Our vision of peace is based on the values we share, which directly inform our approach to the work we do together as a global feminist peace movement.
We are committed to a feminist approach to peace that is built on:
Strength in diversity |
As a global movement, we see human and cultural diversity as a strength. We are committed to celebrating people in all their diversity and working together with sorority, empathy, curiosity, understanding and inclusivity by creating spaces for learning, interaction and reconciliation.
Intersectionality |
We recognise that people experience different types of oppression that often intersect and reinforce one another, including violence and discrimination based on gender, race, social class, sexuality, physical ability and other traits. We are committed to having our actions informed by gender analysis that takes this intersectionality into account.
Transforming power |
We work to build peace-enhancing processes that redefine power by seeking to create empowering and collective relationships (“power with”) instead of dominating and hierarchical ones (“power over”).
Centring lived experience |
We centre the leadership, voices and experiences of women and others who are directly impacted by violence, conflict and other manifestations of oppressive systems. We recognise that lived experience allows us to identify and advocate for solutions to challenges, with the support and solidarity of the movement.
Learning and sharing |
We are curious, and engage in a constant exchange of diverse knowledge and information. We are committed to building shared knowledge about the root causes of violence and conflict in all their forms, and we are dedicated to constantly educating ourselves as we strive to strengthen, grow and evolve our movement.
Collaboration and participation |
We work collaboratively and in solidarity all across the WILPF movement, and in partnership with other individuals and organisations who align with our vision in the larger movement for peace. Through our holistic, grassroots approach to movement building, we strive to ensure that all people can fully participate.
To achieve our vision and goals, we will continue to mobilise one of the most powerful forces for change: women-led and feminist activism, rooted in an anti-racist and intersectional approach that challenges and eliminates discrimination in all its forms.
We will expose, disrupt, and challenge the systems and structures of oppression – patriarchy, militarism, nationalism, capitalism, racism, and colonialism – by demonstrating how they are interconnected. We will use human rights and intersectional gender analysis, informed by people impacted by violence, and promote feminist alternatives.
Guided by gender conflict analysis and a commitment to nonviolence, we will promote violence prevention and support inclusive, peaceful solutions to conflict at all levels of society.
We will support, protect, and mobilise feminist peace activists, build synergies, strengthen our movement, and work to decolonise the movement.
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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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 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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.