Month: April 2020
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Month: April 2020

Solidarity & Peace Amidst the Pandemic: Young Women Leaders Meet Online for the First-Ever Global Dialogue

Solidarity & Peace Amidst the Pandemic: Young Women Leaders Meet Online for the First-Ever Global Dialogue

April 23, 2020 by Heela Yoon and Katrina Leclerc

Edited by Mavic Cabrera-Balleza and Agnieszka Fal Dutra-Santos

“Afghan women have been fighting for their right to be meaningfully included in the peace process with the Taliban throughout the past 20 years. Today, we are afraid that amidst the COVID-19 crisis, this progress will be lost, and provisions on women rights will be removed from the peace agreement.” This concern, shared by Sadaf Tahib, the Communication Associate of Afghan Women Welfare and Development Association (AWWDA), was echoed by many of over 50 youth peacebuilders from 11 countries, who came together in an online meeting to share their experiences of preventing conflict and violent extremism, building peace, and addressing the COVID-19 outbreak in their communities.

The meeting was organized by the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), with support from NAMA Women Advancement Establishment, on April 15, 2020. It was the first-time members of GNWP’s Young Women Leaders for Peace (YWL) program from Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Sudan, came together. They were joined by women and youth leaders from Afghanistan, Georgia, Kenya, Lebanon, Myanmar, and Ukraine. By discussing the peace and security problems and the solutions to them amidst the pandemic and despite network connectivity issues, the women and youth peacebuilders sent a powerful message: COVID-19 will not stop us!

The event was also an opportunity to launch the Toolkit and Film for Young Women and Girls on Literacy, Leadership, Economic Empowerment, Media, and Theater. The toolkit and film are evidence-based, context-specific resources for elevating the voices and work of young women in preventing conflict and violent extremism drawn from GNWP’s work. They were developed based on the experiences of young women peacebuilders in Bangladesh and Indonesia, and good practices drawn from GNWP’s work around the world.

As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic grows including the aggravated levels of personal anxiety and stress, the women and peacebuilders underscored the need to hold regular discussions and continue supporting each other. Members of the YWL shared their frontline initiatives to reduce the negative impacts of COVID-19 on women and youth peacebuilders. This is showcased in the new podcast ‘GNWP Talks Women, Peace and Security’: Episode 25 on the Young Women Leaders Global Dialogue.

Young women’s frontline leadership

Speaking from Bangladesh, Young Women Leaders Machen Hia and Mathenu Rakhine, shared that they joined the YWL program to “make sure that there is peace and gender equality in [their] community in Cox’s Bazar.” They emphasized that there is still a lot of challenges, and highlighted their contributions to improving the gender sensitivity of humanitarian emergency response to the influx of 1.3 million Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar. They also shared their experience pre-COVID of conducting gender-sensitive, age-appropriate fundamental literacy and numeracy classes to Rohingya refugee and host community women and girls.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Young Women Leaders are workingto prevent, support and counter increased sexualized violence during the pandemic. During the meeting, Emilie Katondolo and Nicole Musimbi, shared that this work includes using media and technology to dismantle and challenge narratives of ‘victims’ to ‘survivors’ of sexual violence, and ensuring accurate and updated information is provided to women and youth across the communities of Eastern DRC. “Through our program, we try to provide women with opportunities to make income, so that they can improve their financial situation and change their life,” said Nicole.

In Indonesia, Young Women Leaders for Peace, conduct community-level advocacy on women’s rights; gender equality; youth, peace and security (YPS); and human security. Prior to COVID-19, young women have held advocacy meetings in their communities and have developed strong relationships with district-level leaders. Nur Aisyah Maullidah, Ilmiyah Maslahatul and Ririn Anggraeni, shared that since the COVID-19 outbreak, the YWL Indonesia have held online English classes to continue their capacity-building amidst the pandemic.

In the Philippines, Young Women Leaders are also at the forefront of COVID-19 response. Sophia Garcia and Lynrose Genon, presented that young women are distributing face masks, disinfectants, and ‘dignity kits’ to ensure that the specific needs of women and girls are met. These kits are prepared by YWL members and distributed to internally displaced women and youth in Sagonsongan Transitional Temporary Shelter in Marawi, a city ravaged by armed conflict between extremist groups and the Philippine Armed Forces.

Speaking from South Sudan, Elizabeth Biniya, a member ofYoung Women Leaders, and Nyuon Susan Sebit, former Cora Weiss Peacebuilding Fellow at GNWP, discussed their efforts in addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local populations. The South Sudanese young women leaders are using community radio to raise awareness of domestic violence and the available support for those affected. They also disseminate information on preventive measures such as hand washing and social distancing. Additionally, the South Sudanese Young Women Leaders organize theater performances in Torit, South Sudan to raise awareness on women’s rights, gender equality, and peace and security among local populations.

In today’s complex and interconnected world, it is important to recognize and promote the synergies between the women and peace and security (WPS) and youth and peace and security (YPS) agendas and how they are linked to humanitarian emergencies. This is highlighted during this global COVID-19 pandemic as we see young women peacebuilders who step up and become first responders in their local communities. In doing so, they not only mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis but they also secure the gains of Afghan women and all other women and youth peacebuilders who have been demanding to meaningfully participate in peace processes and all levels of decision-making.

Want to support young women leading on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic? Share and donate here.

GNWP is grateful for the support of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment; and the collaboration of the Asian Muslim Action Network – Indonesia and Jago Nari Unnayon Sangsta – Bangladesh for the production of the Toolkit and Film.

Please see also other articles produced by the GNWP on COVID-19 and the women and peace and security, and youth and peace and security agendas:

Ending the Misinformation Epidemic: GNWP Develops a COVID19 – Women and Peace & Security, Database and Mitigation and Adaptation Strategy

Ending the Misinformation Epidemic: GNWP Develops a COVID19 – Women and Peace & Security, Database and Mitigation and Adaptation Strategy

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lives and realities of women across the globe, who have been disproportionately impacted by the health crisis. The mandatory isolation and social distancing policies have alarmingly aggravated domestic violence, as they trap women at home with their abusers, while women’s shelters and domestic violence hotlines are struggling to meet demand. As primary caregivers for the sick and elderly, women also face greater risk of exposure to COVID-19. Additionally, women comprise the majority of health and social care workers and are on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. Finally, the outbreak has led to an increase in the unpaid domestic labor burden on women, including childcare as schools and nurseries have closed.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is further exacerbated by armed conflict, ongoing violence, and humanitarian emergencies, where refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are at an extremely high risk. The pandemic has impacted peacebuilding efforts because of violations of human rights including suppression of freedom of speech and of the press, attacks on women human rights defenders, increased surveillance by the government and heavily militarized responses. The travel and mobility restrictions have severely inhibited the delivery of essential services and humanitarian aid to refugees and IDPs and other vulnerable groups. The situation is further aggravated by dwindling resources, which have also disrupted the work of many women’s rights organization and civil society groups who work to promote and protect women’s rights, and build inclusive and sustainable peace.

Nonetheless, women and youth peacebuilders continue their work in the face of COVID-19.While advocating for the implementation of peace accords or monitoring the implementation of ceasefire agreements, they make face masks and distribute them along with food packages and hygiene products, to the elderly, people with disabilities, refugees and IDPs. Women and youth are also at the forefront of tackling the “epidemic of misinformation” that has accompanied the outbreak of COVID-19, as recognized in the United Nations Secretary-General’s announcement of the United Nations Communications Response. Women peacebuilders translate accurate information about COVID-19 to local languages, organize media and social media campaigns to counter fake news and hate speech, and monitor impacts of the pandemic.

Despite their contributions, women and youth peacebuilders remain marginalized in the crisis and excluded in the decision-making on the response. This year we mark 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA) and 20 years since the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women and Peace and Security. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges and discrimination that women still face in their work, and the gaps in the implementation of the two groundbreaking international instruments. Much more remains to be done to fulfill the promise of UNSCR 1325 and the BPFA – and it starts with ensuring gender-responsive and conflict-sensitive response to the COVID-19 crisis!

Such response must be based on evidence from grassroots women and civil society, and reliable, sex- and age-disaggregated data. However, while much attention has been given to the impact of COVID-19 on women, there is no systematized source of information about the gendered impacts of COVID-19, and its impacts on peace and security.   

COVID-19 and WPS Database

To address this gap, GNWP is developing a COVID-19 and WPS database, which will document the impacts of COVID-19 on local communities affected by conflict as well as on women’s work on peacebuilding, conflict prevention and sustaining peace. GNWP is using its global network of over 100 organizations around the world to collect accurate and up-to-date information. The database will contribute to the objective of UN Communications Response Initiative objective to inform “responsive, responsible, evidence-based governance”. The database will also aim to encourage the development of gender-responsive and conflict-sensitive interventions on COVID-19. The COVID19- WPS database is a living document that will continuously be updated with information provided by local women and youth peacebuilders as well as secondary data. 

GNWP has also developed a Mitigation and Adaptation Strategy and Appeal to guide its work during the pandemic and present critical recommendations to mitigate its impact without sacrificing peacebuilding efforts and human rights. In addition, GNWP will be regularly publishing country-specific profiles that contain information on the impacts of the pandemic on women and peace and security. This will help “flood the Internet with facts and science while countering the growing scourge of misinformation.”

Young Women & Girls Read, Lead & Build Peaceful Communities

Young Women & Girls Read, Lead & Build Peaceful Communities

Toolkit for Young Women & Girls

A publication of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, funded by NAMA Women Advancement Establishment.

© 2019 Global Network of Women Peacebuilders Printed in New York, New York, USA

Authors

Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, Mallika Iyer, and Prativa Khanal

Module author

Literacy and Numeracy: Saifuzzaman Rana

Peer Reviewer and Editor

Eleonore Veillet-Chowdhury

Contributor and Copy-Editor

Katrina Leclerc

Publication Coordinator

Mallika Iyer

Layout and Design

Pam Liban

Acknowledgements

We thank the participants of the Girl Ambassadors for Peace capacity building trainings in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh and Poso, Central Sulawesi and Lamongan, East Java, Indonesia. We also thank GNWP’s local partners: Jago Nari Unnyaon Sangsta and the Asian Muslim Action Network Indonesia for sharing their experience and expertise.

We are grateful to NAMA Women Advancement Establishment for their generous support, continuous partnership, and valuable inputs into the report.

Watch our film!

Charting a Feminist Present and Future: Young Women for Peace and Leadership Program Recognized by the United Nations Secretary-General in Report to Security Council on UNSCR 2250

From DRC to Indonesia, from Bangladesh to South Sudan, young women defy gender and age stereotypes and act as leaders, peacebuilders and agents of change in their communities. They are first responders in humanitarian crises, prevent recruitment by violent groups by building a culture of peace, and set up small businesses to increase their financial independence and support their families. In the absence of formal mechanisms and opportunities to meaningfully participate in peace processes and social, political and economic life, young women have forged their own avenues to lead peacebuilding efforts and movements for progressive social transformation.