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WILPF's Work Recognised by Peace in Progress Award

7 October 2014

Last week, the International Catalan Institute for Peace (Institut Català per la Pau, or ICIP) announced WILPF as the recipient of the 2014 Peace in Progress award!

According to ICIP, WILPF was unanimously chosen “for its century-long involvement in the work of women for peace, its commitment to disarmament, the defense of human rights and the persistence to obtain the recognition of the role of women in the building of peace.”

On this occasion, Adilia Caravaca, President of WILPF, gave the following statement:

WILPF has been awarded this year’s “Peace Builders” award by the International Catalan Institute for Peace. The path toward peace continues to be aggravated and wars continue to escalate in the Middle East. Strong doses of racism, machismo and economic interests reveal veneration for capital profits at any cost. For instance, forces that determine policies and move and misuse human resources which could be used for human development, well-being, and joy. In this context, we welcome the recognition of WILPF’s continuing work for peace, at both national and international levels. We thank the Catalan Institute for Peace, as well as the thousands of women around the world, in this and other organisations, who continue their work and maintain hope for peace.

The award, which consists of a sculpture made by Nobel Peace Prize winner and sculptor Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, as well as a financial donation of 4,000 euros, will be presented next year in Barcelona.

Previous winners include Spain’s first conscientious objector to compulsory military service, Pepe Beunza; five Colombian Mothers of Soacha for their work on human rights and peace in Colombia; and Jovan Divjak, for his courage in the defense of Sarajevo during the Balkans War and his work in favor of the victims of the Balkan wars.

We are honoured to be recognised for our role in the creation of internationalist pacifist feminism and the advocacy of women’s initiatives for peace, especially amongst such notable human rights defenders. We applaud ICIP’s work to promote a culture of peace, and to endorse peaceful solutions and conflict resolutions.

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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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