Women Peacebuilders Reflect, Connect, and Act

Kathy Calvin, Michelle Bachelet

Kristen Williams, writer at the Institute for Inclusive Security, provides the following facts which highlight why women are an essential part of the peacebuilding process.(“Women Peacebuilders Reflect, Connect, and Act”,  Institute for Inclusive Security, March, 06, 2015.)

•The single best predictor of a state’s level of peacefulness is not wealth, democracy, or identity; it is how well its women are treated.

•Women represent only 4% of signatories of major peace accords in the last 20 years. In that same time period, one-third of all countries that signed peace agreements returned to violence within five years.

•Broadened peace processes, ones that are inclusive and representative of different sectors of society, are 64% less likely to fail than those that include only armed actors and political parties.

As Williams explains, women across the world have been mobilizing to fight injustice and work towards peace and gender equality. Giving women a place at the table means increasing women’s representation in legitimate peace negotiation processes and sharing information and experiences across boundaries to foster solidarity.

 

Read the full article here:Women Peacebuilders Reflect, Connect, and Act

 

Photo Credit: UN Women, Flickr

Tags: Institute for Inclusive Security, International Woman's Day, UN peacekeeping, UN Women, Woman's Peace and Security