“What do we mean when we use the word “gender”? While this may strike many as something of an irrelevant question, nevertheless it remains the case that diverse cultural contexts give rise to a range of possible interpretations and reactions to this term. For example, during fieldwork exploring gendered relations between peacekeepers and local women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, use of the word gender invoked suspicion and wariness amongst some of the peacekeepers-respondents to the study.” This is an extract from the fourth issue of the quarterly newsletter of The Gender & Peacebuilding Programme of International Alert entitled “Engendering Peace”. You can read the whole newsletter at the URL below.