Just War Theory: Feminism Now More Than Ever

The just war theory is a traditional doctrine put together in previous times, used to justify the rights and wrongs of countries going to war, by using ethical standing and moral backgrounds. This theory states that if two countries were to go to war, they should do so for the right reasons and conduct it in a manner where human rights are not violated.

The author discussed that the just war theory does not solely hold true to modern warfare that goes on today. Taking from a principle that was created long ago when men made and enforced rules, there was no feminine input, even though wars that raged during these times had a massive effect on women and children. In these present times, there is no such thing as a traditional war. All types

However, this is not currently the case due to the atrocities inflicted on women and children in modern warfare. In ancient times women were looked at as innocent, even though they were thought of as weak. With that being said, women were always ultimately protected by men, who are known as worriers, and the females were the prize of the war. (Sjoberg, 2008) wrote, “The element of just war theory that many feminists note spans both times and culture is the image of women as the protected and the prize.” (Why Just War Needs Feminism Now More Than Ever, pg.4). Throughout history, conflicts and battles have revolved around or included saving females or the damsel in distress. Additionally, because patriarchy was a major root of the just theory, females were being excluded from being leaders or any means of having a voice. Men were deemed care givers, protectors, and rulers over the land, with women having little to no insights on any decision making. Women had little choice of decisions about their future, other than raising and taking care of children. “Rightfully”, men made all the choices and the decisions that affected the household. With that being said, women were giving the roles that they are categorized with, without asking for or voluntarily accepting these roles. In fact, they had no choice but to accept these roles that were forced onto them. (Sjoberg, 2008) wrote,

Terrorist do not claim one specific country, but instead they are broken up into groups that are situated all over the world. With America’s war on terrorism, they essentially declare war on many innocent civilians and every country that host a terrorist cell. With that being said, there is no just way to say what America is doing is right or wrong. One thing for certain is that, it does affect many civilians. With America declaring war on Afghanistan, assuming that they are the culprits for the September 11 attacks, they are putting many innocent lives in danger that is already suffering from social, economic and political issues. (Sjoberg 2008), wrote, “in addition to the continuing civil strife, the country suffers from enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure, and widespread live mines… Emotional identification with people in such a desire situation in terms of economic welfare, healthcare, and education availability suggests a need for empathy and a politics of care.” (Why just war needs feminism, pg.11). While these types of conflicts happening in the world today, it makes you wonder why theologians and policy makers have not revised the just war theory. These conflicts are not being fought on a normal battle field like times in the past. Instead, they are being fought all around us, in the middle of the streets in our cities and towns, in the middle of