In May 2023, over 40 participants from Guam (Guahan), Mariana Archipelago, Hawai’i, Japan, Korea, Okinawa, the Philippines, and the USA gathered in the Philippines for a meeting of the International Women’s Network Against Militarism (IWNAM). We contributed to the financing of this meeting at which the participants exchanged learnings, worked on the network strategy and action plan, held a public event, and released a statement with concrete demands for political leaders and decision-makers.

The participants noted that in the six years since IWNAM’s last international meeting in Okinawa in June 2017, “the world has become more militarised and more insecure. Indeed, we are embedded in a culture of killing, profit-making, domination, and control of people and the planet at any cost”.

For years, the feminist network IWNAM has been documenting how women and girls bear the heaviest burden of militarism and war, with some being further marginalised based on race, ethnicity, and class, among other reasons. In its statement, IWNAM reaffirmed its feminist vision of genuine security and pledged to keep working together to end colonisation and militarisation. The network members remain steadfast in their commitment to each other and to women around the world who work towards a just and sustainable world and build a path towards a culture of life.

Margo Okazawa-Rey, until March 2024 a member of our International Board, is co-founder of IWNAM.