Women are particularly affected by armed conflict and violence. Yet they are often excluded from formal peace or transitional justice processes after a conflict has been resolved, even though they are strongly represented in civil society organisations that are committed to peaceful coexistence. Together with our partners, we are committed to ensuring women’s equal participation in shaping peace and conflict transformation processes.

Formal peace processes are critical time windows in which the social order of the future is negotiated. They offer the opportunity to address inequalities and injustices, including exclusionary gender norms that have been a contributing factor to the conflict. Civil society organisations often play a significant role in strengthening women's participation in peace processes.

Women’s participation in transition

Together with our project partners in Colombia, Nepal and the Philippines, we support conflict-affected women in bringing their knowledge, experiences and demands into processes that begin with the official end of armed conflicts. In this way, they make a concrete contribution to transitional justice. Transitional justice refers to the processes that enable the transition to a sustainable, peaceful and secure social order. In order to initiate real social change, women and marginalised groups must be heard and involved in these processes.

For several years, our project partners Comunitar in Colombia, Nagarik Aawaz in Nepal and the Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute in the Philippines have been conducting Women's Peace Tables, both in urban and rural areas. There, the participants work through their experiences of violence and resistance and jointly develop strategies to bring their demands as a collective into peace and transitional justice processes and conflict transformation. The Peace Tables serve as a safe space for exchange and networking.

Cross-border exchange

We also support exchange among the project partners themselves in the three countries, for example at regular face-to-face meetings. The joint production of the publication "From Transition to Transformation" was a highlight of this cross-border exchange at the conclusion of the project phase, which ended in 2021. The publication is based on the experiences and knowledge of women affected by conflict who participated in Women's Peace Tables in the three countries between 2018-2021, and collects the insights of the partners.

Strengthening relationships and transforming structures

In the current phase of the programme between 2021 and 2024, we worked with our partners in the three countries to initiate social and structural changes that promote peace. In safe spaces – our Women's Peace Tables – women and LGBTIQ+ people affected by conflict were able to develop their options for action in various ways. Together, they expanded their knowledge of the provisions of the peace agreements, formulated their demands and developed strategies. An important part of this process was the individual and collective healing of the traumas caused by the conflict. This laid the foundation for the formation of feminist networks, including across ethnic and social divides, which effectively represented their demands and expectations to politicians.

This joint effort not only had a positive impact on relations between different communities, but also on social norms, such as societal expectations regarding the role of women, which are regressing in many places. Thanks to the Women's Peace Tables, 5,400 participants – from rural and urban areas, survivors of violence, ex-combatants, and women and LGBTIQ+ people from different religions and communities – have become multipliers and drivers of social change.

They created a broader awareness of the experiences of women and LGBTIQ+ persons in armed conflicts and of the responsibility for past injustices. For example, women in Nepal presented a memorandum to government representatives demanding that the government finally implement the transitional justice process. In the Philippines, women successfully lobbied for the inclusion of gender-specific provisions in regional legislation, such as the Bangsamoro Electoral Law. In Colombia, women testified before the Truth Commission about their experiences in the armed conflict, thus making their own experiences of conflict part of Colombian history.

In the course of our cross-border programme work, we have found that

• access to people in positions of political power creates accountability and promotes recognition of the diverse experiences of women.

• talking about traumatic events requires psychosocial support so that survivors do not experience re-traumatisation.

• continuous lobbying and networking is needed to repeatedly draw attention to the diverse experiences of those affected by conflict and to prevent a repetition of such events and atrocities.

• the process of dealing with past conflicts contributes to the prevention of future violent conflicts.

By creatively capturing and sharing what we have learned together, we aim for a more sustainable impact of our engagement. The following illustration shows the process of change that we were able to achieve between 2021-2024.

How women influence peace processes

A graphic representation of the different stages of peace processes and how women exert influence to drive peace processes and prevent setbacks.

Sketchnote Handout_EN 2.06 MB, PDF