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Peace Cannot Be Funded with Pennies: It’s Time to Move the Money 

Today, on International Day of Peace, world leaders may speak about peace but their actions continue to fund war. Conflicts are escalating unchecked, fueled by budgets that prioritise weapons over what truly builds peace: human rights, social services, and community development. Now more than ever, we must invest in feminist peace actors: the women and local movements who know how to create inclusive, sustainable, and lasting peace.

A split image of Earth shows a jet and handshake with a red arrow on one side, and a dove with coins dropping into a hand on the other, symbolizing conflict and peace.
Image credit: WILPF
  • 2 min
Amrita Kapur
21 September 2025

On this International Day of Peace, I am reminded of a fundamental truth: we have already learned that more weapons and militarised budgets do not make us safer, and do not build peace. We have learned this lesson over and over again, and still today we find ourselves repeating history. 

But we have also learned what does create peace: inclusive communities who are empowered to act, women leading at every decision-making level, and committed peacebuilders who transform crises into opportunities for dialogue, ceasefires, and humanitarian relief.  

Across the world, WILPF partners have demonstrated this: brokering local ceasefires where national agreements failed, coordinating humanitarian corridors in conflict zones, and sustaining dialogue across communities in Palestine and Bosnia.  

We know what works: inclusive and sustainable peace requires dismantling the root causes of war and militarism while placing women’s leadership at the center. 

Since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000, governments have promised to include women in peace and security. Over 100 countries have created National Action Plans. Yet too often, these commitments remain symbolic: women are invited to the table but lack real influence; funding flows to militarised responses rather than grassroots peacebuilding; and local women’s organisations struggle to survive. 

This is not merely an implementation gap, it is structural. Militarism, patriarchy, and political neglect continue to block transformative change. When women lead, crises can be turned into opportunities. Across the world, WILPF partners have brokered local ceasefires where national agreements failed, coordinated humanitarian relief where official negotiations broke down, and sustained dialogue across communities under occupation or conflict. These are not anecdotes — they are proof that women’s leadership is not optional, it is fundamental to sustainable peace. 

Yet today, governments continue to claim there is “no money” for peace, while military budgets reach record levels. Every dollar spent on weapons is a dollar stolen from human rights, equality, climate action, and community resilience. The choice before us is urgent and clear: we can continue funding destruction, or we can invest in life, equality, and justice. 

This is why WILPF is launching our global advocacy campaign, Move the Money. It is a call to divest from militarism and reinvest in peace, care, and justice. It is a demand that resources match our aspirations for a world free of violence and oppression. Through advocacy, mobilisation, and collective action, we are bringing together members, allies, and partners worldwide to shift priorities — from war to life. 

You can act today: 

  • Visit the campaign page: Move the Money 
  • Mobilise your community using our campaign toolkit 
  • Raise your voice online and offline. Every action, every movement, every demand matters 

On this Peace Day, my message is simple: Peace cannot be funded with pennies. Governments must redirect resources from militarisation to human rights, equality, and feminist leadership. And to everyone reading this: you are not powerless. Together, through collective action and solidarity, we can ensure that women’s leadership, inclusive partnerships, and feminist visions of peace guide the world we build. 

Peace is not a luxury. It is a necessity. It’s time to move the money. 

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Amrita Kapur

Dr. Amrita Kapur is a feminist legal expert with deep experience in international law, gender justice, and human rights. She has worked extensively to advance women’s rights in conflict and post-conflict settings, holding key roles at UN Women and the International Development Law Organization. Now serving as WILPF’s Secretary-General, she is committed to strengthening feminist peace movements and dismantling systems of oppression through inclusive and intersectional approaches.

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.