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Celebrating Feminists’ Voices, Inspiring Global Peace

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#BeyondOctober7 #VoicesFromGaza #EndTheSiege #FeministPeace #Palestine

Beyond October 7: Two Years of Genocide, Two Years of Resistance in Gaza 

Two years since October 7, we must confront an urgent truth: the genocide in Palestine did not begin on that day, and it has not ended. WILPF’s new Voices from Gaza episode centers the testimonies of women and girls living under siege, revealing how daily life has been reduced to survival amid famine, blockade, and global complicity. Their words cut through propaganda, reminding the world that silence is not neutrality—it is a weapon.

An illustrated image shows a woman in a hijab, trucks labeled Food blocked by a barrier labeled GAZA, with colored charts on the trucks. Subtitles read: It is a colonial siege, deliberately designed to destroy the very possibility of life.
Image credit: WILPF
  • 2 min
WILPF International Secretariat
7 October 2025

As the world marks two years since October 7, 2023, we must confront an urgent truth: the genocide in Palestine did not begin on that day. For decades, Palestinians have endured occupation, settler colonialism, apartheid, displacement and dispossession, and the longest siege in modern history. October 7 only marked a moment when the world suddenly began to look, and when the genocide perpetrated by Israel was carried out in full view. 

Last year, WILPF launched Voices from Gaza, a platform to center women’s testimonies that cut through political rhetoric and propaganda. Their powerful voices exposed the Israeli genocide not as an abstract debate, but as lived reality. 

Two years on, the suffering in Gaza has only deepened. Yet so too has the resilience. Palestinian women continue to resist, organise and speak out in the face of unimaginable violence. Today, famine has officially been confirmed by the UN. Israel continues to restrict every form of humanitarian aid. Even the flotilla carrying life-saving supplies to Gaza was violently blocked from reaching Palestinians.  

Against this backdrop, we return to Gaza’s women. Their words must overshadow the endless and empty political statements, claims and denials. We want the world to hear directly from them about what daily life under siege truly means. 

YouTube video

WILPF’s new Voices from Gaza episode captures the testimonies of mothers and daughters who describe their everyday realities before and after October 7: 

  • Water heated on a window ledge because there is no fuel. 
  • A single cup of milk becomes a miracle. 
  • Families survive on one thin soup a day. 
  • Medicine for the sick and injured is nowhere to be found. 
  • Schools are reduced to rubble, children’s dreams of education destroyed. 
  • People are killed at aid distribution points while searching for food. 

These are not isolated tragedies. They are the product of a deliberate system of colonial violence, weaponised hunger and global complicity. 

But these voices are not only testimonies of suffering. They are voices of sumud—steadfastness. They testify to the power of resistance, even when the world chooses silence. 

We Demand: 

  • An immediate and permanent ceasefire. 
  • An end to the blockade and full humanitarian access. 
  • A two-way arms embargo to Israel 
  • A complete end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine under all its forms. 
  • Full accountability under international law for Palestinians. 
  • The full realisation of the right of self-determination of Palestinians. 
  • Sustained resourcing and protection of Palestinian civil society, including women human rights defenders. 

Silence is not neutrality. Silence is a weapon. 

Watch Part I of the new Voices from Gaza episode here 

Stay tuned for the full episode release. 

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WILPF International Secretariat

WILPF International Secretariat, with offices in Geneva and New York, liaises with the International Board and the National Sections and Groups for the implementation of WILPF International Programme, resolutions and policies as adopted by the International Congress. Under the direction of the Secretary-General, the Secretariat also provides support in areas of advocacy, communications, and financial operations.

Matt Mahmoudi

Matt Mahmoudi (he/him) is a lecturer, researcher, and organizer. He’s been leading the “Ban the Scan” campaign, Amnesty International’s research and advocacy efforts on banning facial recognition technologies and exposing their uses against racialized communities, from New York City to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

A woman in a blue, black, and white dress smiles radiantly in front of a leafy green background.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.