Amplifying Women's Voices

Features

A Home Away from Home: How Kareemat Supports Syrian Refugees’ Integration to Life in Kilis, Turkey

The ongoing war in Syria has resulted in the world’s largest refugee crisis with more than 13 million people forcibly displaced since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. Kilis, a Turkish border city, is the main point of entry from Syria and is home to around 200,000 Syrians.

Kareemat, a women-led peacebuilding organization in Kilis, Turkey, is making a profound impact on Syrian refugee women and their families. Supported by ICAN, Kareemat addresses the challenges of displacement, isolation, and economic hardships through psychological support, language classes, and economic empowerment resources, fostering integration and reducing tensions between Turkish and Syrian communities.

Self-Help Groups, Skills Learning and Psychosocial Support: WPSO Provides a Lifeline to Afghan Women

Despite staggering challenges and limited space to operate, the Women, Peace, Studies Organization (WPSO) continues to provide support for women in every province of Afghanistan.

ICAN Partner AWAPSA: A Catalyst for Kenya’s First SGBV Court

Funded by ICAN’s Innovative Peace Fund (IPF), AWAPSA launched a project across Kenya’s coastal counties to increase awareness of SGBV, educate women and girls on how to report instances of SGBV, and facilitate the reporting of cases to the police. One of the most significant and unforeseen outcomes of AWAPSA’s project was the establishment of Kenya’s first special court for handling SGBV cases, which opened in March 2022, at Shanzu Law Courts, Mombasa.

CoACT: Engaging Youth to Build Peace and Prevent Election Violence in Uganda

On June 2, 2021, the Coalition for Action on 1325 (CoACT) and the Embassy of Sweden in Kampala hosted a ‘Democracy Talks’ event to discuss youth participation in democratic processes in Uganda. The event was the culmination of over a year of CoACT’s efforts to mobilize youth to build sustainable peace in Uganda. Since May 2020, CoACT has implemented a program to increase inclusiveness and youth participation in election processes, funded by ICAN’s Innovative Peace Fund (IPF).

Boko Haram and Banditry: Northeast Nigeria’s Deteriorating Security Situation

“We need a special intervention, we need our country back, it’s becoming lawless”, warns women’s rights and peace activist, Hamsatu Allamin, WASL member and Founder of Allamin Foundation. The situation in northeast and northwest Nigeria demands urgent international attention, not only as a matter of humanitarian urgency but also for its impact on international peace and security.

Abductees’ Mothers Association: On the Front Lines of Yemen’s Prisoner Swap

On the morning of Friday 16th October, the Abductees’ Mothers Association celebrated a major victory when Yemen’s warring parties completed the largest prisoner exchange in the history of the five-and-a-half-year long conflict. In a two-day process, 1,056 individuals held by both the Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government were released and transferred home. For many years, this coalition of mothers has been the only hope for Yemen’s forcibly disappeared.

Despite Tragedy, Peacebuilder Khedija Arfaoui Remains Resilient

On September 7, 2020, a Turkish court sentenced a man to life in prison for carrying out the Istanbul nightclub attack on New Years Day in 2017. 39 people lost their lives in the early hours of that day—including  Dr.  Khedijah  Arfaoui’s son and daughter-in-law, Mohamed and Senda. Debates surrounding a  moratorium on the death penalty have  re-surfaced  in Tunisia but Arfaoui continues to advocate for non-violence and remains opposed to the death penalty. Read the full story.

Freeing the Kidnapped in Yemen’s War

How Yemeni Mothers Succeeded Where Everyone Else Failed.
Thousands of young men are being forcibly disappeared in Yemen, and mediation efforts by the United Nations envoys, the Red Cross, and many other international organizations have not been successful. The only successful group so far is a coalition of Yemeni mothers, the Abductees’ Mothers’ Association.

Libyan Women at the Frontline of War, but with No Seat at the Peacetable

“Families would call us [CSOs] and we inform paramedics”
From the frontlines of a conflict that has long been forgotten by global powers, Libyan women continue to provide support and promote peace, and remain excluded from peace talks.

ICAN’s Pilot Seminar on Gendered Mediation Got off to a Flying Start

Mediating a Better Peace:
ICAN’s Pilot Executive Seminar on the ‘how to’ of Gendered and Inclusive Peace Processes Got off to a Flying Start.

Tunisian activist & WASL partner Ahlem Nasraoui named ‘One Young World Peace Ambassador’

For her persistence in fighting against the rise of violent extremism and radicalization of young people, Tunisian advocate and entrepreneur Ahlem Nasraoui has been selected as one of forty Peace Ambassadors to attend the One Young World Summit 2018.

In Hodeidah, Yemeni Women Saving Lives at the Frontlines of a Devastating War

As the Saudi-led coalition storms the airport compound of Yemen’s main port Hodiedah, in attempts to recapture the city which is considered the lifeline for food and medicine imports into Yemen, fears mount for the safety of its 400,000 residents. “Now we focus on Hodeidah,” says Muna Luqman, founder and director of Food4Humanity which has been providing humanitarian aid to conflict-affected Yemenis.