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WILPF Celebrates 108 Years of Feminist Peace Activism and Looks Towards a Bright Future

WILPF celebrates its 108th anniversary and reflects on its groundbreaking achievements for feminist peace activism, disarmament, and the promotion of women’s rights for lasting peace. Today the organisation also pledges to mobilise, engage, and invest in young and emerging leaders to develop innovative solutions for global issues and build a better, more just, and peaceful world.

Image credit: WILPF
  • 2 min
WILPF International Secretariat
28 April 2023

As the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) celebrates its 108th anniversary this year, we reflect on the inspiring stories of feminist peace activism that have shaped our history.

WILPF remains at the forefront of feminist peace activism, working towards disarmament, demilitarisation, and the promotion of women’s rights as key components of lasting peace. As we celebrate our past achievements, we also turn our attention to the future with renewed energy, optimism, and a strong commitment to engaging the youth in our work.

A promise to support and empower young people

We recognise that young people are the key to shaping the future of our movement and ensuring that our values of peace, justice, and gender equality continue to resonate with new generations. That is why, this year, we turn our gaze to the future hand in hand with the youth, to work together to develop innovative solutions to global problems, to amplify the voices of young feminists and peacebuilders, and to build bridges between generations.

WILPF has a strong history of mobilising and cooperating with young people, and we continue to foster this partnership through various activities. We invite all young people, both inside and outside our organisation, to join us in this journey towards a better, more just, and peaceful world. Whether you are an activist, an artist, a student, or a concerned citizen, your energy, ideas, and passion are essential to our collective efforts.

Together, we can build a world that is free from war, violence, and discrimination, where women’s rights are respected, and where young people have a say in shaping their own future.

As we close this 108-year-long chapter, we are filled with hope for the future. We are committed to carrying out our work in feminist peacebuilding, actively listening to the voices of young people, and creating new and creative solutions that are in line with the constantly evolving times we live in. We believe that WILPF’s past has been remarkable, but our future will be even brighter with the continued partnership and leadership of young people.

Celebrate with us 

We invite everyone to join us in celebrating our 108th anniversary on social media! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram to stay up-to-date with our latest news and activities, and to connect with other feminist peace activists around the world. Share your thoughts, ideas, and memories with us using the hashtag #WILPF108, and help us spread the word about the importance of women’s rights, disarmament, and demilitarisation in achieving lasting peace. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to celebrating with you!

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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. 

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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