WILPF's position on the Violence in Egypt

WILPF Advocacy Documents

Date/month:

20 August 2013

Document type:

Position

Since its inception in 1915 WILPF has condemned violence as a means of dispute resolution, whether internal to a State or internationally. It brings neither legitimacy to those governments who rely upon it nor security for citizens which international law requires.

Peace and stability cannot be achieved through repression. Our solidarity goes out to the women and men of Egypt who are seeing their revolution, their “Spring”, taken from them by those who would seek to deny them their rights. We add our voices to those of our partners in Egypt to call for an end to military and paramilitary violence against any and all civilians and a peaceful transition to democracy, real democracy.

We note with particular concern that human rights activists are reporting unprecedented new levels of violence against women. Such violence is directly aimed at preventing women from exercising their right to peaceful participation in all matters of governance in this period of increasing political turbulence, it weakens the rule of law and it further undermines the possibility of achieving a legitimate democracy and the respect for human rights.

We note that the UK decided on Friday to revoke five export licences for military equipment to Egypt. We commend this decision and its intention to prevent further police and military assaults on civilian protesters.

We are also following EU discussions on stopping its aid support, and more importantly, ending arms sales to Egypt. We hope for a swift conclusion to this matter, and urge a continued commitment to civilian protection.

However, we express regret that the USA continues to refuse to cut military aid to Egypt’s Generals despite their deplorable authorization of the use of lethal violence against civilian protesters. While the cancellation of military operation Bright Star is a helpful step, it appears to have had little effect in achieving greater protection for protesters at street level.

We call on the regime and international observers to investigate reports that human rights abuses are now being perpetrated by multiple actors, with impunity and a reckless disregard for the rule of law on all sides. We call on the international community to exercise all diplomatic means to end the violence and add our voice to the call by human rights leaders for a full, impartial and effective investigation into the massive loss of life in the country over the past week since the declaration of the State of Emergency on Wednesday 14th August.

Read more about concrete actions WILPF is taking in the MENA region here.

August 20, 2013.

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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.

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.

WILPF Advocacy Documents