Originally from Syria, Laila Alodaat started her career as a corporate lawyer volunteering at the Syrian Red Cross because of her interest in international humanitarian law. She is now Deputy Secretary General at Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, a century-old organization that analyses the root causes of violence and works against the systemic oppression of women and girls.

“We fight structural systems of oppression and aspire to build peace through the power of collective activism and mobilization,” she said. “If we approach human rights with a transformative agenda, it is inevitable that we end up looking at the root causes of war and conflict.”

For Alodaat, peace building has multiple layers where women have their place, but they are often confronted with “misogynist assumptions” that they can only represent other women instead of the whole community.

“There are times when it feels like we need to be fighting alone. There is globally a tolerance of violence and some level of acceptance that spaces do not really have to be safe for women, that this just comes with exposure. This has a direct impact on peace building,” she said. “We also live within a political economy that feeds on a prolonged exploitation of women and we look at that as an acceptable baseline and it should not be.”

Alodaat added that the feminist movement itself was facing challenges that had adverse effects on peacebuilding, such as a “saviourist Western notion.”

“Women in the Global South do not need saving, we just need space. We need to be believed in and we need the resources available to the movement,” she said. “The fight is never going to work unless we look at it intersectionally and unless leadership is looked at in its diversity. This notion of an individual leader is outdated. We need to look at collective effort and collective leadership.”

In Afghanistan, Sara* is the director of an organization that, for the past 25 years, has been working to support Afghan women and children in various sectors, such as education, livelihood, health, protection and water, sanitation and hygiene in 11 provinces of the country.

She said that hers is the only women-led organization that has been able to continue working after the fall of the previous Government two and a half years ago and to keep their safe spaces open. The organization has also been able to support capacity building of their grassroots partners and assist them in receiving grants.

“I believe empowering women in this current situation would empower a larger group in the communities as well. In the current context, everyone wants to be in a safe zone or just to be in their comfort zone, they don't want to take any risk,” she said. “As a director for women-led organization, I would rather put myself at risk to deliver services to women who are in dire need, especially women who are suffering from gender-based violence, IDPs, or minority groups.”

Because Sara believes that the participation of women in leadership roles and their inclusion in the community is vital for Afghanistan, one of her goals is to hire and build the capacity of as many women as she can. She pointed out that not many organizations would take that risk because of the restrictions around hiring women in NGOs in Afghanistan.

“Women have played a vital role for peacebuilding and social cohesion in the country in the past 20 years. Unfortunately, today, Afghan women leaders have scattered in the diaspora and, although they do advocacy work outside of the country, those who remain are filling that gap and working with women in need to empower them, include them in their programs and make peace at the community level, with the different ideologies and thoughts that exist in Afghanistan.”

In their 2021 report entitled Time for a Better Bargain: How the Aid System Shortchanges Women and Girls in Crisis, Care International pointed out that funding for gender equality is particularly low in the humanitarian aid sector. Since 2010, less than 1 percent of all humanitarian funding has been allocated directly to women-led organizations.

According to Hannah Wu, the head of the Women’s Rights and Gender Section at UN Human Rights, sustained funding and support for women human rights defenders, organizations, and movements is an essential prerequisite for women’s equal leadership and participation in decision-making spaces for peace. It allows them to set their priorities for action, while increasing their resources and capacity to be present and take leadership within key decision-making spaces for peace.

“The right of all women and girls to meaningful participation, including in the context of conflict and insecurity, is essential to the enjoyment of their rights, the consolidation of peace and on their ability to prevent and recover from crises,” Wu said. “Decisions on peace that do not reflect women’s realities, their rights, their perspectives, their knowledge, and their demands, are not sustainable — and neither are they likely to be effective.”

Of 18 peace agreements reached in 2022, only one was signed or witnessed by a representative of a women’s group or organization. As of July 2023, women were Heads of State or Government in 27 countries and, according to the National Democratic Institute, the global proportion of women in parliaments reached 26.5 percent. Further, at the current rate, it will take 130 years to achieve inclusive governance. Moreover, on current trends, with an annual increase of only 0.52 percent, gender parity in ministerial positions will not be achieved until 2077.

* Not her real name.