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Category: Blog series

The Ecocide of Palestine

A surreal illustration depicting the Ecocide of Palestine unfolds with a river breaking through a fence, a military vehicle billowing smoke, two women planting trees, and a fish suspended in air. A woman in a patterned headscarf stands amid bloodstains and torn paper fragments.

Slow violence and environmental war The current military assault is part of the deliberate escalation of a long process of the Israeli occupier subjecting Palestine’s ecology to subtler, less visible […]

The World Must Stop Arming Israel 

A statue of two figures stands against a blue sky. One figure holds a red sign declaring, "Arms Embargo Now – The World Must Stop Arming Israel," with a scarf draped around its neck. The other displays a flag with green, white, and red stripes. Trees are visible in the background.

Just over one year ago, using a Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 as justification, Israel began to bomb Gaza in the latest in a long series of attacks on […]

CSW 65

Text reading Commission on the Status of Women 65 on a blue background, with a stylized symbol of a bird and a female gender sign on the right.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CSW65 is scheduled to take place virtually/online (including the general discussion, ministerial round tables and interactive events), with the exception of two in-person meetings (opening […]

Sustainable Development 2020

Text reading Sustainable Development 2020 is displayed on a blue background. Next to the text is a multicolored circular symbol representing the Sustainable Development Goals.

Introduction The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development was held virtually between 7 – 16 July, 2020 under the leadership of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). This meeting met under […]

CSW 64

Text on a blue background reads Commission on the Status of Women 64 with a stylized symbol of a bird and female gender sign.

The 64th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW64) was planned from March 9-20 in New York, with over ten thousand women activists, country representatives, and others planning […]

Sustainable Development 2019

Text reading Sustainable Development 2019 on a blue background, accompanied by a colorful circle made of 17 segments.

Background In 2015, the world’s governments adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a universal Agenda that recognises gender equality (SDG 5) and peaceful, just and inclusive societies (SDG 16) as stand-alone […]

CSW 63

Text reading Commission on the Status of Women 63 with a stylized symbol of a dove featuring the female gender symbol. The text is in varying shades of blue and coral on a light blue background.

WILPF Action at CSW63 WILPF amplified the experiences and work of our partners and Sections on investing in social protection systems, public services and sustainable infrastructure, to #MoveTheMoney from war to […]

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.