Almost 25 years after the adoption of UNSCR 1325, women continue to face exclusion from and marginalisation in peace processes. This four-part podcast series features reflections from women peacebuilders around the world on their experiences of women's participation in peace processes, the various challenges they encounter, and strategies they have embraced to amplify their voice and influence. Discussion topics across all episodes draw on the thematic foci of the 2023 Berlin Declaration and include, inter alia, women's access to the necessary financial means to meaningfully participate, their protection, and the role of women's (solidarity) movements in enhancing their participation and influence in peace processes.
Each episode involves a conversation between two women peacebuilders. The opening episode with Ghita El Khyari (Head of the WPHF Secretariat) and Thania Paffenholz (Executive Director of Inclusive Peace) sets the stage for the series, describing the changing nature of formal peace processes as well as recent trends in women's participation therein. Episode 2 features women peacebuilders from Ethiopia and Venezuela discussing challenges and opportunities for women's participation in ongoing national dialogues, particularly related to how to make national dialogues more gender inclusive. Episode 3 features women peacebuilders from Palestine/Syria and Myanmar discussing challenges related to participation in contexts characterised by severely restricted and increasingly shrinking civic space. Episode 4 features women peacebuilders from Sudan and Afghanistan exchanging on the linkages between participation and protection of women peacebuilders in contexts where protection needs have recently become significantly more acute.
