The armed conflict over self-determination between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Muslim majority region of Mindanao lasted more than 50 years. Women were already driving forces in the peace process. Since the 2014 peace agreement, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has been under development. This is now a key moment for women to anchor their demands for a gender-equal society within the new political and social structures.

Since 2015, we have been organising Women's Peace Tables with our local project partners with the aim of sustainably strengthening the participation of women in peace processes and making their engagement in peacebuilding visible. They have become a proven method for achieving these goals.

Conflict-affected women from four different regions participated in a Women’s Peace Table in southern Colombia in the summer of 2023. On the agenda for the two-day gathering organised by our partner organisation Comunitar: create a space for women to exchange experiences and to deepen their knowledge on transitional justice and reconciliation. Our programme manager Karin Widmer was there.

Eighteen years on, since the signing of the peace agreement, there can still be no talk of peace in Nepal. The lack of political will, patriarchal social norms as well as political instability are hindering its implementation, leading to intergenerational consequences for those affected by the conflict. They want to be recognised as victims of the violence of war and demand the truth. Our colleagues Camille Bernheim and Karin Widmer listened to them at a Women's Peace Table.

In the 20 years before the Taliban came to power in August 2021, women in Afghanistan had been able, with difficulty, to reclaim some of their rights and their place in society. Until the takeover, we supported women to increase their knowledge about their rights in relation to the peace process at the time, so that they could help shape peace and have a voice in decision-making processes. We are currently analysing how to continue our support for Afghanistan's women.