Put women at the heart of peace

Women are hit hardest by war but they are excluded from national peace talks and plans – over the last 25 years only 1 in 40 peace treaty signatories have been women. It is women’s right to help decide the future of their country, and when they do peace is more likely to last.

We spoke to women in Afghanistan, Liberia, Nepal, Pakistan and Sierra Leone and found that peace means a lot more to them than just the laying down of guns.

“We are now home and my children are back at school. I am running the business and able to provide for them. This is peace for me.” 

- Iye Ansumana, survivor of the civil war in Sierra Leone which ended in 2002

Women want peace for everyone, not just half the population. And in spite of the barriers they face, women are building peace from the ground up. Grassroots women’s groups provide crucial services, resolve disputes and secure justice for women who have experienced violence.

But their contribution goes unrecognised and unsupported and many groups struggle to survive.

Take action today

The UK has already pledged to support women’s rights in post-conflict countries. Help us put pressure on the Foreign Office to commit 15% of their funding for peacebuilding to women’s rights (15% is the minimum recommended by the UN)

1) Email your MP at action.womankind.org.uk/mp/write

2) Support the peacebuilding work of our partners in Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Liberia and Nepal by making a donation

3) Spread the word on Facebook or Twitter

Thank you!

• Did you write to your MP? Please let us know at info@womankind.org.uk so that we can keep track of which MPs have been contacted. If you’d like to know how the campaign goes, sign up to our email list and we’ll keep you up to date.

• How could your donation help? Hear the rest of Iye’s story.

• Want to know more about how women are building peace? Download the summary of our research:  From The Ground Up - Summary pdf

“From Nepal to Liberia, from Pakistan to Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, a common thread of peace pulls women together, and compels them to act at local level for a just and equal future.”  - Bandana Rana, Nepal