Abstract:
In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the American society saw the emergence of a set of gender discourses that framed the War in Afghanistan as a military intervention to "free" the Afghan women. Drawing on a critical reading on the Women, Peace and Security agenda, we argue that gender justifications of the War in Afghanistan were made possible by the way the international community has been treating the issue of gender and security when it comes to military interventions and peacekeeping missions, invisibilizing how hegemonic ideals of masculinity(ies) inform the very logics of military interventions. In this sense, the process of gendering the "war on terror" was made possible by the advancement of particular and restricted understandings on women and gender equality within a broader international agenda on gender mainstreaming – which had as ultimate consequence the depolitization of the debate on gender and international security.
Keywords:
Gender; Masculinities; War on terror; War in Afghanistan