Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Events

Twitter Space Series: Protecting Women's Participation in Peacebuilding

Conversations with Leading Experts and Practitioners from Around the World

Start: Friday, February 25, 2022 at 10:00am / End: Monday, March 7, 2022 at 11:00am

Share This
Print the Page

Despite mounting evidence that women’s inclusion leads to more durable political settlements, women’s voices remain systematically excluded from peace processes and decision-making while civic activists face increasingly brutal intimidation and violence. In 2020, the United Nations verified 35 killings of women human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists in seven conflict-affected countries — a number that significantly underrepresents the violence facing women peacebuilders and civic activists worldwide. As global conflict and violence rise to unprecedented levels in 2022, the imperative for proactive women’s protection and inclusion has never been more urgent.

Esther Ze Naw and Ma Ei Thinzar Maung lead a rally to protest the recent military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 6, 2021. Despite the danger, women have been at the forefront of the protest movement, rebuking the generals who ousted a female civilian leader. (The New York Times)
A rally to protest the recent military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 6, 2021. Despite the danger, women have been at the forefront of the protest movement, rebuking the generals who ousted a female civilian leader. (The New York Times)

From February 25 to March 7, USIP hosted a series of Twitter Spaces between USIP experts and peacebuilding practitioners working in Afghanistan, Colombia, Myanmar, the Sahel and Ukraine to underscore the importance of protecting and facilitating women’s meaningful inclusion in peacebuilding. Panelists discussed strategies that create inclusive and safe participation channels for women of all backgrounds, beginning with a conversation on the global imperative to bring men and masculinities into this discussion. 

Friday, February 25, 10:00am EST
Peaceful Masculinities

  • Andrés Martinez Garcia
    @andmartg
    Program Manager, U.S. Institute of Peace 
  • Gary Barker
    @Promundo_US
    CEO and Founder, Promundo
  • Kathleen Kuehnast
    @kathkuehnast
    Director, Gender Policy and Strategy, U.S. Institute of Peace

Tuesday, March 1, 2:00pm EST
Myanmar

  • Billy Ford 
    @billee4d 
    Program Officer, Burma, U.S. Institute of Peace 
  • Khin Lay
    @KhinLay71
    Founder and Director, Triangle Women’s Organization

Wednesday, March 2, 10:00am EST
Ukraine

  • Asmik Arutyunyan
    @AsmikArutunyan
    Senior Program Specialist, Russia and Europe, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Shelby Magid
    @shelbyjmag
    Associate Director, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council
  • Oleksandra Matviychuk
    @avalaina
    Chair, Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine

Thursday, March 3, 11:00am EST
The Sahel

  • Nicoletta Barbera
    @nsbarbera
    Senior Program Officer, Africa, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Emily Cole
    @emilykcol
    Program Officer, Governance, Justice and Security, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Sandrine Nama
    @CendrineNama
    Burkina Faso Coordinator, Justice and Security Dialogues, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Mari Traore
    @MariTraore
    Project Officer, Women Preventing Violent Extremism, Africa, U.S. Institute of Peace

Friday, March 4, 10:00am EST
Afghanistan

  • Belquis Ahmadi
    @belquisa2
    Senior Program Officer, Afghanistan, U.S. Institute of Peace 
  • Asma Ebadi
    @EbadiAsma
    Program Assistant, Afghanistan, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Wahzma Frogh
    @FroghWazhma
    Co-Founder and Director, Women and Peace Studies Organization; Former Senior Advisor on Women in Security and Human Rights, Afghan Ministry of Defense

Monday, March 7, 10:00am EST
Colombia

  • Maria Antonia Montes
    @Tonis_Montes
    Program Officer, Latin America, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Angelika Rettberg
    @Rettberg_A
    Professor, Political Science, Universidad de los Andes

Related Publications

Senior Study Group on Counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Final Report

Senior Study Group on Counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Final Report

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

By: USIP Senior Study Group on Counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan

When announcing the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in April 2021, President Joe Biden identified counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan as an enduring and critical US national security interest. This priority became even more pronounced after the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, the discovery of al-Qaeda’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul less than a year later, and the increasing threat of the Islamic State of Khorasan (ISIS-K) from Afghanistan. However, owing to the escalating pressures of strategic competition with China and Russia, counterterrorism has significantly dropped in importance in the policy agenda.

Type: Report

Violent Extremism

Why Counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan Still Matters

Why Counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan Still Matters

Thursday, May 9, 2024

By: Ambassador Anne Patterson; Tricia Bacon, Ph.D.; Ambassador P. Michael McKinley; Joshua White, Ph.D.; Brian Finucane, Ph.D.

From wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to rising tensions in the South China Sea, there is no shortage of crises to occupy the time and attention of U.S. policymakers. But three years after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the threat of terrorism emanating from South Asia remains strong and policymakers need to be more vigilant. Indeed, at the end of March, an Afghanistan-based affiliate of ISIS launched a devastating attack outside of Moscow, killing over 140 people.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy;  Violent Extremism

Despite Daunting Economic Headwinds, Afghan Private Sector Shows Signs of Life

Despite Daunting Economic Headwinds, Afghan Private Sector Shows Signs of Life

Thursday, May 2, 2024

By: William Byrd, Ph.D.

Three years after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the country’s economy remains in a dismal state marked by depression-level price deflation, high unemployment and a collapse of GDP. Still, while the bad news for Afghans is well known, less visible are some green shoots in the country’s private sector that, if properly encouraged, could mitigate the situation. These range from small business activity to Taliban plans for major projects to the potential for an uptick in investment. Clearly nothing in those developments can stimulate a strong economic revival.

Type: Analysis

Economics

The Latest @ USIP: Reclaiming Human Rights in Afghanistan

The Latest @ USIP: Reclaiming Human Rights in Afghanistan

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

By: Fatima Gailani

Since taking power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed their own interpretation of Islamic law onto the people of Afghanistan and consistently rolled back human rights protections — especially for women and girls — all while the country struggles to recover from decades of conflict and economic crisis. USIP spoke with Fatima Gailani, the former president of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, about the various ways Afghans can put pressure on the Taliban to reclaim their rights and demand a better future.

Type: Blog

Gender;  Human Rights

View All Publications