The nature of violent conflict has radically changed over the past century. Wars are now fought on our front door steps, rather than on the front lines. As the consequences of war have shifted from combatants to civilians, the complex and variable roles that women have played in shaping and ending conflict have come into a more critical focus. Throughout the month of March, USIP will host a series of events and discussions that will look at the historical and contemporary roles of women in war and women in peace as well as current initiatives that support men as agents for positive change and peaceful masculinities.

Historically, wartime narratives have concentrated on masculine ideals – highlighting the male warriors and protectors in society. But, security does not belong just to men – and peace does not belong only to women. War and violent conflict as well as peacebuilding are highly gendered processes.

In 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security to reverse the broad exclusion of women from participation in security processes and recognize that women must be critical actors in all our efforts to achieve sustainable peace and stability. USIP is in its eight year of dedicated work on these issues.

Making Women Visible

Events in March

How Film Captures the Roles of Women in War and Peace
Celebrating stories of women's leadership through film on International Women's Day
Full Event Video Available Now
Thursday, March 8, 2018 | 10:00am - 12:00pm
Ten years ago, the film Pray the Devil Back to Hell premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Documentary for its powerful depiction of the nonviolent women’s movement that helped bring an end to Liberia’s bloody civil war. Since its release, producers and directors have taken up the challenge to tell the stories of the often-invisible lives of women in conflict – producing stories in countries like Bosnia, Libya, Afghanistan, Colombia, Pakistan and Rwanda. These films have brought forward women’s critical voices to the stories of war and peace, and amplified the global agenda of Women, Peace and Security.

Overcoming Violence: A Conversation with Women of Courage
Thursday, March 22, 2018 | 2:30pm - 4:00pm
Women are struggling every day for peace and security in their communities, whether as parliamentarians seeking to preserve the constitutional rights of marginalized groups or as filmmakers prompting change through challenging community discourse. To amplify these voices, the U.S. Institute of Peace, with the U.S. Department of State, will host an event featuring three of the 2018 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage awardees. Participants will hear firsthand the paths these women of courage have taken to lead for positive change.

Securing Their Roles: Women in Constitution Making
Thursday, March 29, 2018 | 10:00am - 11:30am
Women’s participation in drafting constitutions leads to more equitable legal frameworks and socially inclusive reforms, laying the groundwork for sustainable peace. Yet new research from Inclusive Security reveals that while 75 conflict-affected countries oversaw significant reform processes between 1995-2015, only one in five constitutional drafters in these environments have been women. As actors from Syria, Libya, and other countries marked by violence are taking steps towards building new constitutions, USIP and Inclusive Security are convening a panel to draw out lessons for policymakers by discussing women’s roles in constitution-making, gender equality in constitutional provisions - including in relation to constitutions developed with an Islamic identity - and their implications for long-term, inclusive peace and security.

Resources

Syrian Kurdish women and children cross back into the Kobani region of Syria through a Turkish military checkpoint on the border, at Suruc, Turkey, Sept. 24, 2014. Experts on civil wars say there are several reasons Syria is “a really, really tough case” that defies historical parallels.
Photo Courtesy of The New York Times/Bryan Denton

Related Publications

Why International Women’s Day Matters

Why International Women’s Day Matters

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

By: Kathleen Kuehnast, Ph.D.

When Mahatma Gandhi was leader of the Indian National Congress in 1921, he advocated for women’s rights as key to modernizing Indian society. He understood that you cannot change a society peacefully without turning to women, half of the population, to make it happen. In an open letter in 1930, he wrote, “If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with women.” It was a radical idea at the time to make women, who usually are invisible, visible. It’s still radical today.

Type: Analysis

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What a Transitional Government in Haiti will Require to Succeed

What a Transitional Government in Haiti will Require to Succeed

Thursday, March 28, 2024

By: Nicolás Devia-Valbuena;  Keith Mines

After weeks of consultations, and amidst a near total breakdown of law and order in Haiti, a Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-led effort to create a new transitional governing council may be nearing completion. The council’s establishment would allow for the entry of a multinational security force that would then be able to join with the Haitian National Police and restore order. Some have suggested the inclusion of “enablers” for the new security force — air support, drones, intelligence. But to gain the trust of the Haitian people, the new governing council will need its own popular “enablers,” a systematic way to include many more sectors of Haitian society that are currently ignored or deliberately excluded from governance.

Type: Analysis

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Promoting Peace and Stability in the Americas through Religious Freedom

Promoting Peace and Stability in the Americas through Religious Freedom

Thursday, March 28, 2024

By: Knox Thames

The Western Hemisphere is generally known for protecting freedom of religion or belief. With a few notable exceptions, the countries of the region all enshrine religious freedom at the constitutional level and protect it through laws and policies. But in recent years, authoritarian governments in South America have increasingly viewed religious actors as threats to their regime’s survival and tried to control or crush independent religious activity.

Type: Analysis

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Moscow Concert Hall Attack Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

Moscow Concert Hall Attack Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

By: Mary Glantz, Ph.D.;  Gavin Helf, Ph.D.;  Asfandyar Mir, Ph.D.;  Andrew Watkins

On Friday, terrorists attacked the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow leaving 140 people dead and 80 others critically wounded. Soon after, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorist group, which is headquartered in Iraq and Syria, has several branches, including in South and Central Asia. Press reports suggest the U.S. government believes the Afghanistan-based affiliate of the Islamic State, ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), was behind the attack. The Biden administration has publicly noted that it had warned the Russian government of the terrorism threat in early March in line with the procedure of “Duty to Warn.”

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What Does the U.N. Cease-Fire Resolution Mean for the Israel-Gaza War?

What Does the U.N. Cease-Fire Resolution Mean for the Israel-Gaza War?

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

By: Robert Barron

On March 25, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed Resolution 2728, calling for an “immediate” cease-fire in Gaza. The motion’s passage came after weeks of back and forth and posturing among the UNSC’s permanent and rotating members. The exact phrasing of the resolution and its relevance to the situation on the ground, as well as bilateral and multilateral relations — particularly U.S.-Israel ties — have been the subject of heavy public and media attention since Monday, raising questions about the resolution’s subtext, intent and limitations. USIP’s Robert Barron looks at these questions.

Type: Question and Answer

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Angela Stent on the Terror Attack in Moscow

Angela Stent on the Terror Attack in Moscow

Monday, March 25, 2024

By: Angela Stent

While ISIS has claimed responsibility for the devastating terror attack in Moscow, Putin has baselessly tried to shift the blame to Ukraine, says USIP’s Angela Stent: “[Putin] wants to use this to increase repression at home … and also to pursue a more aggressive path in Ukraine.”

Type: Podcast

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