Women have encountered various difficulties in participation of peace building processes. These difficulties are varied according to context of region and societies. The obstacles of accessing to formal institutions, traditions or insecurity are some given examples in the literature (Carlman et al. 2012). By basing on the literature, these obstacles can be explained in two main categories for the context of Europe and Central Asia (Reimann, 2014). Although most of these challenges are seen in post-conflict societies in both regions, certain challenges are more prevalent in some countries, especially in Central Asia. 

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The first category is violence against women and the lack of mechanism to protect them. Women in post-conflict societies are not only faced with gender-based violence but also, they become targets of gendered political violence when their public visibilities increase in Central Asia.

 

Women, who are active participants or supporters of peacemaking and peace building processes, suffer from high level of insecurity, especially in Afghanistan (Chishti, 2020, 582). For example, the only female negotiator of peace talks with Taliban, Fawzia Koofi was shot and wounded by gunmen in August 2020 (BBC, 2020). This example illustrates the level of personal threat of women, who are part of peace building processes, and the inadequacy of measurement to provide them a safe environment for the continuity of their participation and activities. 

 

The second challenge is traditional patriarchal power structures, and as a result of it the exclusion of gender perspectives from political areas. This situation occurs in both Central Asia and Europe. It leads to difficulties for women in terms of political participation, accessing to formal institutions and decision-making processes in post-conflict societies. This creates barriers for their activities related to peace building. In Georgia, as well as the lack of priority given to including women in political processes, they are underrepresented, and these situations are evaluated as a threat for sustainable peace (Schofield et al. 2010, 15). It is deeper trouble in Armenia and Azerbaijan. There is an ongoing conflict between these countries over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1994. Although women were included in peace processes in the beginning of the conflict, their roles in peace building have reduced day by day based on their exclusion from formal political arenas. Moreover, civil society, that provides a space for women’s struggles of peace building, are marginalized (Carlman et al. 19). The circumstance is very similar for Ukraine. Women have participated more actively to civil society organizations, which have been working for peace building dialogue and cooperation, rather than formal processes. However, unfortunately, these organizations are stigmatized (WILPF et al. 2017). These are also good indicators of the lack of political will to include women in peace building processes. It represents the desire of preserving traditional power structures and so that it may be the most relevant difficulties in political arenas.