An alternative agenda for gender just peace? : social justice and women’s peace advocacy amid the consolidation of Bangsamoro autonomy in the Southern Philippines

Abstract: Although the Bangsamoro peace-process in the Southern Philippines has been valued for its gender commitments and potential to build just and sustainable peace, discrimination of the Bangsamoro peoples and other minorities prevail. This thesis uncovers how women peace advocates understand social justice and its remedies in the context of the Bangsamoro peace-process, and which opportunities they have to advance a transformative agenda for justice in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Hence, it contributes to critical debates on development and opportunities for social transformation amid conflict and peace. The research builds on a qualitative case study design, where in-depth interviews with women peace advocates and opinion pieces on the topic have been analysed. By employing Nancy Fraser’s theories on social justice and social transformation, this study concludes the following: i) Conceptions of social injustice voiced by women peace advocates in the context of the Bangsamoro peace-process are deeply interrelated and power-laden, and span over economic, political, and sociocultural dimensions, and; ii) Although women’s peace agendas struggle to find heft in challenging the hegemonic order purveyed by the Philippine government, they nevertheless show a strive to contribute to a broader movement demanding an alternative paradigm of peace and development.