Join us for an evening of powerful feminist performances in Geneva

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Stories of Feminist Resistance

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) invites you to a special evening of powerful celebration of feminist resistance and collective liberation. Artists and activists from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Iran and Palestine will take you through this unique journey where you will experience stories of resistance through dance, music, storytelling and poetry.

More details to follow. For more information please contact us at: communications@wilpf.org

Join us and support a global movement for peace!

Why Attend?

Explore Diverse Cultures

Experience a vibrant showcase of cultures as artists and activists from around the world share incredible stories of courage and resistance.

Support a Cause

Your attendance helps further WILPF’s mission to elevate marginalised voices and foster a global movement for peace and equality.

Witness Powerful Performances

Experience compelling performances that beautifully combine traditional and modern art forms highlighting feminist issues and global peace.

Beyond Borders Line Up

Starring

HABIBITCH

Habibitch is an Algerian-born non-binary activist now based in Paris. They are a dynamic presence as a dancer, choreographer, and advocate. Through their performances and commentary, they engage deeply with social and political issues, including race, gender, immigration, and marginalised communities, both in France and globally. Their approach is consistently intersectional, challenging norms and decolonising dance floors wherever they go.

Ukraine

Kalynovyi Tsvit

Geneva, Switzerland

The Ukrainian choir “Kalynovyi tsvit” (The Viburnum Flower) was born in July 2022 at the initiative of the Carouge Theater, with the support of the Salvation Army. Composed of both amateurs and professionals, the choir mainly consists of Ukrainian refugees, while also welcoming some Swiss members. Proud of its roots, the choir performs Ukrainian folk and popular tunes, thus providing the Geneva audience with an authentic glimpse of the rich Ukrainian culture.

Katrina Syran

Geneva, Switzerland

Katrina Syran is a swiss-based singer-songwriter, actress, author, director, and lyricist and activist for women’s rights. As a trained actress at Rada & Guildhall School of Music and Drama, straight out of drama school she got the lead part in the West End. Her single ‘Intimacy’ was nominated by the United Nations in the U.K. to be the anthem of international Women’s Day, while her album ‘Dizzy’ has been nominated for several prestigious awards in the U.S. Her self-written play Breaking The Silence won best play at the summit, End Sexual Violence In Conflict, organised by Angelina Jolie. 2023 she is also coming out with her self-produced movie Ellida based upon Henrik Ibsen’s famous play, The Lady From The Sea, where she plays the lead role, Ellida. And her role in the U.K. thriller Hounded.

Afghanistan

Snowboarders of Solidarity

Annecy, France

The non-profit organisation Snowboarders Of Solidarity (SOS) was created in 2021 to help snowboarders suffering from various forms of oppression in many corners of the planet. The primary focus is on refugee-snowboarders who fled politically unstable countries. SOS gives them a hand to rebuild their lives wherever they landed using snowboarding as a means for social integration.

Riders For Refugees

Annecy, France

Riders for Refugees was born from an observation. That of Danny Burrows, editor for a snowboard magazine during a visit to the “jungle” of Calais. On the one hand, there are the difficulties for refugees in Europe who face winter temperatures without adequate equipment. On the other hand, there is the outdoor industry, which is sometimes overwhelmed by unsold or unsaleable products and outdated stock. Individuals who often have old, outdated, slightly damaged clothes that usually end their lives in the rubbish bin or forgotten in closets. They would be very useful on the shoulders of those who are cold.

Iran

Marianne Herjean

Geneva, Switzerland

Marianne Herjean is a 34-year-old artist-landscape-traveler. Her work draws from immersive landscape experiences, blending sensitivity, humanity, aesthetics, and dynamism into vivid pictorial representations. After graduating from Versailles Landscape School in 2015, Marianne’s artistic journey took her to China and the Caribbean, where she explored and collaborated on landscape projects. In 2022, she embarked on an overland journey from Geneva to Iran, inspired by the dance of the whirling dervishes. This expedition fuelled a multidimensional exploration expressed through painting, drawing, and dance, showcased in exhibitions across Geneva and documented in her book “Dans tes cheveux, récit d’un voyage en Iran” (In Your Hair, A Tale of a Journey in Iran).

Arman Rashidi

Geneva, Switzerland

Arman, born on December 17, 1986, in Tehran, grew up in a musically inclined middle-class family. Introduced to the santur by his father at age eight, his musical journey began. His mother’s beautiful voice added to the family’s musical ambiance. After graduating in business administration, he moved to Turkey. Starting with street performances, Arman soon formed a band, Shitband, making his TV debut in 2014. He expanded his presence in the Turkish market with successful concerts across major provinces from 2015 to 2020. Continuing his musical journey, Arman wrote the first Santour teaching method in Turkish and trained numerous students in both santur and percussion instruments. Driven by passion and energy, Arman remains dedicated to his craft.

Palestine

Rania Amadi

Geneva, Switzerland

Rania Madi curates storytelling performances of different regions of Palestine through traditional attire from each area. She serves as the UN Legal Advocacy Representative for Badil, a Palestinian residency and refugee rights center. Since 2008, Rania has been a senior legal advocacy consultant for Badil at the UN and EU. She crafts and presents advocacy strategies at both entities, collaborating with human rights organisations and networks to advance Palestinian rights. She also coordinates with Palestinian groups for the UN Human Rights Council, facilitating relevant panels and side events. Beyond her institutional roles, she actively engages in international conferences and forums, advocating against racism, promoting women’s rights, and addressing migration and refugee issues.

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.