NETWORK AND MOVEMENT BUILDING

“This is not a movement which wants peace just for women, this is a women-led movement for peace and pluralism for all of us... when authoritarianism flexes its muscles, feminist movements also have muscles to flex.”

- Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, MBE, Founder and CEO, ICAN

Since its launch in 2015, the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL) has grown into a global community of 150 individuals representing 90+ women-led peacebuilding organizations and networks across 41 countries worldwide.

Through WASL, ICAN brings synergy and greater coherence to the existing collective efforts of women peacebuilders. ICAN enables WASL members’ access to international policy arenas, and demonstrates the added value of a gendered lens, as well as the pragmatic solutions that women peacebuilders bring. The She Builds Peace campaign, launched in 32 countries worldwide, enables our partners to reach deeper into their societies to raise awareness about peacebuilding and draw young women and men into this locally rooted, globally connected, women-led peace movement.

She Builds Peace is really important because it’s an opportunity to offer a new narrative about women who live in conflict settings. A lot of times we hear this narrative of women being passive victims of war... it's important to change that narrative.

Women have been taking up initiatives all over the world for centuries to help their societies and build peace, it's time that the world sees this, understands it and recognizes women peacebuilders.”

- Aicha Madi, Peace Track Initiative, Yemen