Mains Practice Questions

Approach

• Start the answer by briefly defining the Feminist foreign policy framework.
• Discuss the need for india to adopt feminist foreign policy framework.
• Conclude Suitably.

Introduction

The feminist foreign policy (FFP) as a political framework that was first introduced and advocated by Sweden in 2014. It is built on three central principles of feminist perspectives, which include broadening the understanding of security, decoding internal power relations, and acknowledging women’s political agency.

Body

Need For India to Adopt Feminist Foreign Policy Framework

• Eliminating Existing Barriers: The FFP framework can provide India opportunities to eliminate existing barriers restricting the participation of women and other marginalized groups in India’s decision-making processes.
• Broadening the Developmental Paradigm: A FFP framework must be tailored for the Indian context, which could also be a starting point for an internal shift in focus on gender as well, from a purely development paradigm to wider arenas of access, empowerment and decision making.
• Domino Effect: Empirical research has suggested that gender equality is an important prerequisite for the economic and social development of a nation, the strengthening of democratic institutions, and the advancement of national security.
• Subversion of Patriarchy: An emphasis on women in leadership could catalyze an internal shift in India domestically and help subvert strictly defined patriarchal gender roles.
• Bottom-up Approach: Data indicates that the inclusion of diverse voices makes for a better basket of options in decision making.
  
  • This results in realisation that it is not only necessary to include women in peacebuilding and peacekeeping but the wider gamut of diplomacy, foreign and security policy.
  • In many ways this would translate into a bottom-up development approach.

Conclusion

Recently, India has been elected to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, where India commits itself to promote the paradigm of gender equality, development and peace. Ironically, India doesn’t do well on various indices that reflect gender equality.

Therefore, if India want its aspirations to become actions, than India should consider adopting a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) framework.