A Conversation with Women Peacebuilders

Written by Amanda Bradley

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security held a virtual discussion on April 24th, 2020 entitled “On the Frontlines of COVID-19: A Conversation with Women Peacebuilders,” which detailed the impact COVID-19 has on women and security in areas impacted by conflict around the globe. 

Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security welcomed these women peacebuilders from Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, and Syria to highlight each of their peacebuilding relief and recovery efforts in hopes to shine a light on this rapidly developing pandemic, especially in vulnerable societies. Each speaker delineated how the pandemic is exacerbating conflict in already fragile communities and what this means for peace processes moving forward. 

Moderated by Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of Georgetown Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, the webinar started with Rajaa Altalli, co-founder and co-director of the Center for Civil Society. Ms. Altalli was asked whether she believes the tragedies of COVID-19 will continue to fuel an already conflict infused area, or if it could possibly result in a de-escalation of conflict. Ms. Altalli has been working on the frontlines of Syria and highlights her concern with the COVID-19 epidemic and the harsh realities most are forced endure, especially with Syrian detainees who are already in bad shape. 

The World Health Organization suggests for all to practice “social distancing”, but for a lot of Syrian men and women, they consider that a luxury to even think about. Having no other choice but to flee, Syrian refugees are often packed inside camps and do not have the luxury to participate in social distancing, especially in war-torn areas. Despite all of this, Ms. Altalli highlights how, “CSST has been calling for a further cease-fire to continue. And at the same time pushing for the political process. COVID-19 could be an opportunity for peace in Syria.” The extremity of COVID-19 can help to advance these ideals. The possibility of a ceasefire being executed could eventually lead to peace that has been deemed elusive in the region for years. 

Wai Wai Nu, Founder and Director of Women’s Peace Network in Myanmar delineates the disastrous nature of the country before the virus even came forward and how the onset of the pandemic has impacted her work. She paints a very grim picture by stating, “COVID-19 pandemic added another layer of vulnerability to the most vulnerable population of people. In most cases, WHO COVID-19 prevention guidelines on social distancing, handwashing are simply impossible to practice there. In Bangladesh, as you said, approximately 1 million from Burma are leaving an overcrowded squalid camp often sharing 10 m² of tent.” Women in these camps have already been faced with severe threats to security and are also now faced with an exacerbation of it all due to the epidemic. Chouchou Namegabe, Founder and CEO of ANZAFRIKA in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, highlights similar tragedies in eastern DRC and how they now have to face the prospect of a new pandemic on top of an already detrimental Ebola outbreak that has been suffocating the region for years.

It is imperative for NGOs and all civil societies to bring light to these dangers within our international communities. It is only through the sobering assessments of COVID-19’s impact on peace and security within these vulnerable communities that we may begin to mitigate and advocate for concrete change. Oksana Potapova, co-founder of the Theatre for Dialogue NGO in Ukraine, details how her government is in the midst of developing a new action plan for women, peace and security Resolution 1325. Civil societies in Ukraine are very actively involved in monitoring the implementation of this current plan and are in the midst of designing the approach to writing the new action plan. Theatre for Dialogue NGO have also been mobilizing to sign a petition for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, which would provide them with a systemic response to gender based violence. 

In addition to the Theatre for Dialogue NGO and their work in Ukraine, Georgetown Institute for Women Peace and Security have launched a new initiative called “Stories from the Frontlines: Women Peacebuilders in the Pandemic.” Through this new initiative, they hope to continue to learn from the experience of women peacebuilders around the globe and their ongoing efforts in putting a spotlight on the important work all activists are currently, and have been doing, way before the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.