Celebrating Feminists’ Voices, Inspiring Global Peace

Q&A
#YouthCorner

Q&A with Rania Mohammed: Protesting Against Violence with Young WILPF

As a young female activist in Yemen, Rania experienced war atrocities and several threats in the name of a conservative society. However, those alarming situations have fuelled her passion for peacebuilding and defending the rights of the most vulnerable. In this Q&A, dive into the profound convictions of a dedicated young WILPFer, committed to catalysing positive change for her peers and illuminating the uncertain future of women and youth in Yemen.

Image credit: Young WILPF
Rania Mohammed
26 February 2024

Q: How is it to be an activist in Yemen? Is it safe? 

During the nine years of war in Yemen, my country, since 2014, these difficult situations of conflict encouraged people to help each other: war has rushed our awareness and responsibilities toward our society. In other terms, the conflict situation underlined how it is vital to be an activist to decrease people’s affliction and reach our voices to the world. I had the conviction that nothing could be done armed cross. As activists, we face lots of challenges and dangers because of the insecure environment. Some questions cannot be addressed by activists, and sexual violence in our context is a shame. Therefore, lots of activists are exposed to criticism because they have broken traditions and customs when they tackle this “kind of issue”. 

Yemen faces its worst crisis yet due to the support of a historical dictatorial regime, resulting in militia control over various governorates and the imposition of their rules. Consequently, activism has been stifled, and this forced activists to adapt to the challenging circumstances. There are many detained activists, including journalists, politicians, media professionals, and civil society activists, both men and women. Others have been subjected to assassinations, such as Rasha Al-Harazi a female journalist from Yemen, who was killed in a targeted car bomb in Aden on November 9, 2021.

Q: What are the most relevant advocacy issues in Yemen at this moment? How can WILPF help young Yemeni activists?

Amidst the profound challenges spurred by the war in Yemen, including the escalating humanitarian crisis, pervasive violence, and discriminatory practices, a wave of young activists has passionately advocated for the reopening of blocked routes. This initiative aims to alleviate the hardship faced by civilians in accessing essential services such as healthcare and education within the country, thereby facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and support to those in need.

Regarding these exacerbating outbreaks of violence that affected women and girls in particular, WILPF is a key ally to partner organisations and the Yemeni women’s movement. The goal is to ensure their experiences and recommendations are reflected in the different tracks of the ongoing peace process, to reach a more localised, inclusive, and sustainable feminist peace process.

WILPF is also seeking to promote Yemeni women as agents of change and influencers within their communities, which has the side effect of reducing harmful gender norms and expectations that prevent women from achieving equality. This work is in addition to advocating for accountability towards perpetrators of women’s rights violations and abuses.

Q: What are the difficulties confronting Yemeni young activists? 

Talking about how difficult it is to be an activist, it is important to highlight how young activists have been facing the same challenges and dangers. Several projects stopped building their capacities for two reasons. First, in northern regions, conflict parties hinder youth development projects linked to peace, conflict resolution, and civil and political activities. Conversely, in southern Yemen, secessionist movements favour youth development for southerners, excluding those from the north, leading to unequal opportunities. Second, countless local originations do not have equal standards to involve a lot of young activists in their projects, so many young activists suffer to launch these chances which help them to improve and react to their roles.

Even though young activists have been working in unstable situations, it does not prevent them from achieving successful stories in their society on numerous topics like human rights, anti-violence, climate change, women’s violence, etc.

Q: What is your message for the other Young WILPFers? 


“I want to say to the Young WILPFers that they should work to help our society and people who need help, and believe that youth can change the world if starting with small changes.

Rania Mohammed

Share the post
Rania Mohammed

Rania Mohammed is a master’s student in international relations and political science at the Institute of Arab Research and Studies in Cairo. She is representing the Sheba Youth Foundation in WILPF Yemen. She is the Strategy Co-coordinator of the Young WILPF Network.

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.

Your donation isn’t just a financial transaction; it’s a step toward a more compassionate and equitable world. With your support, we’re poised to achieve lasting change that echoes through generations. Thank you!

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.

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

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris facilisis luctus rhoncus. Praesent eget tellus sit amet enim consectetur condimentum et vel ante. Nulla facilisi. Suspendisse et nunc sem. Vivamus ullamcorper vestibulum neque, a interdum nisl accumsan ac. Cras ut condimentum turpis. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Curabitur efficitur gravida ipsum, quis ultricies erat iaculis pellentesque. Nulla congue iaculis feugiat. Suspendisse euismod congue ultricies. Sed blandit neque in libero ultricies aliquam. Donec euismod eget diam vitae vehicula. Fusce hendrerit purus leo. Aenean malesuada, ante eu aliquet mollis, diam erat suscipit eros, in.

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.