Women and Peacemaking in the News
Maghreb Women Evaluate post-Arab Spring Progress, Maghrebia, May 2, 2013
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Israeli and Palestinian Women Crossing the Divide, Huffington Post, April 26, 2013
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Arab-American Woman Works to Make Peace in Iraq, HuffingtonPost.com, March 24, 2013By Karin Kamp. In 2012 when insurgents were unleashing a string of attacks across Iraq, who would have dared take on the task of bringing warring religious factions together in face-to-face talks? That would be Alma Abdul-Hadi Jadallah, an immigrant to the U.S. from the Middle East and founder of Kommon Denominator, a Virginia-based consultancy. "I believe that even the people who do the most horrendous things do them for a reason," Alma told The Story Exchange. "If you give them an opportunity to rethink what they are doing, there is opportunity for transformation." . . . Read the article |
To Bring True Peace To The Middle East, Women In Palestine And Israel Must Take Center Stage, NewYorkTimes.com, February 25, 2013By Ralph Benko. Recently, in the offices of the Mayor of the city of Nablus, Palestine, the missing pieces that would permit a just and lasting peace in the Middle East to flourish may have been presented. If harmony can be restored (as it can) within the social fabric that underlies the political fabric, peace finally becomes a possibility. If women, who are respected, not marginalized, in Palestinian and Israeli society will take center stage a fundamental rapprochement can be effected. Might this happen? . . . Read the article |
In US, big strides in reducing domestic violence, ChristianScienceMonitor.com, February 13, 2013By Whitney Eulich. The rate of partner-to-partner violence in the United States dropped 64 percent between 1994 and 2010, a Justice Department report has found. The trend, almost unnoticed, stems from a broad shift in attitude toward domestic violence . . . Read the article |
Women as Peacemakers in Sudan and South Sudan, SudanTribune.com, February 11, 2013By Princeton Lyman. There is currently a cadre of very impressive women, both in government and outside of it, in both Sudan and South Sudan, who play increasingly important roles. They are active in the country’s legislatures, government departments, and civil society. . . . Read the article |
Jewish-Arab party makes election bid, Associated Press, January 17, 2013By Diaa Hadid. Daam party leader Asma Aghbaria-Zahalka has a small chance of winning a seat in Israel’s parliament. But her message of coexistence is resonating with an increasing number of Israeli Arabs . . . Read the article |
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Shuns Female Brokers,WomensEnews.org, December 6, 2012By Leigh Cuen. A U.N. resolution passed over 10 years ago requires women's involvement in conflict resolutions. But that has little bearing on the Israel-Palestine conflict, where women are far from the power roles on either side . . . Read the article |
Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, PeaceWomen.com, November 30, 2012On Friday November 30, 2012, the Security Council held its annual Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). Because of hurricane Sandy, the debate was rescheduled from its original date on October 29th 2012. The debate addressed the Secretary-General’s annual report (S/2012/732) and the presidential statement (S/PRST/2012/23) adopted by the Council on 31st October 2012. Statements discussed a broad range of issues, ranging from National Action Plans (NAPs) to current conflict and crisis situations. Overall, few concrete or new commitments were raised on women’s civil society organizations, the theme of the debate . . . Read the article |
Palestinian women take business into their own hands, albawaba.com, November 6, 2012Abeer Abu Ghaith, a poised young woman overflowing with optimism, works tirelessly to help Palestinian women achieve their dreams and improve their lives. Her solution involves working with businesses to set up opportunities for remote employment through the 5aleek Online initiative. The initiative seeks to expand the Palestinian market by connecting local, regional and international employers with local individuals . . . Read the article |
Women Arrested for Praying Out Loud at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Huffington Post, October 19, 2012By Rabbi Laura Geller. It's hard to believe, but you can be arrested for singing the Sh'ma out loud at the Kotel, the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Last Tuesday evening, the beginning of the new month of Heshvan, Anat Hoffman, the executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center and chairwoman of Women of the Wall, was arrested during a prayer service in the woman's section of the Wall with 250 other participants, including members of Hadassah who were in Jerusalem to celebrate the organization's 100th anniversary. Anat led the service wearing her tallit wrapped like a scarf so as not to be in violation of the law . . . Read the article |
Afghan Clerics Denounce Violence Against Women, WomensEnews.org, October 19, 2012By Solmaz Sharif. Afghan women's safety activists say a new partnership with religious leaders can help stop Taliban attacks on girls and women that have left a Pakistani teen activist for girls just across the border in Swat Province undergoing brain surgery after a gunshot execution. At an Oct. 10 conference in Kabul, the day after the Pakistani Taliban shot 14-year-old activist Malala Yousufzai, clerics denounced Taliban-style attacks on girls and women . . . Read the article |
All-female party to run in Palestinian elections, Haaretz.com, Sep.15, 2012A new group running for municipal elections in Hebron is offering residents an alternative to politics as usual in the conservative West Bank city: women at the helm, instead of men. The all-female list, which is called "By Participating, We Can," is gearing up for next month's vote with a campaign that aims both to win at the polls and to convince voters that women can lead just as well as men . . . Read the article |
Women's participation in peace - how does it compare?, The Guardian (UK)Over the past 25 years only one in 40 peace treaty signatories have been women. A new report shows women are significantly missing from peace negotiations. How do countries compare for female participation? . . . Read the article |
Nablus Women Organize to Challenge Gender Divides, PeaceXPeace.org, August 16, 2012By Samin Malik. A team from Tomorrow’s Youth Organization (TYO) has sought to socially engage the women of Nablus, a small West Bank city about 60 km north of Jerusalem. “TWG is not just comprised of English, IT, and Fitness classes, but part of the mission is also to provide women with a sense of belonging,” says Suhad Jabi, TYO’s Psychosocial Program Manager. It brings together women with similar socio-economic backgrounds and encourages them to support one another with advice, a shoulder to lean on, and friends to share in laughs. Furthermore, bringing strong women specialized in health and social empowerment issues to host seminars is useful in presenting role models for participants.” . . . Read the article |
In Peace, Palestinian Women Under Attack, InterPress Service News Agency, August 16, 2012By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours. After the brutal murder of a Palestinian woman in late July in a busy Bethlehem marketplace, local human rights groups are pushing for stronger reforms to stem violence against women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. “We have problems with the existing laws,” Maysoun Ramadan, director of the Mehwar Centre, the West Bank’s only women’s shelter told IPS. “I think also we need to work more on raising awareness towards women’s rights. We have a problem with the mentality, the culture, we have a lot of previous constructions about women which need to be changed.” . . . Read the article |
South African Woman to Lead African Union, ABCNews.com, July 16, 2012By Angus Shaw. The continent-wide African Union elected a female politician from South Africa for the first time as head of its commission, officials said Monday. South African Minister of Home Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was voted in late Sunday to lead the African Union's permanent commission of leaders, administrators and technical experts. Dlamini-Zuma successfully challenged the incumbent, Jean Ping of Gabon, who held the post since 2008. Ping had the backing of French-speaking African nations, while Dlamini-Zuma had the backing of English-speaking nations. The 63-year-old is the first female to hold the leadership position and the first South African . . . Read the article |
London 2012 Olympics: Saudi Arabian women to compete, BBCNews.com, July 12, 2012Saudi Arabia is to send two female athletes to complete in the London 2012 Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said. Sarah Attar will compete in the 800m and Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani in the judo competition. The Saudi authorities lifted a ban on women from the Gulf kingdom competing in the Games last month. The public participation of women in sport is still fiercely opposed by many Saudi religious conservatives. IOC President Jacques Rogge said it was "very positive news" and "an encouraging evolution" . . . Read the article |
An Interview with Margot Wallström, Makeeverywomancount.org, June 6, 2012Margot Wallström became the first-ever Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict on 2 February 2010. Ms. Wallström has been a long-time advocate of the rights and needs of women throughout her political career -- first as Swedish Minister and later as Environment Commissioner and Vice-President of the European Commission. Her mandate is global and multifaceted, focused overall on leading and coordinating efforts to end conflict-related sexual violence against women and children . . . Read the article |
Women in Black group celebrates 10 years of urging peace, Knoxnews.com, May 18, 2012By Pam Strickland. A group of Knoxville, Tennessee women, composed of Christians, Muslims, and Jews, celebrates ten years of demonstrating weekly for peace . . . Read the article |
Latin America Opens Up to Equality, The New York Times, May 1, 2012By Luisita Lopez Torregrosa. Quietly and against the odds, women are stepping up the political ladder in Latin America, moving ahead of the United States when it comes to political empowerment and closely matching much of Western Europe . . . Read the article |
Israel’s defense establishment: Overmanned?, The Jerusalem Post, April 11, 2012By Areh O'Sullivan. Young women are drafted as recruits, but higher up, it’s just about men only. . . Read the article |
Women's Representation in the new Libyan Parliament, LWPP.org, February 12, 2012This article discusses the passage of a new electoral law in Libya, which guarantees women at least 40 seats on the 200-member Constituent Assembly that will draft the country’s new constitution. . . Read the article |
Islamic feminism in the Middle East, International Policy Digest, February 2, 2012By Rob L. Wagner. As Islamist political groups continue to make gains in Middle East elections, women activists are evaluating their strategy to improve their roles to help form new governments and to strive for equality. The minefield facing Muslim women is whether to embrace a secular or Islamic feminist approach to achieve their goals and to gain a foothold in Arab politics.. . . Read the article |
Israelis Facing a Seismic Rift Over Role of Women, The New York Times, January 14, 2012By Ethan Bronner and Isabel Kershner. The article discusses the growing conflicts in Israel between the ultra-Orthodox and the liberal secular traditions of Israeli feminists. Public discourse in Israel is suddenly dominated by a new, high-toned Hebrew phrase, “hadarat nashim,” or the exclusion of women. The term is everywhere in recent weeks, rather like the way the phrase “male chauvinism” emerged decades ago in the United States . . . Read the article |
The struggle for women's rights in Lebanon, KABOBfest.com, January 10, 2012By Alex Sharns. The article reports on a a recent call by Beirut-based feminist collective Nasawiya for a 14 January protest in favor of a bill that would criminalize marital rape. The bill itself had been highly contested in Lebanon, with various actors from religious communities weighing in against it and vocal support for it from the collection of feminist and anti-domestic violence groups that have spread across the country in recent years . . . Read the article |
Address by Hillary Rodham Clinton at the International Crisis Group's "In Pursuit of Peace" Award Dinner, U.S. Department of State, December 16, 2011The Honorees of the International Crisis Group's "In Pursuit of Peace Award" this year are Sihem Bensedrine, Chief Editor, Radio Kalima, Tunisia; Shukri Ismail Chairperson, CandleLight, Somaliland; Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey Attorney General, Guatemala; and Sima Samarm Chairperson, Independent Human Rights Commission, Afghanistan. On December 16, 2011 they were honored at an award dinner by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. . . . Read her full remarks. |
Yemen Uprising, women from many walks of life bind, Huff Post World, November 26, 2011By Hamza Hendawi. Women in Yemen are fighting to keep demands for their rights at the center of Yemen's uprising and resist efforts to sideline them. The main goal of the protests is an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his regime, in place for nearly 33 years. But the liberals who launched the campaign nine months ago have always had broader hopes for blanket social change in a country where tribe and religion dominate, no matter who is in power . . . Read the article. |
Morocco's first Jewish female candidate eyes parliamentary elections, Haaretz, November 26, 2011Marie-Yvonne "Maguy" Kakon, 57, is the only Jew among more than 7,000 candidates in the Morocco elections, but her campaign symbolizes the diversity of this Muslim nation. In the 2007 elections, she garnered 30,000 votes, an amount which would have allowed her to get into parliament, if her party had passed the threshold of 6 per cent of votes on the national level . . . Read the article. |
Three women share Nobel Peace Prize, Associated Press and msnbc.com, October 7, 2011The Norwegian Nobel Committee has honored women for the first time in seven years by selecting a Liberian peace activist, a Yemeni "mother" of the Arab Spring, and the first woman to be freely elected President of an African country, to share in the Nobel Peace Prize . . . Read the article. |
Women’s voices crucial in conflict and peacemaking, The Harvard Gazette, October 5, 2011By Katie Koch. Women’s voices have long been absent from stories of war — and from the process of peacemaking. A group of women scholars and filmmakers gathered at the Kennedy School to explore those untold stories in conjunction with the new PBS series “Women, War, and Peace.” . . . Read the article. |
A Jew, a Muslim, and a Christian woman dialogue, The Jewish Daily Forward, September 13, 2011By Renee Ghert-Zand. Just before the tenth anniversary of 9/11, a new blog called “SheAnswersAbraham” went live on the Web. The timing was not coincidental, as it is a deliberate effort by a group of three women – a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim – to put an interfaith conversation about sacred texts out into the world with positive energy . . . Read the article. |
Many Egyptian women prepare for greater role behind the veil, Voice of America, August 9, 2011By Al Pessin. As Egypt moves to write a new constitution, many are looking to secure more rights for women. That effort comes after decades of growing traditionalism in the country, including more use of Islamic veils. Many Egyptians do not see any contradiction, however, between the increasing use of veils and the push for more women's rights. All across Cairo, women of all social and economic strata are wearing various types of Islamic veils - and the practice has increased markedly in recent decades . . . Read the article. |
Israeli women accompany Palestinian women to the beach, The New York Times, July 26, 2011By Ethan Bronner. Ilana Hammerman, a writer, translator and editor, had been spending time in the West Bank learning Arabic when a girl there told her she was desperate to get out, even for a day. Ms. Hammerman, 66, a widow with a grown son, decided to smuggle her to the beach. The resulting trip, described in an article she wrote for the weekend magazine of the newspaper Haaretz, prompted other Israeli women to invite her to speak, and led to the creation of a group they call We Will Not Obey . . . Read the article. |
Five Saudi women arrested for driving , The Telegraph [UK], June 29, 2011By Richard Spencer. Five Saudi women have been arrested in the first government response to an organized campaign by women to drive in defiance of long-standing rules in the country. . . . Read the article. |
Muslim American weightlifter ‘presses’ on in fight to compete, Al Arabiya News, June 28, 2011By Jonathan Mark. American Muslim Kulsoom Abdullah is quite possibly the only woman in the world to compete in weightlifting tournaments while wearing the hijab – and now she refuses to be strong-armed by regulations prohibiting her from participating because of her loose clothing. Ms. Abdullah was told she could not compete in the American Open last year because her long sleeves and pants prevented the judges from ensuring her elbows and knees were fully extended, which judges said could be unsafe or give her an edge over others wearing a regulation singlet, the short, skintight traditional uniform. . . . Read the article. |
Muslim Woman To Lead College Holocaust Center, The Jewish Week [New York], June 21, 2011By Jonathan Mark. Manhattan College is revamping its Holocaust Center to include the further study of other genocides, as well as interfaith activities that would include Islam alongside Judaism and Christianity — the two religions that until now have been mostly alone at the core of Holocaust interfaith issues. Perhaps nothing accentuates the change more than the appointment of Mehnaz Afridi, 40, to be director of what will be renamed the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center . . . Read the article. |
An interview with Afghan human rights advocate Sima Samar, Irishtimes.com, May 10, 2011By Ben Farmer. Afghanistan's most prominent advocate for human rights, Sima Samar states: “In a country like Afghanistan, where people still hold guns or run illegal armed groups and the rule of law is not in place yet, it's not an easy job (being a human rights advocate)” . . . Read the article. |
Women have emerged as key players in the Arab spring, guardian.co.uk, April 22, 2011By Xan Rice in Benghazi, Katherine Marsh in Damascus, Tom Finn in Sana'a, Harriet Sherwood in Tripoli, Angelique Chrisafis and Robert Booth. Through protesting, organising, blogging and hunger-striking, women have taken a central role in the recent Arab uprisings, but it remains to be seen whether their rights will improve . . . Read the article. |
Kenyan Women's Group Converts Fighters Into Peacemakers, allAfrica.com, March 14, 2011More than 300 former members of the Sabaot Land Defence Force in Mt Elgon, Kenya have been rehabilitated and turned into peace makers who are now helping to unite communities in the region. The former militiamen were rehabilitated under a program implemented by the Rural Women Peace Network in collaboration with the Kenyan government. . . Read the article. |
Egypt's Million Woman March fizzles, CNN.com, March 8, 2011Several hundred people showed up for a pro-women demonstration in a major Cairo square on March 8th – including some men who chanted anti-feminist slogans. Egyptian activists had called for a Million Woman March, demanding "fair and equal opportunity for all Egyptian citizens – beyond gender, religion or class." But the turnout appeared to be no more than than 1,000, and the event quickly degenerated into shouting matches between the two sides. . . Read the article. |
Egyptian women demonstrate in Tahrir Square againt Mubarak, Bloomberg.com, February 15, 2011In Tahrir Square in Cairo, the site of eighteen days of rebellion that ousted Mubarak, women from disparate groups, veiled and not, Christian and Muslim, Westernized and traditional joined the demonstrations. . . Read the article. |
Women gather in the Philippines for training on gender, peace work, GMANews.tv, January 18, 2011Some 15 female peacemakers from Africa and Asia, including the Middle East, were in the Philippines for a one-week practical training on gender and peace work. The women took part in a Gender Sensitive Active Nonviolence Training. . . Read the article. |
Liberian Women Who Pushed For Peace Face New Challenges, NPR, November 12, 2010By Jordana Hochman. The women of Liberia who helped to end its civil war seven years ago are now facing new challenges. . . Read the article. |
Mideast Peace Talks Must be Opened to Women , Reuters, Septembers 8, 2010By Carla Koppell. As the US relaunches Israeli-Palestinian talks, it sorely needs to reassess the negotiation process. Previous talks have suffered from lack of both transparency and inclusiveness. The best way to give affected populations more ownership of the process is to open the talks to women - and not just because women are half the population. . . Read the article. |
UN Women's Agency Should Confront Wartime Violence, The Nation, August 10, 2010By Barbara Crossette. Anticipating the appointment in the next few weeks of the highest-level United Nations official ever to promote the rights and status of women worldwide, peace advocates are demanding that the new office take on the issue of the unending violence against women in conflict zones—a plague that keeps spreading despite a decade of Security Council resolutions. . . Read the article. |
Israeli Activist Shares Ideas for Unique Peace Center, JWeekly.com, July 15, 2010By Stacey Palevsky. Ilana Meallem, a London-born Israeli peace and environmental activist, discusses her project to build a retreat center near the Dead Sea open equally to Israelis and Palestinians, where cultural and political boundaries are not barriers to working together toward building peace. . . Read the article. |
Leader of the Opposition: Questions for Tzipi Livni, The New York Times, June 22, 2010By Deborah Solomon. Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni, from the centrist Kadima parties, answers question about the two-state solution, the Gaza blockade, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. She declares that she will eventually be Prime Minister for the future of the state of Israel. . . Read the article. |
The Original Anti-War Mother's Day. Consortium News.com. May 6, 2010By Gary Kohls, MD. The original Mother’s Day Proclamation from poet and suffragette Julia Ward Howe was a protest against the evils of war. . . Read the article. |
Women and religion. The New York Times. January 9, 2010By Nicholas D. Kristof. Religions derive their power and popularity in part from the ethical compass they offer . . . Read the article. |
Babylon & Beyond, The Los Angles Times, January 6, 2010By Daniel Siegal. Israel, Gaza: Holocaust survivor explains why she became Palestinian rights activist. . . Read the article. |
‘They failed to break my spirit’ says freed rights campaigner, Irish Times, December 4, 2009By Mary Fitzgerald. Jestina Mukoko, a leading human rights campaigner in Zimbabwe, was abducted in 2008 by that country’s secret police. While in detention, she told her interrogators that she was not a supporter of any political party but a defender who has a passion for human rights. . . Read the article. |
A Nobel Laureate (Jody Williams) looks back on the first 10 year of the Mine Ban Treaty, IRIN, November 26, 2009By Hannah Wright. An interview with Jody Williams, who won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her organization’s work as an instigator of the international Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). Her organization, which helped mobilize 1,300 civil society organizations in 95 countries in an effort to rid the world of anti-personal mines, is seen as a model of success of civil society-government partnerships and mobilization of a broad civil society coalition. . . Read the article. |
Listen to the women of Palestine, The Guardian, August 13, 2009By Hannah Wright. With representation of women in Palestinian governing authorities barely a blip on the radar, it’s time to let in the new ideas that Palestinian women can bring to the table, says Hannah Wright, who recently spent time in Ramallah. . . Read the article. |
Female Peacekeepers Providing Hope for Women Victimized by Conflict, All Africa.com, June 1, 2009Liberia’s Gender and Development Minister, Ms. Vabah Gayflor, says the participation of women in peacekeeping provides new role models and new hope for Liberia’s girls and young women who have been victimized by years of conflict. . . Read the article. |
Women are Born Peacemakers, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, April 15, 2009By Laurens Nijzink. Two women peacemakers from Africa, 2004 Nobel peace prize winner Wangari Maathai, of Kenya and Liberian peacemaker Edweda Cooper, discuss their personal stories of becoming change agents and working for peace and justice. . . Read the article. |
Kandhamal’s Wonder Women Fight Hate, Newstrack India, April 23, 2009By Eliza Parija. In a region of India torn by violence in the name of religion, women are taking the lead in defusing tensions and building understanding. . . Read the article. |
Questions for Jehan Sedat, Interview - The New York Times Magazine, March 10, 2009By Deborah Solomon. Jehan Sedat, whose husband Anwar el-Sadat won the Nobel Peace Prize 30 years ago for his role in the Israeli-Egyptian peace process, discusses her views on women peacebuilders, her late husband’s peacemaking, and prospects for improved relations between Israelis and Palestinians. . . Read the article. |
The human spirit: Meeting beyond the comfort zone. Jerusalem Post, Sept 28, 2007.
By Barbara Sofer. Award-winning article describing the author’s participation in a CRT-sponsored women’s interfaith leadership conference in Amman, Jordan. . . Read the article.
The daily power of women in peace building. The Globalist, July 27, 2007.
By Patricia Smith Melton. Women are increasingly taking leadership in building peaceful communities across the globe. Read the article. . . Read the article.
The checkpoint women of Israel. In These Times, June 8, 2007.
By Robert Hirschfield. Maschom Watch, a group of women who monitor the checkpoints for human rights violations, draw both respect and resentment from their countrymen. Read the article. . . Read the article.
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