15 “Global Thinkers,” for “fashioning a novel brand of Twitter diplomacy.”
The magazine said that when about 10,000 Indian workers in Saudi Arabia faced a food crisis due to job losses, Swaraj tweeted about the issue to her 6 million followers on the social media platform.
Women who are presiding officers of their parliament have also contributed to parliamentary diplomacy through their participation in parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, by taking up issues such as sustainable development, climate change and conflict resolution.
As parliaments are conceptually independent of the government, the parliamentarians are uniquely placed to create comfort and to test turfs that are difficult for executives to promote the country’s interest.
Rup Narayan Das is a former senior fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research and a Taiwan Fellow. The views expressed here are his own.
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