more women and peacebuilding

On Women in Peace Building

Marwa Awad, April 29, 2007

Introduction: Beyond Victimhood

“Peace building cannot succeed if half the population is excluded from the process.” This is what many women peace activists around the globe and across many regions have realized in their efforts to build peace at grassroots levels in conflict ridden areas. The efforts of women in making peace and promoting security in war torn zones have been underutilized and unrecognized in the national and international arenas.

Solutions to conflict hinge on the interconnectedness of gender, human rights, development, security and justice. Therefore, including women in formal peace building processes and recognizing their contribution is paramount to achieving ultimate success.

The following is a summary of four women peace advocacy groups: The Bridge in Israel, WILPF, Coalition of Women for Peace, and Iraqi Women’s League in Baghdad The overall goal of these groups is to end endemic discrimination and sexual violence against women and ensure their involvement in resolving conflict and their participation in political decision-making.

As these women advocacy groups share similar goals, they also face similar barriers in their respective societies and cultures. Both the Bridge and the Coalition of Women for peace have faced heavy criticism and resistance for daring to overcome racial, religious and cultural barriers by bringing together Israeli and Arab women. Iraqi Women League faces the social and political challenges of the ongoing US occupation.

THE BRIDGE http://nonprofitnet.ca/wao/wao.php?show&960

Founded in 1975, two years after the Yom Kippur War, The Bridge: JEWISH AND ARAB WOMEN FOR THE PROMOTION OF WOMEN AND PEACE is a non-profit organization and the first voluntary association of its kind aimed at uniting Jewish and Arab women for peace

in the Middle East. Some of the key founding names are Violet Khouri, Ruth Dayan, Yardena Cohen, Eugenie Khlef, among other Israeli and Arab/Palestinian women. The organization is run by an executive Board of four women, two Jewish and two Arab/ Palestinian. It is elected by the General Board which comprises twenty members. The yearly General Meeting elects the two Boards, as well as the President, the Director, and the Treasurer.

GOALS:

• To promote peace in the Middle East by improving the status of women.
• To promote the essential role of women in peace building and the eradication of war and conflict in Middle East region.

Activities:

• One of the successful projects was the election of Violet Khouri an Arab living in Israel as Mayor of the Galilean town, Kafr Yassif. The late Violet Khouri was thus one of the first Arab Mayors in the whole of the Middle East.
• Meetings in Jewish, Arab and Druze towns and villages, for the building of "Bridges" of culture and understanding with the local women.
• Arabic (for the Jews), and Hebrew language courses for the Arab women.
  
  

Challenges:

• As the first of its kind, this NGO faced much criticism and resistance from Israelis and Arabs.
• Women’s struggles for peace and recognition is ignored by the media, their achievements glossed over. This included lack of media coverage of protests and marches and key peace-promoting events. Hence, the general public never hears of the women for peace movement.
• Lack of funds.

The Coalition of Women for Peace http://coalitionofwomen.org/home/english

This is one of the leading voices in Israel advocating for a just and viable peace between Israel and Palestine ever since its founding in November 2000, just six weeks after the current Intifada began.

The Coalition brings together independent women and nine women's peace organizations, some newly formed and others promoting coexistence since the founding of the state of Israel. The Coalition is made up of a mix of Jewish and Palestinian women (citizens of Israel only).

Goals

The Coalition of Women for Peace seeks to mobilize women in support of human rights and a just peace between Israel and its Arab neighbours. Working to strengthen democracy within Israel, Coalition of Women for Peace aims to

• End the occupation of Palestine.
• Ensure the full involvement of women in negotiations for peace.
• Establish the state of Palestine side-by-side with the state of Israel based on the 1967 borders.
• Pressure Israeli government to recognize its share of responsibility for the results of the 1948 war, and cooperate in finding a just solution for the Palestinian refugees.
• Oppose to the militarism that permeates Israeli society.
• Guarantee equality, inclusion and social and economic justice for Palestinian citizens of Israel.

ACTIVITIES:

· mass rallies, human rights campaigns, outreach, and advocacy activity.

· Provide emergency supplies to women and children in refugee camps, and school supplies to thousands of Palestinian children.

· Annual report 2006 “Lift the Siege of Gaza!” Campaign

Iraqi women’s league http://www.iraqiwomenleague.org/

With the fall of dictatorship, Iraq fell under US occupation, which brought with it new political and social crises affecting all Iraqi men and women. The destruction of the principal structures of the Iraqi government and the refusal of occupying forces to relinquish political power and recognize Iraqi national sovereignty, has led to the deterioration of the security situation in Iraq.

Iraqi Women’s League was founded half a century ago in 1951 by Iraqi women. Its aim is to produce social change, women’s rights and children’s happiness through engaging in daily mass work, involving residential areas and communities of women. IWL’s mandate is

· Eradicate illiteracy by raising level of awareness of women in the countryside.

· Struggle to end the occupation and achieve complete freedom and national sovereignty of the homeland.

· Promote women and children’s rights in Iraqi society by eliminating poverty through reliance on economic growth and inclusion of women in the work force.

Participating in a host of activities concerned with women’s rights, they have

· Led the first women’s demonstration in Baghdad after the fall of dictatorship.

· Rebuilt its networks and organizations in most Iraqi cities after the advent of the US occupation.

Conclusion

Over the decades, the dedication and hard work of women peace activists around the globe has effectively countered the stereotype of “the victimized women” or “women as only victims” in ways that have empowered women with a sense of dignity and purpose. The aforementioned women peace movements and initiatives seek to foster a participatory public both in conflict ridden and conflict-free societies as the foundation for global peace, security and justice. The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000 which reaffirmed the role of women in conflict prevention and resolution is only the beginning step towards reinforcing the political and humanitarian value of women peace activists to peacebuilding.

Women Peace Activists in Israel-Gila Svirsky

The women's peace movement in Israel has begun to work on this problem.  We
call it a campaign to "reframe security" - to broaden our conception of it.
We seek to demonstrate to Israelis that security is not the end-result of
having a strong, aggressive army, but rather the product of a broad range of
activity, which includes living in a society that cares for its poor,
reduces violence, protects its natural resources, and co-exists in peace
with its neighbors.  Indeed, this campaign seeks to instill the
understanding that "peace is the best way to promote security".



As part of this campaign, we take Israelis on "reality tours" to show them
the Separation Wall.  We bring them into the homes of Palestinians who are
cut off from their land, jobs, and schools by the Wall, and we give
Palestinians an opportunity to tell about their lives and how the Wall has
changed them.  For most Israelis, this is the very first time they have ever
spoken to a Palestinian.  We bring the Israelis to checkpoints, and have
them observe the soldiers' treatment of Palestinians trying to cross.  We
also take them to see parts of Israel that have been neglected by the
political leaders - the slums, the shelters for battered women, the
untreated garbage, the trafficking in women, the inadequate health care
centers, the poorly equipped schools.  Each participant goes on a number of
tours to see several aspects of the problem.  We help Israelis draw the
connection between a society that is pouring its resources into occupation
and settlements, and failing to address the social problems that exist
within it.



These tours are powerful experiences.  They reach beyond what Israelis see
in the media, showing them a slice of reality they have never seen before.
And then we ask:  Do you think that the policies of our government have
enhanced your security?  Or have they actually compromised it?



We are hoping that the old conceptions will gradually give way to a new
understanding:  that Israel will never be able to address the needs of our
population until a just agreement has been reached with our neighbors.  That
security - whether in the narrow or broader sense - is compromised by
failing to achieve a political accommodation with the Palestinians.



For years, women have focused on human security issues - better schools,
health services, poverty programs, violence issues, etc. - but not named it
"security".  Now, instead of fighting the concept, we are working to reframe
it so that it will promote the kind of society that we want to live in.



This campaign is more than a strategy.  It is a fundamental belief that all
these forms of security are critical - and that it will never be possible to
realize a common zone of peace, prosperity and progress - not for Israel and
not for Palestine - until a just and lasting settlement of the conflict is
in place.





* Gila Svirsky is a veteran peace and human rights activist, and currently chair of Bet Tselem, Israeli Human Rights organization.


chair of B'Tselem: The 

women oeacemakers in the middle east

Akiva Eldar: Reaching across the divide (IX)

In their fifth and last exchange of letters, Israeli journalist Akiva Eldar and Arab journalist Salameh Nematt, complete their heartfelt and insightful discussion on developments in the Middle East. This exchange, commissioned by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews), has been appearing in the Palestinian newspaper Al Quds and the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz simultaneously. (Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 24 May 2007)

Salameh Nematt: Reaching across the divide (X)

In their fifth and last exchange of letters, Israeli journalist Akiva Eldar and Arab journalist Salameh Nematt, complete their heartfelt and insightful discussion on developments in the Middle East. This exchange, commissioned by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews), has been appearing in the Palestinian newspaper Al Quds and the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz simultaneously. (Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 24 May 2007

Before the mighty $$$ changed the meaning of Mother's Day.

http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/0000/1870_howe_mothers-day.htm

Mother's Day Proclamationby Julia Ward Howe*, 1870
The First Mother's Day proclaimed in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe was a passionate demand for disarmament and peace.

Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or tears!

Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Disarm!"

The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail & commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesars but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.

Biography of Julia Ward Howe
US feminist, reformer, and writer Julia Ward Howe was born May 27, 1819 in New York City. She married Samuel Gridley Howe of Boston, a physician and social reformer. After the Civil War, she campaigned for women rights, anti-slavery, equality, and for world peace. She published several volumes of poetry, travel books, and a play. She became the first woman to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1908. She was an ardent antislavery activist who wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic in 1862, sung to the tune of John Brown's Body. She wrote a biography in 1883 of Margaret Fuller, who was a prominent literary figure and a member of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Transcendentalists. She died in 1910.

© Nuclear Age Peace Foundation 1998 -

2007 Powered by Media Temple

Writing to Politicians

Dear Peacewomen

This is Julie. I was asked by the moderator, Diana, to connect with anyone interested in writing letters to politicians.I was a newcomer, invited by Rona Bloomfield, at this gathering of fine women. From what I heard that day, I felt that my letters would be most powerful if I could recount a couple of stories that would illustrate the points I wished to make. So far I do not have those stories, but I am hoping that what develops from the radio broadcast and the story collecting will be the fuel I am looking for.I intend to address my letters to Stephen Harper, Peter Mackay (minister of Foreign Affairs, and Gordon O'Connell, minister of Defense. Elizabeth May of the Green Party will be challenging Peter Mackay (not sure of how he spells his name) in Halifax, and that too will provide some content, as I agree with the Green Party slant on things.

Before I go, I realize that I do have an example of a “little story”. It was news to me that there is a group of women called the “blackwatch”, that simply are present at check points. I was profoundly moved at the simplicity but power in such a gesture. I mentioned this to a number of other women who, like me, had not heard of this. Their reaction was the same as mine.

In writing to politicians I plan to recount a ‘little story’ that illustrates the way that I believe real change happens and contrast that to the top heavy, expensive, and destructive policies that so often are the purview of governments. So any "little stories" that I hear will be gratefully received as "fuel" for my letters. I also encourage others to take that bit of time to write. I know that letters make a difference.

An Israeli PeaceWoman, songwriter, and activist

Miriam Ohevetel Iron, born and raised in Jersualem, is a very creative
singer, songwriter, composer, poet, actress, dancer, therapist, teacher,
and above all, an Israeli woman who is in love with God. Miriam is also
a Peace Activist, working with “The All Nations Café”
www.allnationscafe.org, an artist initiative group that provides space
(for Israelis and Palestinians who "refuse to be enemies") to meet,
sing, play and talk from the heart. She is also an Ecological Activist,
working with "Bustanyah", an NGO that turned a neglected valley in
Jerusalem into a beautiful, community garden.

In 2006, the "Shalshelet" Festival (the center for New Jewish Liturgical
Music), awarded two of Miriam’s songs (out of 1000 plus entries) by
recording them on their CD of the top 10 New Jewish Songs of the Year.
The Shalshelet Festival also chose Miriam to sing at the festival with 9
others (from over 300 composers) she opened _and_ closed the festival
with her songs. Her authentic reflection of the Bible results in a
unique expression of traditional and original songs and melodies which
she sings in Hebrew, English and at times even in Arabic. She has a way
of fusing ancient texts with great joy, depth and faith.

*Peace work in Israel *
All Nations Cafe 1. I am part of the - Israeli/Palestinians
- musician's initiatives for peace we held in the old city. We have been
working with Arab children on Mount Scopus via singing & dancing Also by
creating a Children Parliament -Encouraging children to listen to each
other and discussing solutions for peace & problems they see around them.

In 2004 I joined "The All Nations Cafe Peace Caravan to Jordan" and in
2005 "The Hope Caravan to Europe".

>From June 2006 till today the All Nations Café is located in a deserted
house, near Ein Haniyeh Spring, behind an army check point, near
Jerusalem. This way we can meet regularly with Palestinians from the
territories on an on going basis. So far we organized 2 families' camps
to meet for a whole week. For more information visit our site:
_www.AllNationsCafe.org
_2. I am working with the organization "Windows for peace"-Singing my
songs with the dialog group of Palestinians youth in Jerusalem.
3. Last year I fulfilled a dream creating an evening called: "Devotional
Songs to God": An interfaith event for Israeli and Palestinians singers
& musicians, sharing spiritual music.
4. Already back in 1973, (Just after the Yom Kippur war) I established
together with Howard Hass" The Gypsies" : The first Israeli/Palestinian
traveling theater performing in front of Israeli and Palestinians
children. We were really pioneers back than, we even received a grant
from the Jerusalem foundation to translate the show into Arabic!
5. For more than 20 years I am part of the Re-evaluation co-counseling
community In Israel. As such, I am part of a group of counselors that is
sharing this reconciliation technique with Arabs in Jerusalem and Nazareth.
6. Since the second Intiffada I was part of the on going Peace vigil
that was established by Debora Brose (Bustan L' Shalom) and Eliyahu
MacLean and friends. For 3 years we Israelis and Palestinians and guests
from around the I would love to cooperate with you people in the States.
7. Through the years I have written and composed many Peace songs. You
can hear them on my CD " Ways of Peace" . They can be heard on ':

_miriamai2 _www.cdbaby.com/
Miriam Ohevetel Iron, Jerusalem

hello friends

Hi all
OI'm just writing this to greet our first visitors. I hope we'll have many visitors, and lots to share.
Talk again soon
alma