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Members Only: Call for Participation to AWID 2016 and CSW 2016

6 January 2016

A new year has started and we are getting prepared for two upcoming major events: The 13th AWID International Forum and the 60th session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

If you are a member of WILPF – either national or international – and wish to be part of the official WILPF delegations, then read below:

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION by 17 January 2016: AWID

forum-2016Do you believe in feminist futures? Do you believe in building collective power for rights and justice? Join WILPF at the 13th AWID International Forum in Bahia Brazil 5th-8th May 2016.

If you are interested in being considered as part of the WILPF delegation, please send your application to Marta Bautista at marta(a)peacewomen.org latest the 17 January 2016.

Please include in your application:

  • Name
  • WILPF country section
  • Contact information (address, email, Skype/phone)
  • Brief narrative (1-2 paragraphs) on why we should support your participation, and
  • Estimated budget (flights, visa, accommodation, local transportation, insurance, etc.)

See more information for the AWID forum here:

http://forum.awid.org/forum16/

http://forum2016.awid.org/home

Please note that we will prioritise WILPF members active on gender, militarism and peace issues from conflict affected countries.

Let’s mobilise together!

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION by 25 January 2016: CSW 60

CSW2016Are you planning on attending the 60th session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN in New York this year? CSW 60 will take place from 14 to 24 March 2016 with a priority theme of “Women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development” and a review theme of “The elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.”

WILPF is not funding CSW participants this year. However, our Women, Peace and Security programme, PeaceWomen, based in New York, will facilitate WILPF coordination among any self-funded or other participants.

Please contact Marta Bautista at marta(a)peacewomen.org by 25 January 2016 if you are planning on self-funding your participation and would like PeaceWomen to register you as part of the WILPF delegation. Requests will be considered on a rolling basis until slots are filled.

Read more about this year’s CSW

Read about last year’s CSW

WILPF has already delivered this year’s WILPF CSW statement. Thanks to all of you who contributed!

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Thank you!

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.

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