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Remembering Anne Scott

Anne Scott was a kind and generous woman. Her contribution to the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom inspired us all: she will be missed.

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  • 2 min
WILPF International Secretariat
7 August 2018

Anne Scott was a kind and generous woman who regularly made and gave away organic blackcurrant jam, birthday and wedding cakes, quilts for babies and brought home-made apple cake to lighten committee meetings.  She also used her considerable domestic skills to make things for fundraising for WILPF.   Looking back on the ten years that I have known Anne, I have no idea how she managed to find time to make all these gifts without ever appearing rushed. Because however much time was used to produce all these goodies, she always had time to attend meetings to support and organise campaigns for peace and justice.

Anne was an outstanding campaigner, always coming up with ideas on how to communicate with others but equally she was not afraid of the hard work of maintaining WILPF infrastructure, acting as minute secretary for many years for both the Scottish branch and for the WILPF UK section.  She often helped behind the scenes to organise demonstrations, events and seminars. Even in her last weeks she was making lists and organising what should happen after her death.

Her commitment to WILPF was solid – she was the one who always wore her WILPF t-shirt to events and demonstrations and remembered to bring the WILPF banner.  She had long been a street activist for issues of peace and justice when she brought her knowledge and skills to WILPF.  In Scotland she represented WILPF at the many peace campaigning meetings, regularly travelling to other towns by public transport.  She offered support to others and was ready to give praise and encouragement to other campaigners.  Modest about her own achievements, she had begun to be more confident about speaking in public, speaking with passion and without notes.

Travelling to meetings, Anne was always a cheerful and sympathetic companion.  In December 2013 the Scottish branch felt unsure about preparations for WILPF Centenary Congress which was to take place in 2015.  Having decided to travel to Holland to get a feel for the historic site and find our way around The Hague, we spent five most enjoyable days in the Netherlands talking with our Dutch colleagues who arranged for us to have a tour of the Peace Palace.  We came back to Scotland full of enthusiasm and Anne was ready to prepare WILPF UK for Congress 2015.

Anne’s life was cut short on Sunday 29 July by aggressive cancer.  She will be mourned by her husband Archie, her daughter Rosa and her many friends and fellow campaigners in Scotland and in WILPF.  In Scotland and UK, the WILPF committees will all miss her enthusiasm, determination, hard work and her cakes.  Her contribution to the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom inspired us all: she will be missed.

Helen Kay
3 August 2018

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WILPF International Secretariat

WILPF International Secretariat, with offices in Geneva and New York, liaises with the International Board and the National Sections and Groups for the implementation of WILPF International Programme, resolutions and policies as adopted by the International Congress. Under the direction of the Secretary-General, the Secretariat also provides support in areas of advocacy, communications, and financial operations.

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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.

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. 

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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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