For over a century, WILPF has been at the forefront of the feminist peace movement. Founded during the First World War, a group of courageous women who refused to accept war as inevitable created WILPF in 1915. They envisioned a world where conflicts were resolved through dialogue, justice, and cooperation—not violence.
From advocating for disarmament and human rights to challenging the root causes of war, WILPF has remained steadfast in its mission. Across generations and continents, our members have influenced international policies, supported grassroots movements, and built a vision of peace that is inseparable from gender justice and social change.
Explore our history, shaped by bold activism, groundbreaking diplomacy, and an unwavering commitment to a just and peaceful world.
Note: This history draws largely on accessible archives from Global North Sections. We welcome additional stories from all regions — contact us at membership@wilpf.org.
In 1914, suffragists throughout Europe had planned to meet to discuss the movement’s progress. But as World War I broke out, their plans were disrupted and they never met.
Despite the challenges they faced, they persisted. One year later, 1,136 suffragists from twelve countries met in The Hague, the Netherlands. Together, they decided to create the International Women’s Congress – later renamed the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – with a goal to develop mediation strategies to end the war and, ultimately, eradicate the root causes of war.
And so, on 28 April 1915, WILPF was established.
In 1919, WILPF was among the first to denounce the Treaty of Versailles, warning it would sow the seeds of future war. That same year, we moved WILPF’s headquarters to Geneva to stay close to the League of Nations, which was later replaced by the United Nations.
In the 1930s, WILPF watched the rise of antisemitism with despair and mobilised to help Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. In 1936, WILPF issued an “Appeal to the Non-Jews of Europe,” urging those with courage and freedom to denounce Hitler’s pogroms.
At the founding of the United Nations, WILPF advocated for global security grounded in freedom and justice and not in military power and prestige. We gained consultative status at ECOSOC in 1948.
After World War II, WILPFers embraced education as key to peacebuilding. In 1946, a Pennsylvania group launched “Art for World Friendship,” exhibiting children’s drawings imagining a world of harmony and equality. The works are now held in Swarthmore College’s Peace Collection.
In the 1950s and 1960s, WILPF US members were closely monitored by the FBI for their anti–Cold War stance and were often labelled “commies.” A WILPF dinner hosted by US President Kay Camp, following a visit from Soviet women peace delegates, even appeared in FBI files.
WILPF helped organise the 1974 NGO Conference Against Apartheid and Colonialism in Africa in Geneva and played an active role in the 1978 International Conference for the Liberation of Southern Africa and Against Apartheid in New Delhi, India.
In the 1980s, WILPF began linking patriarchy with environmental destruction. In 1983, Harriet Otterloo of the Göteborg branch wrote: “Peace means peace with the earth… the ecology movement is part of the peace movement.”
At the 1995 Beijing Conference, WILPF initiated the famous Peace Train from Europe to China, uniting activists to demand recognition of peace as a women’s rights issue. Our efforts helped secure the Women and Armed Conflict section in the Beijing Platform for Action.
After years of sustained advocacy, WILPF played a key role in the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which affirmed women’s essential role in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. We’ve continued to monitor its implementation and push for accountability through our Women, Peace and Security programme.
To mark 100 years of feminist peace activism, WILPF hosted a conference in The Hague, where our movement began. We reflected on our legacy, honoured past struggles, and renewed our commitment to intersectional feminism in the face of escalating global conflicts and injustice.
Amid rising authoritarianism, environmental collapse, and deepening inequality, WILPF has continued to mobilise across movements. From resisting militarised responses to crises, to advancing feminist economies and climate justice, we work to ensure that peace is not only possible but transformative.
Through strategic actions, advocacy and relentless dedication, we have made a lasting impact across various global arenas. Here are some of the pivotal areas of our influence:
If you are curious to know more, we’ve put together a list of archives to guide you on the history of our movement.
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.
More about Hanne Peterson coming soon.
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Diana María Salcedo López holds a degree in Political Science from the National University of Colombia, a Master’s degree in Women’s, Gender and Citizenship Studies from the University of Barcelona, and a Master’s degree in Human Rights, the Rule of Law and Democratisation from the University of Alcalá de Henares in Madrid. A feminist and anti-militarist, she has a solid track record spanning two decades working as a consultant for non-governmental organisations, international cooperation agencies, the United Nations and state bodies in Colombia.
Her work has focused on safeguarding women’s rights, incorporating a gender and intersectional perspective into public policy, strengthening the social fabric amongst women who are victims of the armed conflict, and consolidating local peace-building processes.
She currently serves as director of the Colombian section of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (LIMPAL Colombia), where she leads initiatives on issues such as feminist approaches to the energy transition, the protection of women human rights defenders, the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and advocacy in international forums. She also represents the organisation on the Special Women’s Body for Monitoring the Peace Agreement and on the Intersectoral Commission on Security Guarantees for Women Human Rights Defenders and Women Leaders in Colombia.
Desirée Sterner currently serves as President of the Swedish Section (IKFF), a role she has held since 2023. Her engagement with WILPF began at the grassroots level through the local branch in Lund/Malmö during her university years. Desirée brings a deep substantive understanding of WILPF’s core issues, rooted in academic training in gender, peace and security (LSE), war studies (Swedish Defence University), peace and conflict studies, and human rights (Lund University), combined with several years of practical advocacy, movement-building and organisational leadership work in Swedish civil society.
Sylvie Ndongmo, is a Cameroonian peacebuilder, feminist leader, civil society actor and Women, Peace and Security expert with over 30 years of experience in peacebuilding, mediation, and gender equality advocacy. She serves as International President of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and Executive Secretary of Women Peace Initiatives. She coordinates the Women and Youth Early Warning Monitoring Room in Cameroon and was recently appointed to the African Union Advisory Panel on Democratic Elections and Governance in Africa. Her work focuses on advancing women’s leadership, conflict prevention, and sustainable peace through feminist, inclusive, and intergenerational approaches.
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.
