As we celebrate International Women’s Day today on March 8th, we must do more than celebrate women’s achievements. We must honor their unshakable leadership in peace, stability, and diplomacy across the globe. And we must do better.
For generations, women have been the unseen architects of conflict resolution, community healing, and sustainable peace. From mediating local disputes to negotiating national peace agreements, women—particularly women of faith—have stood on the frontlines of crises, bridging divides, rebuilding societies, and sustaining peace where others have faltered. Despite this undeniable history, they remain systematically underrepresented in the rooms where decisions about war and peace are made, whether between warring factions, geopolitical power brokers, or democratic institutions grappling with internal threats.
It is critical to recognize that women aren’t just part of peace processes around the world; they’re driving them. Time is past overdue for women to be given their due credit and a front seat at the table where global decisions are being made. When women lead, peace follows.
The Hidden Leaders of Global Peace
According to UN Women, from 1992 to 2019, women made up only 13% of negotiators in major peace agreements. By 2023, those numbers had dropped further—women accounted for just 9.6% of negotiators, 13.7% of mediators, and 26.6% of signatories to peace agreements. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) asserts this contradicts overwhelming evidence showing that when women are actively involved, peace agreements are 64% more likely to endure. This exclusion is not just an oversight, it is a strategic failure.
Because women do not merely contribute to peace processes; they transform them. They prioritize social cohesion, advocate for entire communities rather than political elites, and push for long-term stability over short-term political gains. Women are not waiting for permission, they are already leading, driving change where it is needed most:
In Ukraine, as the war continues to devastate communities, women are leading humanitarian response efforts, mobilizing aid, and advocating for displaced families. Women-led organizations have been at the forefront, providing legal support to survivors of wartime sexual violence, organizing shelters for the displaced, and ensuring essential healthcare access. Many women have taken on leadership roles in politics, business, and defense.
In Myanmar, women, and particularly women of faith, are resisting both military oppression and deep-seated gender discrimination, emerging as key figures in the struggle for democracy and peace. Women-led organizations are documenting and mitigating violence and human rights abuses, providing covert health care and education to children in conflict zones, and spearheading local community and national-level peace initiatives. Female activists have played a crucial role in coordinating civil society movements, negotiating ceasefires between local armed groups, and advocating for political reforms that center marginalized communities.
In Sudan, as political instability and armed conflict have escalated, women have become the backbone of community resilience, driving peace initiatives and humanitarian relief efforts. Women’s groups are leading food distribution programs, setting up safe spaces for internally displaced persons (IDPs), and providing trauma counseling to survivors of violence. They are also playing a vital role in mediating tribal conflicts, advocating for the protection of civilians, and challenging military rule by organizing some of the largest pro-democracy efforts in Sudan’s history.
In Yemen, after nearly a decade of war, women are not just survivors of conflict—they are critical agents of peace. They have been leading prisoner exchange negotiations, facilitating the release of detainees from opposing factions, and brokering local ceasefires in some of the most war-torn areas. Women-led initiatives have been instrumental in supporting families of the wounded and the dead, securing economic opportunities for widows, and challenging restrictions on women. Even as Yemen remains one of the most restrictive environments for women’s political participation, they persist in demanding inclusion in peace talks, advocating for justice, and reshaping the country’s post-war recovery.
Highlighting Trailblazers
Women have long been the first responders to crises, stepping in where governments and institutions have failed and sustaining peace long after treaties are signed. Peace work comes with real risks. The women who step forward to defend their communities often face threats, violence, and intimidation. But they continue their work anyway, showing us what true courage looks like:
Dr. Hind Kabawat, recently appointed to the Preparatory Committee for Syria’s National Dialogue Conference, President of TASTAKEL, and former Deputy Head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission Office in Geneva, has spent years leading interfaith peace efforts in Syria, fully aware that peacemakers in her country often become targets. Still, she pushes forward, ensuring that dialogue—not violence—shapes Syria’s path to peace.
Fawzia Koofi, one of the few women at the table during the intra-Afghan peace talks with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, survived an assassination attempt in 2020—a direct consequence of her fearless dedication to peace, diplomacy, and faith. Yet, she continues to fight for a more just and inclusive Afghanistan.
Dr. Monica McWilliams, co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, endured threats, intimidation, and hostility for daring to challenge sectarian divides and help forge the Good Friday Agreement, proving that women are not just participants in peace—they are architects of it.
Building a Better Future Together
For over 25 years, ICRD has worked to amplify the voices and leadership of women of faith in peacebuilding. We’ve seen firsthand how these women serve as irreplaceable bridge-builders in the world’s most fragile regions. Through strategic research, networks, trainings, and support for community-driven and regional peacemaking efforts, we have worked to ensure that women of faith are recognized, resourced, and empowered to lead.
Unfortunately, we have also been tracking troubling global trends. Rising authoritarianism, political violence, regional conflicts, and democratic backsliding are destabilizing entire nations, undoing the very peace efforts that women have been leading for decades. What happens at the geopolitical level now directly impacts community level to country-level stability, threatening their hard-won gains in Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar, Syria, Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, Libya, and beyond over the past decade.
As geopolitical instability intensifies, ensuring women’s leadership at the international level is no longer a choice, it is an urgent necessity. Women of faith must be able to contribute to shaping solutions at the geopolitical table, where decisions affecting millions are made daily. This isn’t just about equality, it’s about effectiveness. As geopolitical tensions rise, ensuring women’s leadership at all levels isn’t optional, it’s essential for our collective security and prosperity.
Join us in supporting the women who are already leading the way toward a more peaceful world. Together, we can ensure their voices are heard where it matters most. Women are already transforming peace all over the world–let’s help amplify those efforts and build a better world for all.
Originally posted here: https://icrd.org/women-are-leading-the-fight-for-democracy-and-peace/. Co-written with Martine Miller.
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