Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Projects

Project

Women Preventing Extremist Violence (WPEV)

Share This
Print the Page

The Women Preventing Extremist Violence pilot project (2012-2017) was designed to increase women’s agency, influence and engagement in strengthening community level resilience to violent extremism in Kenya and Nigeria.

Through a training program and facilitated dialogues, USIP’s staff worked with in-country partners to bring together representatives of women civil society and the security sector in an exploration of the local drivers of violent extremism, and potential strategies for prevention and improved collaboration. 

Please visit USIP’s Women Preventing Violent Extremism in the Horn and Sahel project page for information on the new iteration of the program.

Women Preventing Violent Extremism: Charting a New Course event panel

Events

Women and Countering Violent Extremism Strengthening Policy Responses and Ensuring Inclusivity
In July 2015, experts from civil society, the United Nations, academia, and the U.S. government discussed ways to include women in efforts to counter violent extremism. The debate directly informed U.S. government officials preparing for major international conferences on these issues in fall 2015.

Women Preventing Violent Extremism: Charting a New Course
In celebration of International Women's Day, the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a meeting of 12 women civil society leaders from India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tanzania on Friday, March 6.

The Thought for Action Kit

cover

Women Preventing Violent Extremism

A collection of experts’ essays and exercises designed to help guide activists and practitioners to engage in reflection and dialogue on violent extremism.

Related Publications

Women Preventing Extremist Violence (French)

Women Preventing Extremist Violence (French)

Friday, December 4, 2020

Au niveau de la Corne de l’Afrique, al-Shabaab et une présence émergente de l’Etat Islamique ISIS ainsi que plusieurs autres groupes extrémistes sont toujours en place en Somalie, avec des recruteurs et des réseaux de facilitation s’étendant au-delà des frontières nationales et à travers la région. Au Sahel, d’innombrables communautés soufrent également de la violence extrémiste et terroriste perpétrée par différent acteurs dont certains appartenant à l’Etat islamique, d’autres étant affiliés Al-Qaïda et le reste tiré des mouvements dirigés localement.

Type: Fact Sheet

Gender;  Violent Extremism

Women Preventing Violent Extremism

Women Preventing Violent Extremism

Monday, November 4, 2019

In the Horn of Africa, both al-Shabaab and a nascent presence of ISIS—as well as remnants of other extremist groups—remain in Somalia, with recruiters and facilitation networks extending beyond national borders and across the region. And in the Sahel, countless communities also suffer terrorist and extremist violence perpetrated by actors ranging from ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliates to locally driven movements.

Type: Fact Sheet

Violent Extremism;  Gender

View All

Latest Publications

The Nagorno-Karabakh Imperative: Protect Civilians, Revive Diplomacy

The Nagorno-Karabakh Imperative: Protect Civilians, Revive Diplomacy

Thursday, September 28, 2023

By: Manon Fuchs;  Mary Glantz, Ph.D.;  Katie Ruppert;  Elizabeth Shillings

The long conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh this month recaptures global attention the only way it ever has: through new bloodshed. Azerbaijan’s swift seizure of the ethnic Armenian enclave has ignited a humanitarian crisis. Most of the territory’s 120,000 residents are fleeing to Armenia, raising the specter of ethnic cleansing. The international community must urgently secure safety for civilians, long the primary victims of this war.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

Is a Saudi-Israel Normalization Agreement on the Horizon?

Is a Saudi-Israel Normalization Agreement on the Horizon?

Thursday, September 28, 2023

By: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen;  Ambassador Hesham Youssef;  Robert Barron;  Adam Gallagher

In recent months, a drumbeat has built around the U.S. effort to negotiate a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The deal would be a tectonic shift in Middle East geopolitics, but also carries major implications for other actors beyond the three negotiating parties. Israel would, of course, benefit from normalized relations with the Saudis — long seen as the “holy grail” of potential normalization agreements for the country. The Saudis, in turn, would see their interests advanced through strengthened U.S partnership in key areas. But this deal could also have serious implications for the future of the Palestinian national movement and, further afield, for the role of China in the Middle East.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Peace Processes

As China Looks to Reform Global Governance, How Does It Approach the U.N.?

As China Looks to Reform Global Governance, How Does It Approach the U.N.?

Thursday, September 28, 2023

By: Carla Freeman, Ph.D.;  Lyndi Tsering

As China has increasingly positioned itself as a global leader and foremost champion of the Global South, Xi Jinping and other top Communist Party officials have been vociferous in their critiques of the U.S.-led international order. Through a bevy of initiatives and proposals — like Xi’s Global Security Initiative — offered in recent years, Beijing has made clear that it wants to see a wholesale reform of global governance. At the June 2022 BRICS summit, for example, Xi called for a “new type of international relations” that rejects hegemony and zero-sum thinking. What this ultimately amounts to is Beijing’s effort to undermine U.S. global leadership as the U.S.-China rivalry intensifies.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

Coordinates for Transformative Reconciliation

Coordinates for Transformative Reconciliation

Thursday, September 28, 2023

By: Fanie du Toit;  Angelina Mendes

Reconciliation is the long-term process that helps conflict parties build trust, learn to live together cooperatively, and create a stable peace. But what makes reconciliation genuinely transformative? This report draws on a qualitative analysis of 20 prominent reconciliation processes and interviews with experts who guided them to identify the qualities that made the processes successful. The report‘s insights and recommendations can help governments, multilateral organizations, and nongovernmental actors develop more responsive and responsible reconciliation initiatives.

Type: Peaceworks

Reconciliation

View All Publications