More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Nobel Peace Prize recipient Leymah Gbowee talks about her experiences with war and journey to being a peacemaker.
“I did what I had to do, at a time that was necessary. I wasn’t looking for any accolades. I would do it again, even if there wasn’t a Nobel Peace Prize. … That prize, that has my name on it, says we recognize the role of grassroots, rural, community women as nurturers and sustainers of their society.”
Women peacekeepers are being asked to increase the security for women civilians in conflict zones—yet women peacekeepers are being sexually harassed and assaulted by men in their own militaries. How can the U.N. Security Council stand by its call to troop contributing countries to increase the numbers of women peacekeepers they are deploying, when they can’t keep them safe?
The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security ranked women’s rights and opportunities across 50 states and the District of Columbia, revealing vast differences in the status of women across America.
How does your state score?
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, founder and CEO of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) and director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security at the London School of Economics joined Ms. for a frank and far-reaching interview to discuss what has been accomplished by the Women Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda thus far and what more needs to be done.
“Certainly we need the war-makers present to agree to end to the violence, but to make peace, you must bring the peacemakers.”
The U.S. Civil Society Working Group for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) convened legislators, practitioners and peacebuilding organizations to discuss how the pandemic has affected peacebuilding efforts, how we can institute the principles of WPS within the U.S. context, and what we can learn from peacebuilders past and present to help solve the unique challenges of this era.
Avril Haines, the next director of national intelligence, used her acceptance speech to emphasize the public service component of her position—and throw shade on her predecessors who continue to deny that Trump lost the election.
“You know that I have never shied away from speaking truth to power. And that will be my charge as director of national intelligence.”
Women’s rights and opportunities vary across state lines in America. The new U.S. Women, Peace and Security Index ranks all 50 states and reveals vast differences in women’s status: Massachusetts, at the top, scores almost four times better than Louisiana, at the bottom.
See where your state ranks.
“Human history has been driven by the male drive for physical security.”
Ms. had the chance to speak with Valerie Hudson, director of the Program on Women, Peace and Security at Texas A&M University. In the new book The First Political Order, which she coauthored, Hudson makes a compelling argument for placing women’s rights and representation at the core of foreign policy and national security—because what happens to half the population is obviously going to affect the health, the wealth and the security of a nation.
Given the scope and urgency of the challenges facing women and girls during the pandemic, there are immediate actions individuals and governments can take to protect women and girls in the most vulnerable situations.
As Mexico launches a feminist foreign policy, it’s worth considering what such an approach would look like in the U.S.
