Women are half of the world’s population, do two-thirds of the work, get one-tenth of the income, and are the owners of one per cent of the property.

Krishna Ahooja-Patel's training in law prepared her for a 25-year-long career with the United Nations, where she worked in various capacities around the world-with the International Labor Organization, the UN Institute of Research and Training for the Advancement of Women, and the Women's World Summit. As president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Krishna brings decades of experience to take forward the many WILPF agendas for peace education, women's rights, disarmament, and strengthening the UN.

Influenced very early in her life by Gandhian ideals, Krishna (born 1929) has been a tireless advocate of peace, social justice, and women's empowerment. Her education and training in law prepared her for a 25-year-long career with the UN, where she worked in various capacities around the world, for example with the International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN Institute of Research and Training for the Advancement of Women (Instraw) and the Women's World Summit. In 1995, she traveled with a "peace train" organized by the WILPF to the UN Women's Conference in Beijing. It was Krishna who came up with the startling and now-famous UN statistic about women: "Women are half of the world’s population, do two-thirds of the work, get one-tenth of the income, and are owners of one per cent of the property." An important area for the WILPF and for Krishna, personally, since 2000 has been to have the UN Security Council's Resolution 1325 translated into as many languages as possible, in order to spread it worldwide to ensure concerted pressure on the Security Council for its implementation. The resolution reaffirms the important role of women in prevention and resolution of conflicts, and in peace-building processes. Krishna's involvement with feminist issues and peace initiatives has placed her at the forefront of national and international movements, where she has contributed as an ideologue as well as an action-initiator.

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)