OSF Fellow Ambassador Donald Steinberg shares his thoughts on the recently released U.S. Government Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security and next steps to ensure implementation.
On September 11, 2001, I was getting my hands decorated with henna. Mr. A switched on the television. What we saw next made our breath catch in our throats. An aircraft dovetailed into the North Wing of the World Trade Centre. I remembered the building from a gigantic picture of New York by Night that my father held onto for years at home, and now it was fast dissipating into dust.
But I was a small voice amidst a multitude of human rights defenders and political activists including many women who protested the overthrow of democracy. They faced far more serious intimidation and violence. There were riots and looting. A political deadlock resulted in a second coup on September 25, 1987. The 1970 Constitution was revoked. Fiji was declared a republic. The Governor General became the President.
Let me take you through my beautiful country, Cameroon where our women have an age-long tradition of advocating for peace and security. The English regions of Cameroon have a group of post-menopausal women known as Takembeng. Takembeng is a female social movement in the Northwest Region of Cameroon.
Security to me is not just a word, it’s a goal in life. That can be financial, social and most importantly personal. Often people misunderstand security for wars and guns, but they forget that at the end of the day the only one who or what can make you feel secure is yourself and the people around you.
As February 20th marks World Day of Social Justice, we are proud to look back at the accomplishments of the Women, Peace and Security agenda towards a world free of discrimination.
How can a radio program save lives? An example from the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute’s SOLLIMS Sampler tells us how applying a gender perspective to radio programming in Afghanistan did exactly that.
OSF highlights four new releases in the WPS field.
As a veteran global activist, Dr. Susanne E. Jalbert has employed economic development as an essential tool toward a more equitable, safe life.
Key takeaways from OSF's newest publication which compiles 30 years of research on the effectiveness of the WPS agenda in the fields of governance, peacebuilding, peace and security operations, and countering violent extremism and counterterrorism.
“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
