Introduction: Security Council Resolution 1325: Assessing the Impact on Women, Peace and Security

This introduction to the special issue "Women, Peace and Conflict: A Decade after Resolution 1325" in the journal International Peacekeeping guest-edited by Susan Willet, marks the tenth anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325, on ‘Women, Peace and Security’ adoted on October 31, 2000. Hailed as a major milestone in the struggle for gender equality in all aspects of peacemaking, peacekeeping and post-conflict recovery, the implementation of 1325 has floundered over the intervening years. Gender discourse has been submerged by the dominant UN epistemology of hegemonic masculinity, militarism and war. This introduction contextualizes the struggle for resolution 1325, and provides an overview of the major challenges that still need to be addressed if UN attempts to establish a durable peace in conflict zones are to conform to the 1325 mandate.