Press
Who Belongs at Darfur Talks?
This article was originally published by The Christian Science Monitor. Last month, an unknown group killed 10 African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. Some think whoever did it was trying to get an upper hand at the peace talks scheduled to begin this week. The attack calls into question the approach often used to resolve conflict.As […]
Press
Liberian Women Battle to Bridge Generation Gap
This article was originally published by Voice of America. During the civil war that raged for 14 years in Liberia until a peace agreement between rebels and government forces was sealed in 2003, the country’s education system crumbled to the point of non-existence. Most young people were forced to abandon their classrooms to participate in […]
Press
Our Strength Comes From Our Bitter Past, Liberian Women Say
This article was originally published by Voice of America. “We can’t forget our past, because its taste is still bitter in our mouths,” says Leymah Gbowee, one of Liberia’s most prominent human rights activists, who remains at the forefront of efforts to ensure that women occupy increasingly prominent positions in her society. Gbowee is the […]
Press
Iranian Scholar’s Daughter Tells of Mother’s Distress
This article was originally published by NPR. The United States Senate is calling for Iran to release detained scholar Haleh Esfandiari immediately. Esfandiari is being held in Iran on suspicion of espionage. The scholar’s daughter, Haleh Bakhash, speaks openly about her mother. She’s joined by Carla Koppell of the Institute for Inclusive Security. Together, they […]
Big Idea, Press
Imagining a World with More Female Heads of State
This article was originally published by The Christian Science Monitor. On Sunday, millions of French men and women will determine whether a woman should become their president. Socialist Ségolène Royal is running against conservative Nicolas Sarkozy. Should she win, both France and Germany, two of the major countries in Europe, would be presided over by […]
Press
“Gender is Society”: Inclusive Lawmaking in Rwanda’s Parliament
This article was originally published in Critical Half. While the development community has shifted toward a gender and development (GAD) paradigm that emphasizes relations between women and men, rather than focusing on women alone, GAD programs often fall short of truly including men. However, a 2006 legislative campaign by Rwandan female parliamentarians, in which they […]
Press
Anna Politkovskaya Still Wages Peace
This article was originally published by San Francisco Chronicle. Worldwide, at least 81 journalists were killed in 2006 — the highest annual toll in more than a decade — and murder was the leading cause of death, according to two organizations that promote freedom of the press, Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect […]
Press
Powerful Voices
This article was originally published by NPR. A group called the Initiative for Inclusive Security, which recently hosted its eighth annual conference in Washington, wants to increase political participation among women in “high conflict” and post-conflict areas. The conferences allow women leaders to learn skills from each other as well as from other political and […]
Press
Conflict-Zone Women Lobby in Washington
This article was originally published by Women’s eNews. Mariam Alsadig Almahdi is an ex-combatant in Sudan, a medical doctor, a mother of six and a current high-ranking official in Sudanese party politics. Now she can add one more line to her lengthy resume: U.S. lobbyist. Almahdi, the general secretary assistant for communications in Sudan’s Umma […]
Press
Kennedy School Program Offers Proponents of Peace Forum to Share, Learn
This article was originally published by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. As Iraq’s first post-Saddam minister of the environment, Dr. Mishkat al-Moumin MPA06 has had to overcome her share of challenges: building a ministry from scratch, defying death threats and surviving attacks on her life, all while helping her country overcome years of environmental abuse. […]
