In a region torn apart by conflicts, women are finding their voice for peace when all other links are failing. In Syria, Yemen and Libya, women peacemakers are setting an example of strength and resilience in the face of adversity.
In February, after three years of UN Women-led advocacy, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Stiffan de Mistura, officially appointed 12 Syrian women as a “Women Advisory Board (WAB)” to provide support on the formal peace process.
This first-of-a-kind historic achievement builds on years of work with Syrian women peace activists to build coalitions including by providing a platform for dialogue for hundreds of Syrian women through dozens of convenings.
In 2014, UN Women brought together Syrian women leaders to to lay the foundation for consensus-building around shared priorities including the importance of women’s participation in the peace process. Few months later, the Syrian women forged a unified peace agenda in Geneva under the name of “Syrian Women Initiative for Peace and Democracy (SWIPD)”. One of the SWIPD’s recommendations in December 2015 was the creation of WAB, a goal UN Women pushed for until its realization earlier this year with half of its members coming from SWIPD.
Last May, a conference for Syrian women peacemakers was organized bringing together a diverse group of over 130 Syrian women activists in an effort to enhance the diversity and representativeness of the coalition.
Women from diverse political, social and ethnic backgrounds gathered for three days as emotions were at an extreme high with strongly heated discussions. The mood shifted drastically at the end of the 2nd day when one after the other, the women stood up and shared their pain and hopes for peace. Beriban Hassan, a Kurdish official from Kobani, told the crowd she hid for half a day with her sister under a bed when her entire family was slaughtered by violent extremists in the same house. Ikbal Ibrahim, a former parliamentarian, recounted how her husband and two sons were gunned down on their way home in Homos. Noura Safady talked about her husband who disappeared in detention and was possibly executed last November. Shortly after, the group forged a unified statement for peace with a plan to build a broader coalition to be represented by WAB.
“We have seen Syrian, Yemeni and Libyan woman find unity in their losses and rise above their differences using the women’s rights agenda as a starting point,” Hiba Qasas, UN Women Chief of Arab States Section said, “This extraordinary ability to build unity even in pain makes it essential to invest in women peacemakers in the region, not just because it is their right, but also because it works.”
It Takes A Woman
Women's engagement increases the chance of peace agreements lasting 15 years by 35%.
Rawan Takriti, participant at Syrian Women Peacemakers conference- Beirut, 2016. Photo: UN Women/Emad Karim
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