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.
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.
