From 2-6 March 2016, the Women Peacemakers Program (WPP), together with ABAAD – Resource Center for Gender Equality, brought together 15 men and women peacemakers from various organizations based in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, for the final training week of the MENA regional Training of Trainers (ToT) Cycle “Together for Transformation: Gender-Sensitive Nonviolence for Sustainable Peace”. In this article Merle Gosewinkel, Senior Program Officer at WPP, reflects on the last training and feedback given from participants on their priorities and concerns moving forward.
By Merle Gosewinkel
From 2-6 March 2016, the Women Peacemakers Program (WPP), together with ABAAD – Resource Center for Gender Equality, brought together 15 men and women peacemakers from various organizations based in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, for the second training week of the MENA regional Training of Trainers (ToT) Cycle “Together for Transformation: Gender-Sensitive Nonviolence for Sustainable Peace”.
This second training block consisted of a combination of theory and skills-building sessions on Gender-Sensitive Active Nonviolence (GSANV), with the inclusion of a masculinities perspective; Lobby and Advocacy on Women, Peace and Security (WPS); gender and countering violent extremism (CVE) and the impact of counter-terrorism measures on (women’s) civil society organizing; as well as extensive sharing and peer-to-peer learning sessions among participants. The curriculum was designed based on suggestions and recommendations coming from the participants after the first training block.
During the peer-to-peer sessions of the 2016 training, participants presented the follow-up country-based work they have been engaged in since the first training, as well as shared examples from different countries on civil society’s engagement in the development of a National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325.
With the current armed conflicts in the region, participants spoke elaborately about the many challenges women’s organizations are facing in their work for women’s rights and peace. The shrinking space for civil society in the region poses a serious challenge for the continuation of their much needed work on the ground, and sometimes even for activists’ personal life. They confirmed, in line with the findings of the UNSCR 1325 Global Study, that increasingly, women human rights defenders and their organizations are becoming squeezed between terrorism and anti-terrorism measures.
One the one hand, they mentioned how hard-won rights for women in the region are under threat, and how women activists and their organizations in some countries can be under attack by different actors. On the other hand, trainees also witnessed a decrease of funding going directly to local women’s (grassroots) organizations, which is related to a worrying donor trend which is not just confined to the MENA region. Further, several participants shared their concerns about programming being shaped by INGO’s agenda’s, instead of being based on the needs of the people on the ground. They strongly emphasized the need for international NGO’s to listen to local women’s organizations when working in the region: “They need to listen more and be more mindful of the women on the ground, because it’s the women on the ground that experience the situations on a daily basis, they know the community, know what will work and what will not.”
The last day of the training focused on training and facilitation skills, including a session on training design. With the second training, the MENA ToT Cycle 2015-2016 has been officially finalized, and WPP looks forward to continuing the work with its partners in the near future!
12 Dec '17 Today, we are pleased to share with you the Conference Report “Financial Inclusion for Freedom and Security” by the Women Peacemakers Program, Duke Law International Human Rights Clinic, Human Security Collective, Transnational Institute, the Charity & Security Network, in cooperation with the Knowledge Platform Security and Rule of Law.
7 Dec '17 Today, on the 13th day of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign, we bring you the sad news that from 15 December onwards, the Women Peacemakers Program (WPP) will have to close its doors. We would like to ask for your time to read what has driven us to make this decision.
7 Nov '17 On Thursday, 26 October 2017, a side event entitled, “Pulling the Rug from Under Our Feet: What is the UNSCR 1325 Without Civil Society Freedoms?” was hosted on the margins of the 17th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. The event was hosted by the Women Peacemakers Program (WPP) and the Dutch Mission, in collaboration with Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Al-Hayat Center for Civil Society Development, Arab Women Organisation of Jordan, NOVACT, Free Sight Association, Iraqi Al-Amal Association, Women Empowerment Organisation, NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. This article briefly looks at the main issues discussed during the event.
