Press
When Only Men Sit at the Negotiating Table, Ceasefires Fall Apart
In recent decades, a growing body of research has shown that when women’s groups are able to meaningfully influence peace processes, the resulting agreements are stronger and more likely to last.In recent decades, a growing body of research has shown that when women’s groups are able to meaningfully influence peace processes, the resulting agreements are […]
Big Idea, Press
Mind The Gender Capability Gap
It’s a strategic blind spot for the Pentagon, but gender and warfare are inextricably intertwined. Let’s train our forces to face that. In 2009, frustrated that several male insurgents had escaped a cordoned area by disguising themselves as Afghan women in burqas, U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Matt Pottinger established the first U.S. Female Engagement Team […]
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Note From a Proud Founder
Greetings, Nearly two decades ago, we brought together more than 100 activists from around the globe for the first Women Waging Peace Colloquium at Harvard, my academic home base, to reinvent the way decisions are made about war and peace. For the Kennedy School’s then dean, Joseph Nye, this was an example of what he […]
Press
Three Lessons From the Women Who Rebuilt Tunisia’s Constitution
Constitution-reform processes provide states and citizens a rare opportunity to define a new vision for a country. They can chart a route out of conflict toward a more equitable and just society. But this bright horizon is too often unrealized, hampered by the fact that women make up only 19 percent of constituent assemblies in countries […]
Big Idea, Press
Inclusion Riders for War and Peace
At the 2018 Academy Awards, Oscar winner Frances McDormand explained in two words how movies can be more diverse: inclusion riders. These contractual provisions allow film industry leaders to demand a more representative cast and crew. This approach is one worth considering well outside of Hollywood—including in the context of ending war and building peace. […]
Press
Women, Peace, and Security at the Domestic Level
Another chemical weapons attack in Syria, a caravan of Central American migrants fleeing conflict — these stories not only dominate our news, but also reinforce existing American perceptions that conflict happens abroad, not here at home. Thanks to the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Act, which Congress passed in October of last year, the United States is […]
Press
Five Strategies for Increasing Women’s Influence in Constitution Making
By Nanako Tamaru Women’s participation in peace and security processes is vital for lasting peace. This message has been echoed again and again by the international community and expressed through UN Security Council Resolutions, the Sustainable Development Goals, and countless other declarations and strategic plans. Yet, despite this global consensus, women have remained marginalized in […]
Post, Video
Event Video: Women in Constitution-Making
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, […]
Video
Samantha Power and Swanee Hunt at the Harvard Carr Center
US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power; Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer of Pubic Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, Ambassador Swanee Hunt; and Chantal Kayitesi, genocide survivor and co-founder of AVEGA AGAHOZO Rwandan widows’ advocacy organization; come together to discuss Ambassdador Hunt’s new book, Rwandan Women Rising.
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Women Rising, Here and Abroad: Harvard Lowell Lecture 2018
For the annual Lowell Lecture on March 7, 2018, Ambassador Swanee Hunt shared the story of how Rwandan women came together to help rescue their country after the 1994 genocide. Survivor and women’s organization leader Chantal Kayitesi joined Ambassador Hunt in discussing Rwanda’s lessons for other nations, including the United States.
