What 10 Women Peace Builders Want from the United Nations

NEW YORK — At a side event during the 80th UN General Assembly in September, women activists and leaders from Sudan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen delivered a clear and urgent message: sustainable peace is impossible without the voices, leadership and rights of women.

Their testimonies underscored that women have never been passive victims of war but frontline actors in holding communities together, mediating disputes, advocating for gender-responsive finance, and keeping alive the possibility of justice and recovery. Yet they argued international negotiations and traditional donor strategies have historically sidelined them.

“Too often, [their] efforts are viewed as peripheral and not vital, not really critical, to addressing the end of conflict,” said Melanne Verveer, who is the executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security at Georgetown University. “And yet, women are on the front lines in war zones, working to end conflicts, to facilitate reconciliation and recovery, to negotiate peace, and so much more.”

The urgency of their demands was punctuated by sobering new data: A report released in August by the Global Media Monitoring Project revealed that women appear in only 26 percent of news stories worldwide, virtually unchanged in fifteen years. Only two of every 100 stories challenge gender stereotypes, and journalism that counters gender bias has reportedly dropped to its lowest level in three decades.

The UN Women’s latest “Gender Snapshot” sounded an even sharper alarm: if current trends continue, 351 million women and girls worldwide will remain in extreme poverty over the next five years, falling short of the gender equality targets set in 2015. Yet the report also highlights that targeted investment could alter this trajectory. Excluding women from critical peace and policy negotiations, however, risks creating processes that fail to address the structural inequalities keeping millions of women and girls in poverty.

“If there is no political solution and no inclusive government, there is no chance for any other rights,” said Dr. Habiba Sarābi, one of only four women who negotiated peace with the Taliban during intra-Afghan talks in September 2020. She previously served as Minister of Women’s Affairs and, in 2005, became the first Afghan woman to serve as a governor. “Women must not just be present in decision-making by name — they must be strong, committed, and actively supported, because only then can we address the real issues of education, health, and justice for all.”

Twenty-five years ago, the UN promised that women would play an active, meaningful role in all peace and security processes. A quarter-century later, activists warn that promise remains largely unfulfilled, with entire generations of young activists having come of age fighting for change that has never fully arrived.

At the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, peace builders are pushing for more than words: they want real resources for women-led initiatives, legal accountability for perpetrators, and a global acknowledgment that peace without women is simply no peace at all.

Some quotes have been lightly edited and abridged.

Natalia Karbowska leads Strategic Development at the Ukrainian Women’s Fund.

I think you all will agree that these are not the best times to push for women’s leadership. On the other [hand], I do think it is a time of untapped potential that we, as women leaders, must harness to reshape the entire structure of leadership in the world.

There is a backlash in terms of women’s rights and gender equality. There is a danger that we might lose the gains that we got during the previous years. Dictators and terrorists are getting more power. We as women leaders have to overcome these global trends.

In Ukraine, women are shaping the country’s recovery from the ground up. Alongside Olha Stefanishyna, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, and Kateryna Levchenko, the Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy, we co-developed a strategic framework titled “10 Blocks for Gender-Inclusive Recovery.”

These recommendations reflect what we, as leaders and activists, believe are essential steps toward rebuilding a new Ukraine—one that responds to the real needs of women.

We believe recovery cannot wait until the war ends or victory is declared. It must begin now—and that is exactly what we are doing.

Khrystyna Kit is the founder and chairwoman of the Ukrainian Women Lawyers Association.

As a lawyer, I understand that we will not have any sustainable justice and peace if we do not guarantee justice for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and of war crimes.

Our organization provides legal aid now for 84 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. And when we ask them what is justice for them, most of them will say that … it’s about [getting an] international reaction to war crimes committed by Russia. Second, it’s reparations for survivors of war crimes. Justice for them is [also about] holistic services provided not only by a national agency, but international agency organizations too.

We must remember that people need consistent, sensitive, and long-term support. For them, this isn’t just about assistance—it’s about justice. And ensuring that justice isn’t the sole responsibility of Ukrainian lawyers or civil society organizations. It is a shared duty, one that belongs to the entire international community.

Wai Wai Nu is a Burmese human rights activist and former political prisoner who leads the Women’s Peace Network.

With the support of fellow women’s groups, my organization, the Women’s Peace Network — which is a Rohingya women-led group — has now become part of the National Unity Consultative Council, a policy-making body in the current democracy movement, advising the alternative government in Burma [Myanmar].

Currently, Burma is experiencing active conflict. Over the past five years and four decades, there has been no national action plan, nor a nationwide recovery process to address these issues. However, women’s groups are trying their best, through their own initiatives, to provide care and recovery for survivors of sexual violence.

The Security Council should establish meaningful engagement with survivors, including visits to conflict-affected areas and a mandate for the Special Envoy. Amplifying women’s voices from war zones is crucial so policymakers can act without bias. Without this, they cannot make informed decisions.

Naw Hser Hser is a delegate for Advocacy and Political Initiatives at the Women’s League of Burma.

Most of the [peace process in Burma before the coup in 2021] were led by men, with no gender perspective, and no official women representatives were invited. This is a major barrier in the peace process: even in negotiations, they don’t consider Women, Peace, and Security as political; they see it only as a “women’s issue.” They don’t understand how to guarantee or implement guiding principles.

This is not just about national actors, but also about international support: Many peace negotiations cannot move forward without financial and logistical support from the international community. Therefore, international organizations and member states must actively engage with women-led organizations, especially because situations change rapidly. They need to include women in decision-making platforms in a timely manner. Women’s groups also need to strengthen their collective voice and elevate WPS and conflict-related sexual violence as global issues.

Muna Luqman is a Yemeni activist and the co-founder of the Women in Solidarity Network.

Years of fighting, political fragmentation, and economic collapse have eroded state authority [in Yemen], allowing armed groups to thrive within a vast war economy. The blockade, sieges, and even the weaponization of water are depriving civilians of livelihoods and food. In areas controlled by de facto authorities, such as the Houthis, women face harassment, arbitrary detention, financial restrictions, and even UN staff and Yemeni aid workers have been detained.

As women peacebuilders, we have not given up. Tokenistic consultations on peace processes are not enough. Women need to be at the actual decision-making table, whether openly or behind the scenes.

It is essential to invest in the leadership [of women peacebuilders], because the leadership of local women peacebuilders prevents further cycles of violence and sustains real peace. Without ensuring their safety, they cannot continue this work. Investments should include protection measures, relocation support, and flexible funding to enable these women to continue their vital work.

Dr. Habiba Sarābi is a peace activist and former Minister of Women’s Affairs in Afghanistan.

There is a critical need to allocate a budget for recovery and relief for Afghan women. Afghan women, who have been removed from public life, cannot go to school or participate in normal daily life as others do. [This] leads to severe mental health consequences, including high rates of suicide among women and even among the young male population. Women arrested by the Taliban often face sexual violence while in detention, and upon release, they cannot safely return home or appear in public. Mental health support is therefore a major need, and the UN system should establish programs to address this.

Another priority is a political solution for Afghanistan. Political solutions are the foundation: without an inclusive government, there is no chance for any other rights.

Finally, the UN should focus on strong, committed women. Simply placing women in decision-making positions by name alone will not solve the problem. Women must be genuinely committed and dedicated to advocating for other women.

Mariam Safi is the Founding Director of the Organization for Policy and Research Studies in Afghanistan.

I have three key points I want to make about the changes needed in WPS.

First is re-conceptualizing the idea of local ownership. Funding is often directed to organizations on the ground, but men are frequently the ones behind these organizations who actually receive the funding. The idea that tribal elders or elites are static and inherently representative of their communities is simply not true — they change over time like everywhere else.

Second, regarding the UN: one concrete step is creating a special envoy for WPS. This could be a crucial entity to address these issues seriously.

Third, strengthening gender focal points within the UN system is essential. Gender focal points, especially in-country, are often our closest allies in the fight against authoritarianism, yet they receive little support or funding compared to larger organizations. Pinpointing and empowering them is vital for ensuring representation and advancing WPS effectively.

Dr. Entisar Abdelsadig serves as a women, peace, and security expert for women-led organizations across Sudan.

Getting engaged actively in political parties is the only way, at least in my [perspective], for women in Sudan to access power. Women are active politically, but they are not at the top of political parties, which is why they cannot make decisions.

In 2024, I was privileged to be part of the women’s delegation to Geneva for talks between the RSF and SAF. From the beginning, we worked with the U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador Mrs. [Geeta Rao] Gupta for the Global Women Initiative, insisting “Nothing about us without us.” We had to be part of the real negotiation, and we succeeded. Unfortunately, some parties did not show up, but at least we were able to get into that space.

My recommendation to the UN is to show real and genuine commitment to the inclusion of women in peace processes. For example, ceasefires cannot be considered purely military or technical exercises — women have the capacity to engage in these. Gender focal points in countries need to map local resources and women’s capacities, in Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, etc., so that when peace processes arise, women are ready to participate.

Hanin Ahmed is a Sudanese activist and the founder of the Sudan Emergency Response Room, one of the only humanitarian aid bodies delivering aid across Sudan.

My recommendation for the government and donors is moving from symbolic participation to meaningful co-leadership with a fully localized fund for the UN agencies, decentralized power of funding from the top level to the country level, and [a strengthening of] the capacity of the UN employees themselves.

I see the need to shift the mindset of the UN system for the next twenty-five years from seeing women as victims to seeing them as architects. Invest in grassroots organizations as much as possible, so they can prevent violence from the bottom up. If we continue only to speak and give recognition every year, but the situation remains the same, we are not making real progress.

Mariam Jalabi is a Syrian activist and peace builder.

If the United Nations and world governments truly want to see change, they must begin—at least symbolically—by electing a woman as Secretary-General. From there, genuine parity across the UN must follow.

Women make up half the world’s population. Isn’t it time we unite to demand that the UN and other institutions—not military ones—reflect that reality, with 50 percent of leadership and decision-making roles held by women?

Imagine the impact: a woman Secretary-General leading the UN, a woman Special Envoy managing peace efforts in Syria, and half of the organization’s staff being women. Such representation would not only shift perception but could also inspire national governments—like Syria’s, currently composed of 23 male ministers and just one woman—to do the same.

If we do not give resources and money to women on the ground and fund them properly, they will face many hurdles and barriers. Much of the UN and donor budgets go into overhead and administration rather than the ground. If most of the funding could go directly to the ground, preferably 50 percent to women, we could see real impact, not just projects to check boxes. It’s also important that these organizations influence others by example, showing that resources on the ground are being used effectively.