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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Swanee Hunt

Aired December 30, 2001 - 09:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we've seen and heard much about the plight of women in Afghanistan, and we're waiting to see what role they'll play in the post-Taliban government.

For some insight into this and the role women can play in the peace process, we have a fascinating guest this morning. Swanee Hunt, former ambassador and the Director of the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Welcome to you, Ambassador Hunt.

AMBASSADOR SWANEE HUNT, WOMEN & PUBLIC POLICY, HARVARD: Thanks so much.

PHILLIPS: Let's start off sort of general, with a general question here, and just traditional thinking about war, peace, and how women play a part in that.

HUNT: Sure. You know it's very sad that women are often thought of in terms of victims, which they very often are in these wars. But there's so much that they have to bring to these settings.

The good news is that they are very, very strong as actors at the community level but even when they're members of Parliament or military officers, we just tend to leave them out of the formal peace processes.

PHILLIPS: And you've noted -- I noted something in your article, a very interesting point that since women usually are not behind the rifle, in contrast to me have less psychological distance to reach across a conflict line, and usually it's assumed that they aren't the ones doing the actual killing. Let's talk about that psychological part.

HUNT: Sure. If you think about what it takes for one person to kill another, there's a whole demonizing that you have to go through, or dehumanizing of the other, and because women usually are not the ones who have to gear themselves up for that.

And also I think because of their social role as the family builder and the nurturer, they have an easier time afterwards in these conflicts. I saw that over and over in places like Bosnia, where I was very involved. But it's reported in many other places as well, in conflicts in Africa for example.

PHILLIPS: Explain this concept of inclusive security that you talk so much about.

HUNT: Sure. If we were doing everything that we know how to do to create security in our world, we would be feeling very hopeless right now because there isn't security. There is tremendous violence and danger.

The good news is that there are people who could be very, very helpful in this process who've been left out, and these are the women in these situations. And if we would adopt a position of inclusive security to bring in all of the people who are the stake holders in these situations, we could have a more secure world.

And so, the United Nations and the European Union and the group of eight industrial nations, they have all passed resolutions to include women from the beginning to the end in the peace processes. Now we just have to get them to do what they said they're going to do.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know you've established a lot of global networks of grassroots women to stop wars. If you were a part of this interim government in Afghanistan, what would your first move be? How would you advise these women, who are a part of this government?

HUNT: Well, we've worked very hard first of all to make sure that there were women in the government, because many people say "oh well, you know, Islam doesn't allow this or the Afghan culture doesn't allow this" but we have to break through those barriers.

With the women who are there, they need to take a very strong and collaborative voice and build their alliances, and connect to the women on the ground who have been in victim's positions, but actually have been organizing very effectively and persevering in spite of the restrictions of the Taliban.

So we need to see these women as strong in their survival, and bring their voices around the table.

PHILLIPS: India-Pakistan another subject matter, tensions rising between those two countries.

HUNT: Right.

PHILLIPS: If you look at the background, women were highly involved in the peace process back in the early '90s, correct?

HUNT: That's correct.

PHILLIPS: Can you talk a little bit more about their involvement and the impact that they had there, because this could definitely parlay into both situations, Afghanistan and what's happening in India and Pakistan right now?

HUNT: That's right. That's right. Women in both of these countries have been in high-level positions, and we need to find ways that they don't get trapped in the formal decision-making processes.

One of the things that we found with our network, which is called Women Waging Peace, which is lodged out of Harvard and we connect women all over the world, is that women often work particularly well outside of the formal power processes, because they come up innovative ways of operating, and they'll build alliances across the conflict lines even when their governments are stuck.

And so we need to be encouraging meetings between Indian and Pakistani women, as well as men, it's just that the women are more likely to do it, that are outside of the formal processes.

PHILLIPS: Ambassador Swanee Hunt, always a pleasure to talk with you.

HUNT: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

HUNT: You're welcome.

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