Kofi Ampeah Woode
Much as gender inequality affects women more, as gender hierarchies are set up to benefit men over women, men also suffer from gender inequality, affecting them negatively, therefore conversations have to be on both men and women, says a Senior Advisor and Peace and Security Specialist from Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), Sweden – Miss My Emmicki Charlotta Roos.
Opening a 5-day Gender Advisers’ Course (GAC) – a collaboration between the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and the FBA in Accra, Ghana on Monday 26 May 2025 – Madam Roos said “Still so many people that I meet who work on gender equality only focus on women and girls, and I think this is a mistake”.
She stressed the point that she is not saying that women and girls, and their rights have not been marginalized, as they experience discrimination and gender-based violence (GBV), etc., however, in African and other contexts around the world, men and boys are also very hardly hit by conflicts.
“We see more men than women killed in battle, and a lot of men struggle with, for example, psychological trauma related to conflicts, and because of traditional gender roles, they struggle to get the professional help that they need, and so I think we always need to remind ourselves that gender equality is about men and women, girls and boys”, she affirmed.
Madam My Emmicki Roos further stated that the work of gender experts and advisors, as Women Peace and Security (WPS) experts, is more important than it has ever been, as the world faces an increase in conflict and fragility, triggering a backlash against gender equality globally.
She urged gender activists to deem it important to remember that the WPS Agenda really comes from peace activists, Grassroots Women Organizations, and peace organizations on the African continent, and from other places where there have been conflicts.
She continued to say that such activists worked tirelessly for decades to have the WPS agenda adopted by the United Nations Security Council, giving legitimacy to Gender Activism.
In collaboration with the FBA, Sweden, the KAIPTC is holding the GAC, which is taking place in Ghana for the fourth time, after being modified and contextualized, recognizing that addressing gender-based inequalities is essential to achieving long-term peace and security.
The course intends to improve the knowledge, abilities, and competencies for providing effective gender advice of Gender Advisers and Focal Persons, in complicated peacekeeping and peacebuilding settings.
Opening the course, which is usually delivered in Sando (Sweden), the Deputy Commandant, KAIPTC – Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Ziblim Ayorrogo, said the KAIPTC identified the need to equip personnel working in Peace and Security spaces on the continent with the skills and tools, to enable them undertake their responsibilities.
He added that the Centre has identified WPS as the third pillar of its 5-year strategic plan (2024-2028), and aims to build African capacities, to fully implement the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol).
General Ayorrogo also stated that Gender Advisers and Focal Persons need skills and tools through a training that equips them to appreciate the uniqueness of their roles and responsibilities in Peace and Security efforts.
The United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on WPS emphasizes on the significance of gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations.
Twenty-five (25) participants of the course come from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.
FBA is the Swedish government agency for peace, security and development, and has existed in Sweden under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for over 20 years, working in countries across the world on peacekeeping, peace processes, peace building, conflict prevention, (Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) processes, security sector reform, dialogue and mediation, youth peace and security, women peace and security, rural law and democracy.
The FBA also focuses on WPS and gender equality, as a prerequisite for all peacebuilding, peacekeeping, and peace and security work, on the backbone that the globalized world is interconnected, hence increase in insecurity and fragility through conflicts anywhere, affects everyone everywhere.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
