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Welcome to the first-ever Women, Peace and Security wrap here at <\/em>The Strategist. On the first Monday of each month, we<\/em>\u2019<\/em>ll be covering developments in the WPS agenda and highlighting their impacts on national security. <\/em><\/p>\n When women become infantry(men)<\/em><\/p>\n On 19 May, the first 18 female trainees graduated<\/a> from US Army infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia. It was a historic moment, but Army Times <\/em>was keen to get on with<\/a> business as usual; everybody is measured against the same benchmark, and basic training for women is the same as for men. The attrition rate for the female trainees was around 50%, but that didn\u2019t stop anonymous reports<\/a> from within the unit suggesting that some physical standards had been lowered. Those suggestions were hotly disputed by the graduates, as recounted<\/a> to Task and Purpose<\/em>. Keen as the Army was to downplay the moment, the women\u2019s achievement didn\u2019t get past The New York Times, <\/em>which reported<\/a> that they were each carrying \u2018heavy packs and the weight of history\u2019.<\/p>\n For an Australian perspective on diversifying the military, check out this Strategist<\/em> interview<\/a> with Defence Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin.<\/p>\n Indonesia<\/em>\u2019<\/em>s first female Ulama congress<\/em><\/p>\n While much attention<\/a> has been paid to Islam\u2019s perceived undercutting of tolerance<\/a> in Indonesia, you might\u2019ve missed the inaugural National Congress of Women\u2019s Ulama<\/em><\/a> (religious scholars) in Cirebon. The prominent gathering of international Ulama<\/em><\/a> issued a series of fatwas<\/a> against marital rape, child marriage and environmental destruction. UNICEF has labelled the fatwa urging the Indonesian government to raise the marriage age from 16 to 18 a \u2018landmark moment\u2019<\/a> in the country where child marriages comprise 35% in some regions<\/a>\u2014some of the highest in the world. As Valerie Hudson\u2019s work<\/a> has shown, marriage age is an indicator of a state\u2019s instability.<\/p>\n Women fighting ISIS <\/em><\/p>\n For insight into one woman\u2019s experience on the battlefield, VICE<\/em>\u2019s women\u2019s interest channel, Broadly, <\/em>brings us a three-part<\/a> diary from Kimberly Taylor, the first British woman to fight alongside Kurdish forces in Syria. It\u2019s an at times bloody account of boots on the ground, but it provides a valuable look into the lives of those in the Women\u2019s Protection Units, the all-female affiliate army of the People\u2019s Protection Units in Kurdish Syria.<\/p>\n Protection & Prevention: conflict-related sexual violence<\/em><\/p>\n The UN Security Council Open Debate on \u2018Sexual Violence in Conflict as a Tactic of War and Terrorism\u2019 highlighted the continued gap between the \u2018protection\u2019 and \u2018prevention\u2019 pillars of WPS. Of the 69 statements<\/a> made by member states, 77% referenced protection but only 52% referenced conflict prevention. As PeaceWomen<\/em> argues<\/a>, the unbalanced framing of the issue serves to cement women\u2019s victim-status and ignores the fact that \u2018protection is not the solution to victimisation\u2014empowerment is\u2019.<\/p>\n Importantly, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed<\/a> argued sexual violence in conflict was no longer viewed \u2018merely as a women\u2019s issue\u2019 but as a \u2018legitimate threat to security and durable peace that requires an operational security and justice response\u2019. To that end, the Secretary-General\u2019s 2017 report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (PDF<\/a>) continues to provide recommendations to the Security Council, member states and regional organisations on efforts to stop it. Many of the recommendations are worth consideration as Australia looks ahead to the next iteration of its National Action Plan<\/a> (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security due in 2019.<\/p>\n Women and countering violent extremism <\/em><\/p>\n On 4 May, the GSDRC<\/a> produced a report<\/a> for the Australian government examining existing literature on women and CVE, and whether such research can be linked to the WPS agenda. For those with some time on their hands (it\u2019s 36 pages!<\/a>), it makes for interesting reading, not least because it highlights the diverse roles<\/a> women play in violent extremism and the effects their positions<\/a> have on extremist organisations.<\/p>\n The report also included several recommendations for promoting integration of CVE and WPS agendas. A key point was the need to develop and update the NAP on WPS to ensure that it integrates a CVE dimension. Back in March, ASPI analyst, Sofia Patel, wrote<\/a> about the complexities associated with incorporating CVE into Australia\u2019s NAP and whether such a step would \u2018add real value\u2019 (PDF<\/a>). The Civil Society Report Card<\/a> released on 11 May highlighted CVE as an \u2018emerging issue\u2019 (PDF<\/a>). Interestingly, only 6% of Australian respondents described CVE as a priority issue for Australia\u2019s implementation of the WPS agenda. Despite that, the Report Card reiterated the need for the second NAP to demonstrate a \u2018nuanced understanding\u2019 of extremism, informed by research and gender analysis, ensuring that \u2018all CVE programming integrates gender as a cross-cutting issue\u2019.<\/p>\n Crucial to these efforts, however, is the need to examine the larger issue of female\/male relations and their effects on all dimensions of national security. Speaking in an interview with the ASPI Editors, Valerie Hudson argued<\/a> that we risk undermining the effects of gender-focused CVE programs if we see \u2018only the tactical or instrumental advantage of including women\u2019.<\/p>\n