Feminist perspectives and voices in international politics on issues relating to foreign policy, international security and war are growing louder as a source and site of discursive political action and policy transformation. In contribution to these sites of political action and transformation, WILPF Germany launched a toolkit on feminist foreign policy.
MenEngage Africa, Sonke Gender Justice, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Institute for Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University co-convened this year’s MenEngage Africa Training Initiative (MATI) and focused on the theme of advancing the WPS agenda. The course brought together academics, activists, and practitioners working for gender equality in Africa for
a ten-day virtual training course.
This background paper focuses on six structural barriers faced by diverse women peacebuilders in accessing funds to support their work, presenting concrete, innovative and practical solutions. The paper was prepared by the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), Kvinna till Kvinna, MADRE, and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
This policy brief addresses women’s meaningful political participation, particularly in the context of armed conflict, by centering the perspectives of women themselves on the concept of politics, notions of political participation, and their positionalities within. The brief was produced within the joint “Gender-Sensitive Transitional Justice” project and is based on a series of field consultations organised by WILPF, Dawlaty and partner organisations with Syrian women. It concludes that gender-sensitive transitional justice, including political participation, require a holistic approach to justice and addresses the root causes of violence and the conditions that legitimise it
As part of the global Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, WILPF has been at the forefront of calling for a treaty banning autonomous weapons. “Killer robots” are fully autonomous weapon systems. There are significant gender-related implications for killer robots, which WILPF has also highlighted consistently through its advocacy and research.
This joint submission for the UPR of Syria, taking place in January 2022, highlights the multifold human rights violations facing women and girls, which have been exacerbated by the conflict. The issues addressed include the systemic discrimination against women and girls in the Syrian Constitution and legal framework; the situation of women journalists and WHRDs; as well as the impact of continued enforced disappearances and forced displacement on women.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.