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Towards Feminist Peace in Yemen

From 28 June to 2 July, the Peace Track Initiative, WILPF, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Norwegian Government Agency for Development, will co-host a High-Level Convening on the inclusion of feminist perspectives in peace negotiations in Yemen.

Nesmah Mansour - Towards Feminist Peace in Yemen
Image credit: WILPF
WILPF International Secretariat
22 June 2021

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From 28 June to 2 July, the Peace Track Initiative (PTI), the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Norwegian Government Agency for Development (Norad), will co-host a High-Level Convening on the inclusion of feminist perspectives in peace negotiations in Yemen.

The convening will celebrate and build on the progress made over the past two years to claim spaces for women’s voices in formal and informal peace talks, and will inform the development of the Feminist Peace Roadmap in Yemen – a comprehensive document offering solutions and recommendations to advance feminist peace in Yemen.

While the convening is not open to the public, outcomes will be shared along with the Feminist Peace Roadmap in the coming months.

To learn more about the High-Level Convening and some of the key challenges preventing peace in Yemen, we spoke with Nesmah Mansoor, Communication and Advocacy Officer for PTI.

First of all, can you tell us a bit about the work of PTI?

PTI was founded in 2015 by Yemeni women inside and outside Yemen who came together to support the peace process. It was incubated in Geneva at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy in 2017 and then incorporated as a non-profit in Canada in October 2017. 

We’re now leading efforts to directly embed women in peace talks in Yemen. PTI is an official Track II partner, meaning that we are actively involved in hosting consultations with women leaders and women’s groups inside and outside Yemen. 

Our role is to empower women, to create platforms for women’s voices, and to engage women directly with political and international actors engaged in peace processes. We’re also working to link grassroots leaders and activists directly with official Track I peace dialogues. 

Before we talk about the High-Level Convening, can you tell us about some of the key issues preventing progress towards peace in Yemen?

One of the biggest roadblocks to peace is the absence of women and youth from decision-making positions and monitoring committees and at negotiation tables. 

Even though women and youth were the most important actors in Yemen’s movement for change back in 2011, and have played a central role as negotiators and mediators since the beginning of the war in 2015 — leading the release of victims of enforced disappearances, the opening of safe humanitarian corridors, and the fight against child recruitment — they have been largely excluded from the political, social, and economic dialogues of the country. 

So, the peace building processes are lacking accountability and inclusivity due to the absence of these groups.

In addition, the peace agreements being created tend to use very vague or ambiguous language, which makes implementation very difficult.

Let’s talk about the High-Level Convening. Why is it taking place now?

This convening will celebrate the progress made over the past two years by Yemeni women leaders of diverse backgrounds, who have been working to support the peace process by bringing grassroots-centred, inclusive, and sustainable agendas to peace negotiations in Yemen. 

The agenda has been designed to cover the majority of the topics or thematic areas currently on the peace negotiation table. Presenters and guests will be speaking about the work that has taken place to date and what needs to be done to ensure continued progress towards peace and inclusion of women in peace processes. 

Yemen Feminist Peace Convening

Can you tell us a bit about who will be presenting?

Presenters and guests represent a broad range of stakeholders – from grassroots leaders to academics to government representatives to diplomats. In planning the convening, we focused on ensuring UN representatives – like the UN Special Envoy office for Yemen – would be in attendance.

This will allow us to directly connect our Track II and Track III work – which focuses on organising community-level dialogues and grassroots action – with Track I spaces, which is the level at which official diplomatic peace negotiations are taking place.

The majority of speakers are individuals from across PTI’s global network, which we’ve been building up over the past several years through a series of consultations and grassroots initiatives.

On that note, can you share a bit about the process leading up to the convening?

The convening is essentially the culmination of many dialogues and consultations that have taken place over the past two years. We have hosted or supported a series of online and in-person meetings and virtual training sessions on a variety of themes related to peace processes in Yemen, and we have engaged countless Yemeni women leaders and grassroots activists – including both those within Yemen and those living as part of the Yemeni diaspora around the world.

From this work, the agenda – including the core questions, the themes, and the speakers – for the convening emerged.

What are the primary goals of the convening?

First, our overarching goal is to create space for women to showcase their expertise and leadership on issues relevant to the peace process in Yemen, and to help them engage with key diplomatic stakeholders. The convening presents a critical opportunity for women to have their voices heard and to inform official policies being developed in relation to the peace process.

The other primary goal is to collect feedback from stakeholders on the Feminist Peace Roadmap, which is a major publication we’re currently developing that brings all of the major issues together in one place and offers a series of recommendations for moving forward towards an inclusive peace process.

Can you speak a bit more about the Feminist Peace Roadmap? What are some of the issues it covers and how will it be used?

The Feminist Peace Roadmap will essentially lay out what needs to be done to move towards a future of inclusive peace, justice, and human security in Yemen.

Through the consultations and dialogues we have hosted or supported over the past two years, many proposals for solutions have emerged on a broad range of topics. These solutions have all sought to integrate a gendered perspective that recognises and addresses the unique issues and challenges facing women in Yemen, with a goal to influence a fully inclusive and gender-responsive peace process.

Through the Feminist Peace Roadmap, we’re bringing all of these issues, ideas, and recommendations together in one place. The document will cover themes like security, the economy, prisoner exchange, salaries, local governance, humanitarian issues, transitional justice, ceasefire, the necessity of an inclusive peace process, and much more.

During the convening, participants will have an opportunity to provide input into the draft of the Feminist Peace Roadmap. We’ll then work on finalising the publication. Once it’s complete, it will be shared through official UN diplomatic channels, including Arria Formulas, to provide UN Member States and UN Security Council members an opportunity to better understand Yemen’s challenges from a gendered perspective and to engage more closely with the women leading this work.

I think the roadmap will add a lot of value for the various actors working towards peace in Yemen.

Yemen Feminist Peace Convening

Personally, what are some of the presentations or highlights you’re most looking forward to?

To be honest, I’m looking forward to all of the presentations! But one thing I’m particularly excited about is that women will be leading this initiative. And while the convening has been designed to empower women and women’s voices – meaning that women are leading the convening and represent the majority of speakers – it’s also a sign of great progress that men are part of this dialogue.

Traditionally, some Yemeni men have been afraid to show and express their support for women’s work or activism. But we’re hearing more and more that they trust us and are impressed by the resilience and power that Yemeni women are demonstrating, and increasingly recognising the value this work is bringing to the peace process.

What can people around the world do to help support a future of peace in Yemen?

First of all, it’s so important to dig deeper into the situation in Yemen to truly understand the conflict, why it’s happening, and what impact it’s having on human lives and security. Don’t just learn about the conflict from the media; learn about it from the Yemeni people themselves. There’s a lot of misleading information out there and we always encourage people to take a more active role in acquiring information about the situation.

I also think people around the world can raise their voices for the inclusion of women and young people in peace talks. And we should all be holding the international community accountable.

As I said earlier, the international community – meaning UN Member States and the UN Security Council, led by the UN Secretary-General – loves to speak about the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and call for peace. But those words are not being backed up by action, and the Yemeni people no longer have any trust in the UN. We can work to rebuild trust by demanding genuine action towards a future of peace.

With so many obstacles in the way, do you have hope that the peace process in Yemen will eventually recognise and fully address the unique challenges women face?

If we had no hope, we wouldn’t be here doing the work. We are not waiting for them to invite us; we are absolutely claiming our spaces. That’s why we’re conducting this convening – so we can show exactly where the gaps lie and what solutions are needed. We’re not only talking about problems; we always provide solutions.

Don’t forget to check back for updates on the outcomes of the High-Level Convening, and stay tuned for live updates on social media using the hashtags #FeministPeaceYE #سلام_نسوي_لليمن.

 In the meantime, we encourage you to learn more about the work of the Peace Track Initiative and about WILPF’s work in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. 

You can also get involved by joining WILPF’s global community of feminist peace activists: become a member, find your country’s Section or a local Group, or donate to help WILPF address the root causes of violence and inequality. Visit wilpf.org to learn more. 

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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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