A Mother’s Love to Embrace the World
Written by: Grace Kellett
In September, the UN Security Council, the main organ of the UN that addresses issues of peace and security, met to discuss issues such as the volatile and increasingly dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, a resurgence in nuclear missile tests coming from both North and South Korea, the conflicts in Yemen, Syria, Sudan and South Sudan, among other conflicts and tensions and the implication of climate change on international security.
One “golden thread” that ran through Ireland’s presidency and will continue through the presidencies of Kenya and Mexico (October and November 2021, respectively), is an emphasis on embracing principles reflected in the UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), which so far has been acted upon by inviting more female than male leaders, advisors and stakeholders to consult with or address the Security Council.
It is a central tenet of the WPS agenda, which has been institutionalized by the UN since 2000 through the UNSCR 1325, that a critical reason why peace continues to remain elusive is that women, a vital voice and instrument of creating peaceful societies, are not equally represented at all levels of the peacemaking process.
The significance of women in peace and security is well documented, one has only to research the topic of women, peace and security to find the data on how involving women in all levels of peacemaking only add to the stability of the peace achieved, and in a way that may better provide for the feeling of security on the ground, such as thorough mechanisms that protect community-level violence or intolerance.
The co-founders of WFWPI, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and her late husband, Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, have also been clear on the role women play in creating a peaceful world. However, there is something unique to the way in which this is seen by Dr. and Rev. Moon, that often does not get emphasized or even acknowledged in the halls of the UN: that it is women who have embraced their unique value and roles often tied to family, as daughters, wives and mothers, that the world needs so acutely.
Since its founding, WFWPI has carried the mission of liberating women by helping women to realize their value, not just in relation to their position in the world, but in being able to recognize how deeply empowering, significant and important their roles as daughters, wives and especially mothers are to the world.
Mothers are often the heartistic pillars and of their families and the most influential person in their children’s lives when they are young. Who is it a child often runs to confess, or when they are hurt? Who can create peace when two siblings are angry at one another? Who can help them to remember in the heat of the moment that love for one another and harmony is more important than rules, or fairness, or revenge or what they want at the moment? A mother. Who does a child go to to be accepted and loved? A mother!
Therefore, we must strive to further elevate the potential of women not only through external means but recognize their invaluable roles as peacemakers in the family and society. Peace starts at home and expands outward. The home is where we practice how to love one another and ourselves, and embracing this enables women, as well as men, to relate with the rest of the world as an extension of their global family.
