As of: February 11, 2024, 10:49 a.m
From: Foreign Policy
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Israeli women hold placards during a demonstration calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
The army has declared numerous abducted hostages dead.
© Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
Women's organizations in particular campaign for peace in Israel and the Middle East.
The hopes in the Israel war rest on them.
The two women's rights organizations "Women Wage Peace" and "Women of the Sun" fight for equal rights and early peace in Israel.
The likelihood that a peace agreement will stick increases when women are involved in the negotiation.
Under Hamas, political participation for women is extremely limited.
This article is available for the first time in German - it was first published by
Foreign Policy
magazine on February 2, 2024 .
As the war between Israel and Hamas rages in the Gaza Strip, it is difficult to imagine an end to the conflict in the Middle East.
However, for decades, a growing movement of Palestinian and Israeli women has not only imagined but also demanded peaceful coexistence.
Just three days before Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, thousands of women from two peace-promoting groups gathered at Jerusalem's Tolerance Monument for a rally and march.
The Israelis of “Women Wage Peace” carried blue flags, the Palestinians of “Women of the Sun” carried yellow flags.
Members of the two groups traveled to the Dead Sea - believed to have healing powers since ancient times - and set a table.
Women from both sides set up chairs, symbolizing the resumption of negotiations for a political solution in good faith.
Women Wage Peace was created in response to Operation Protective Edge.
Operation Protective Edge was an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in 2014 that followed then-US Secretary of State John Kerry's failed attempt.
“Women Wage Peace” wanted to restart final status negotiations and peacemaking.
A woman mourns during a Palestinian funeral.
© Ayman Nobani/dpa
Women are little or hardly included in the negotiations on the Middle East conflict
“We, Palestinian and Israeli mothers, are determined to stop the vicious cycle of bloodshed,” says the preamble to their campaign, the “Mother’s Call.”
The campaign was nine months in the making and had a unified agenda.
This agenda calls for a political solution within a specified time frame.
They set the table to show the importance of dialogue and women's participation in decision-making.
But in the war in Israel so far, women's voices have been largely missing from the negotiations and consultations.
Women's participation is not about equality or fairness or a show of inclusion.
It's about winning peace.
In 2014, Laurel Stone, then a researcher at Seton Hall University, conducted a quantitative analysis of 156 peace agreements over time.
She found that when women act as negotiators and mediators, the likelihood of an agreement lasting at least two years increases by 20 percent.
The probability that the agreement will last for 15 years increased by 35 percent.
While men fight in the Middle East conflict, women have to hold the community together
Many studies show that women are more willing to cooperate and focus more on social issues than military ones.
They are also less likely to attack those who think differently.
With women at the table, there may be less potential for risk-taking behavior and attacks on perceived enemies.
In diverse teams, decisions are made based on facts rather than prejudices.
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In war, men often fight against the army.
Women are more likely to be willing to hold families and communities together.
Some studies show they are more committed to negotiations, protecting civilians and ending violence. “We have learned from the cases in Northern Ireland and Libya,” said Yael Braudo-Bahat, co-director of Women Wage Peace “, told
Foreign Policy
.
The active participation of women has significantly strengthened these peace and reconstruction processes.
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History shows that women are crucial in mediating conflicts
In the run-up to the official talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, Catholic and Protestant women's groups formed a Northern Ireland Women's Coalition.
They were given two seats at one of the 20 tables in the formal negotiations.
As one of the few groups to transcend sectarian divisions, its members were viewed as honest brokers.
They represented the concerns of civil society and helped ensure that the agreement included commitments to social healing and integration.
Because the brutality of war affects women disproportionately.
They are often the first to go hungry, are the de facto providers and become victims of gender-based violence.
That's why they are often the first to work to find a path to peace, even when the male leaders don't want to compromise.
Negotiations were also initiated by women during the Liberian civil war
During the Second Liberian Civil War, women played a heroic role in successfully pressuring male decision-makers to negotiate.
The documentary “Pray the Devil Back to Hell,” directed by Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail Disney, brought to light the incredible story of how women convinced warring factions to take part in peace talks in Accra, Ghana.
“We were the ones who watched our children starve... we are the easiest victims of rape and sexual abuse,” said Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee, founder of the grassroots movement Women for Liberia Mass Action for Peace.
She played an important role in persuading then-President Charles Taylor to sign a peace agreement in 2003.
This shared suffering among women formed the basis for unity across political and religious boundaries.
Women must be involved in the peace process around Israel and Gaza
In Israel and the Gaza Strip, women will have to play an important role in implementing a new agreement between Israel and Palestine, said Braudo-Bahat.
Her organization's partnership with its Palestinian counterpart, Women of the Sun, has remained steadfast, even after learning that its co-founder, Vivian Silver, 74, was murdered by Hamas on October 7.
“We are continuing with our plans - we are working together and we are making no secret of it,” she said.
“It may be dangerous for the women of the sun, but they are so brave.”
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Although many Palestinians want peace, for others, “peace equals normalization,” a member of the Women of the Sun wrote
to
Foreign Policy via
, choosing the initials MH to protect her anonymity and safety.
Some Palestinians think that "there is something shameful about negotiating with Israel," she added, as it could mean Israeli treatment and policies towards Palestinians are tolerable.
“I believe that we should actively engage and work together, even if some call this normalization,” said MH… “I am determined to work towards a better future for us.”
On Israel's side, women are also involved in the Gaza war
International law is on these women's side.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted unanimously more than 23 years ago, calls on all member states to increase the participation of women in peace and security activities.
It highlights the important role of women in preventing war, protecting civilians and negotiating lasting peace.
Despite Israel's worsening track record on women's rights and decision-making roles, women have been involved in the war as politicians, military personnel and civilians.
Women in politics have made important strides towards gender equality, although only five were women among the 32 cabinet members sworn in a year ago.
One of these ministers was dismissed in the recent closure of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women.
In the Gaza Strip, the political space for women is severely limited
The reality for women in Gaza is far more difficult when it comes to taking on leadership positions.
Women generally do not participate in public political activities or hold public office, although Hamas appointed 23-year-old Isra al-Modallal as its first female spokeswoman in November.
She told The Guardian
newspaper
that she was not a member of Hamas or any political party.
At the start of the conflict, only one woman was a member of Hamas, Jamila al-Shanti, 68, who was part of the organization's 15-member political office.
Al-Shanti, who was also one of the founders of the Hamas women's movement, died in an Israeli airstrike on October 19.
“You can hear amazing rhetoric and lip service, even from the Palestinian leadership,” said Dr.
Dalal Iriqat, an assistant professor at the Arab American University in the West Bank, told Foreign Policy.
“But when it comes to practice, I think there is still a lack of women in decision-making positions.”
History shows that women have always been involved in rebuilding society after wars
However, women's organizations in the Palestinian territories and Israel have a rich history of political engagement.
Palestinian women established social structures such as health clinics and orphanages for displaced Palestinians after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
After the Six-Day War in 1967, when traditional political structures collapsed and both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were under Israeli occupation, women from all social classes emerged.
Through the networks they formed, a new cadre of activists emerged in December 1987, when Palestinians' frustration with Israeli rule erupted in a popular uprising known as the First Intifada, or "rise up."
Underlying this largely nonviolent Palestinian uprising was a collective social, economic and political mobilization led by women.
The Palestinian political leadership recognized the central role of women in the Intifada.
They paved the way for negotiations with Israel when they included three women - Suad Amiry, Zahiria Kamal and Hanan Ashrawi - in the delegation.
This delegation was involved in the Middle East peace talks, which culminated with the Madrid Conference in October 1991.
In Gaza, women continue to fight for equal opportunities and non-violence
However, the exiled leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) abandoned peace talks in Madrid and began secret negotiations with Israel that led to the security-focused Oslo Accords and the creation of the Palestinian Authority.
Under her leadership, the Israeli occupation and the failure of the Oslo Accords, democratic ideals and women's rights eroded.
Israel and the United States have discussed a possible role for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza following the military operation.
The Palestinian Authority has three female ministers, including the minister of women's affairs, although women still fight for equal opportunities and nonviolence.
“Women tend to shy away from getting involved in politics,” said a West Bank activist who declined to give her name for security reasons.
“Women are afraid to get involved in politics because they will end up in prison or face some kind of violence.” And conditions for women are much worse when funding is limited, as was the case under Hamas, she said.
Serena Awad, a nonprofit worker from Gaza who now lives in Rafah, told
Foreign Policy
that Gaza women lead and manage many aspects of humanitarian assistance.
These women work for the United Nations as well as health, cultural, child protection, human rights, sports and legal organizations.
I've experienced six attacks, and each time I wait for my turn to die.
Serena Awad
Funding for women's rights groups is necessary, especially in Gaza.
“I have experienced six attacks and each time I wait for my turn to die,” said 24-year-old Awad.
“I want the world to know that women in Gaza are like all other women - we study, we work, we have our own families, but we suffer.”
Israeli and Palestinian women who work as peacebuilders say they need more international support.
According to calculations by the Association for Women's Rights in Development, only 0.4 percent of global gender-specific funding flows directly to women's rights organizations.
In times of crisis, women's rights often take a back seat.
Women of the Sun's 2024 budget is about $100,000, and Women Wage Peace's is about $1 million, according to representatives of the organizations.
Women's groups are more likely to be successful during negotiations and implementation of reconstruction programs if they have access to external funding.
During the peace process between Sudan and South Sudan, for example, South Sudanese women were heavily mobilized as delegates, but some had to interrupt their participation to return to earning money.
Distraction: Children playing football between rubble in the Gaza Strip.
© IMAGO/Xinhua
The United States and other countries must support women in the Middle East
In addition to funding, democratic countries also have a role to play by insisting on women's participation in the negotiations, said MH of the Women of the Sun.
She and other women peacebuilders believe that the United States and the United Nations should more actively promote women as interlocutors, negotiators and experts.
“If you want it, something can happen,” MH told
Foreign Policy
, “and if the US says it [that women should be involved in negotiations], it can happen.”
Talks convened by Qatar, the United States and Egypt to end the conflict between Hamas and Israel are underway.
These countries and other regional actors, including Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, have already drawn up national action plans that recognize the special impact of war on women and their crucial role in promoting peace.
107 countries worldwide have drawn up national action plans to empower women.
Women must be able to contribute their expertise to the conflict between Israel and Gaza
Yet there is little or no evidence in the reporting of efforts by these countries to promote women's participation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The U.S. State Department “is working to ensure that the expertise of women in civil society and government is incorporated into any process related to the current conflict in Gaza,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.
When the political will to participate exists, both Israelis and Palestinians have a solid list of advocates to draw on in official and unofficial negotiations and discussions.
A list of 12 Israeli and Palestinian women qualified to participate in the negotiations was provided to the US Embassy and other embassies and international bodies by the 1325 Project.
The 1325 Project is led by members of the Women Lawyers for Social Justice - known in Israel as Itach Ma'aki.
In Gaza the situation seems hopeless: “All we can do is pray”
“At least one person will be involved in Tracks 2 and 3, and they have been approached through us by an international organization,” said Netta Loevy, co-director of the 1325 Project, referring to unofficial negotiations and consultations.
Braudo-Bahat called on political decision-makers to include women in the discussions now - and not just after the violence has ended.
“The day after the war was yesterday... we have to start now,” she said.
Back in Gaza, the water tastes like poison, it is ice cold, and Awad, the 24-year-old employee of a nonprofit organization, is constantly losing weight.
She asked nearly a dozen Gaza women leaders what they thought should happen to end the war and ensure that women take part in the negotiations.
Nobody could give her an answer.
They were busy responding to humanitarian needs and telecommunications and internet services were down.
“Nothing has changed, but what can we do?
All we can do is wait and pray for it to stop,” Awad wrote to
Foreign Policy
via
, which only works for her about once every four days.
Iriqat, the professor at the Arab American University, has one wish: “For someone to consider that a better agreement could be reached if women were in charge and involved.”
About the author
Xanthe Scharff
is an author specializing in women and foreign policy.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English in the magazine “ForeignPolicy.com” on February 2, 2024 - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.