Women in Action

A Women's Leadership Forum Priority

WHY THIS MATTERS

When women are equal partners in all aspects of peacebuilding and conflict prevention, deadly conflicts can be more effectively avoided, and peace can be forged and sustained. According to the International Peace Institute, when women are included in negotiations, agreements are 35 percent more likely to endure for at least 15 years.1

Women promote dialogue, create trust, bridge divides and build coalitions for peace. Women peacemakers focus on human needs for security, such as education, water, health care, freedom from violence and economic viability. When women peacemakers gain power, they consider the roots of conflict and instability, addressing both short-term security and long-term needs to ensure that peace will last.

“It’s not about culture that excludes women. It’s about power.”
– Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, International Civil Society Action Network

In 2000, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls for meaningful participation of women in peace and security decision making, and is binding for all UN Member States. In 2011, President Obama began to implement the resolution by signing the National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security. The NAP works to “empower half the world’s population as equal partners in preventing conflict and building peace in countries threatened by war, violence, and insecurity.” Women’s Leadership Forum members lobbied to pass the Women, Peace and Security Act through Congress, which signs Obama’s National Action Plan into law, and ensures that it remains US policy after the next election.

In 2017, lawmakers voted to pass the Women, Peace and Security Act through the House and Senate, and the bill was signed into law by President Trump on October 6, 2017. The Act’s passage marks a watershed moment for the future of women’s involvement in matters of peace and security on the international stage.

KEY POINTS

  1. J Street promotes the participation of women at all levels within its organizational structure and encourages women’s leadership. J Street also supports the participation of women and civil society at high levels of policy making and negotiations.
  2. Although national and international recognition of UN Resolution 1325 has been extensively documented, efforts to implement the recommendations have lagged far behind.
  3. Women are key players in many governments and NGOs.  When women peacemakers have leadership power, civil society and human security thrive.
  4. Women-led organizations in Israel, the Palestinian territory, and internationally are creating innovative approaches to bringing about peace and resolving conflicts.

1 Marie O’Reilly, Andrea Ó Súilleabháin, and Thania Paffenholz, “Reimagining Peacemaking: Women’s Roles in Peace Processes,” New York: International Peace Institute, June 2015.

Organizations

Dafna Fund

The Dafna Fund was established in 2003 as Israel’s first and only feminist fund. It supports programs that promote women’s leadership as social change makers.

Institute for Inclusive Security (ISS)

Inclusive Securitys bold goal is to change the international security paradigm. Sustainable peace is possible only when those who shape policy include women and other affected groups in the prevention and transformation of violent conflict.

International Civil Society Action Network: For Women’s rights, peace & Security (ICAN)

ICAN is a US based organization whose mission is to support civil society activism in promoting women’s rights, peace and human security in countries affected by conflict, transition and closed political space.

Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND)

WAND is committed to empowering women to affect legislation on nuclear weapons, reduce violence and militarism, and redirect spending toward unmet human and environmental needs.

Forward Global Women MENA Region

Forward Global Women fosters and nurtures the development and growth of women leaders to become active peacemakers promoting co-existence. They envision a world where women are actively engaged in conflict-resolution and peacemaking.

Women Wage Peace

Women Wage Peace formed in Israel in the aftermath of the devastating 2014 summer war in the Gaza Strip. WWP is the only non-partisan, woman-led organization which is working on the ground to bring new hope for peace.

American Jewish Peace Archive (AJPA)

The American Jewish Peace Archive documents through oral history the accounts of Jews in the United States who have worked in support of Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation since 1967. Many women peace activists are featured.
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