| This dissertation documents the consequences for women's activism when the United Nations acted as government in East Timor between October 1999 and May 2002. After 25 years of Indonesian rule, the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly to become an independent State on 30 August 1999. In the postelectoral violence fuelled by militias and the Indonesian military, 3000 people were killed, most of the population was displaced, and East Timor was left without water, electricity or a functioning government. On 25 October 1999, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1272 mandated the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) to oversee rehabilitation, humanitarian relief and the building of governance institutions. This study explores how political opportunities for women's activism were shaped by a masculinized, militarized government. It documents which activism around women' issues were successful in drawing UNTAET's support, and conversely, which were not. Using the interdisciplinary field of women's studies, and drawing on theoretical frameworks as diverse as feminist history, social movement theory, feminist international relations and post-conflict studies, the dissertation is located within the emerging field of feminist critiques of United Nations administrations. The study is based on over 20 interviews with members of East Timorese women's organizations and personnel from UNTAET, participant observation, and written documents. UNTAET drew its power and resources from the highest military echelons within the United Nations. In this context, the ensuing planning and execution of the civilian administrative functions of UNTAET were both militarized and masculinized, that is, they created an environment in which the power of the masculine and the military were consolidated. Drawing on these resources and methodology, it is possible to conclude that UNTAET supported women's activism only when it did not threaten or challenge the power or resources of militarized and masculinized elite within the administration. |
