Women, Entrepreneurship, and Rebuilding War-torn Communities

Violent wars disrupt the social fabric of communities and impose severe limitations for women’s economic access during and after conflict. Nevertheless, women entrepreneurs in war-torn societies are reshaping the business landscape and stretching beyond the micro-lending niche. The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), hosted a public event focused on women and their understudied yet significant entrepreneurial activities underway in conflict and post-conflict societies.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon presented her widely acclaimed New York Times best-selling book, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Women Who Risked Everything to Keep them Safe. Patti Petesch discussed her new USAID report, "Women's Empowerment arising from Violent Conflict," which draws upon 125 women's life stories to examine factors shaping women's agency and local recovery processes in four conflict-affected countries.

Speakers:
 

• Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
  Deputy Director, Women and Foreign Policy Program
  Council on Foreign Relations
• Patti Petesch
  Consultant and coauthor of the World Bank's Voices of the Poor and Moving Out of Poverty
  Mercy Corps
• Borany Penh, Discussant
  Senior Economic Advisor, Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs
  U.S. Agency for International Development
• Stacey Young, Discussant
  Senior Knowledge Management Advisor, Microenterprise Development Office
  U.S. Agency for International Development
• Kathleen Kuehnast, Moderator
  Director, Gender and Peacebuilding Center
  U.S. Institute of Peace

Explore Further

• Listen to the audio recording of this event
• Watch Part I of "Women, Entrepreneurship, and Rebuilding War-torn Communities"
• Watch Part II of "Women, Entrepreneurship, and Rebuilding War-torn Communities"
• View Patti Petesch's PowerPoint presentation
• Read USAID's report on "Women's Empowerment Arising from Violence Conflict and Recovery" by Patti Petesch
• Order Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's book "The Dressmaker of Khair Khana"
• Learn more about USIP's Gender and Peacebuilding Center

Related Academy Courses

• Social Reconstruction and Human Security
• Engaging with Identity-Based Differences
• Economic Reconstruction in Conflict-Affected States
• Overseas Religious Engagement