The International Board is responsible for the strategic leadership of PeaceWomen Across the Globe. It is composed of members from all over the world, as well as a Swiss committee.

In the 20 years before the Taliban came to power in August 2021, women in Afghanistan had been able, with difficulty, to reclaim some of their rights and their place in society. Until the takeover, we supported women to increase their knowledge about their rights in relation to the peace process at the time, so that they could help shape peace and have a voice in decision-making processes. (The programme has concluded.)

Political tensions and economic turmoil in Pakistan are the causes of an increase in insecurity in the country. Ethnic and religious minorities who are marginalised and persecuted and women who experience gender-based violence are particularly affected. Many sink deeper into poverty. Our project partner uses theatre performances to highlight these inequalities, promote dialogue and peace. (The programme has concluded.)

PeaceWoman Ruth Weiss has dedicated her life to peace and tolerance: as a journalist and anti-apartheid activist in South Africa and as a speaker and author in the fight against anti-Semitism and any form of intolerance and agitation against a faith community. What lessons does she draw from her full life for peacebuilding?

Study on human and women's rights on oil palm plantations

Our advocacy aims to create political impact and achieve a feminist vision of peace. The focus is on the implementation of key human rights instruments that form the basis for a peaceful and gender-just world.

Our political commitment is based on four international human rights standards, which form the basis for women's and human rights, gender-just peace policies and sustainable development. We are committed to their effective implementation, internationally and in Switzerland.

The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence – known as the Istanbul Convention – addresses gender-based and domestic violence in Europe and enforces the rights of victims of violence to support and protection. It defines gender-based violence as a human rights violation and a form of discrimination. The Convention entered into force in 2014; Switzerland ratified it in 2017. Civil society plays a significant role in monitoring its implementation.

Together with our network partners and like-minded civil society organisations, we take a public stand on peace-related issues and on violations of women's and human rights, hold decision-makers accountable and raise our voices in solidarity with our partners when they demand compliance with international human rights standards in their countries.

After the news broke of Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, reports began to circulate about sexualised violence perpetrated primarily against Israeli women. As time went by, more harrowing reports of acts of brutality became public. We condemn these acts of sexualised violence in the strongest possible terms and are shocked by the manifest misogyny and cruelty the women were subjected to. We distance ourselves from all those who relativise these and other acts of sexualised violence and stand in solidarity with the victims and their fight for recognition and accountability. With this collection of contributions, we strengthen the voices of those who have thought deeply about the issue of sexualised violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Women are both the spark and the driving force behind the wave of protests in Iran that have swept the country since the violent death of Mahsa Amini in a re-education centre for "inappropriate dress" and have led to massive human rights violations by state forces. We stand in solidarity with women's and civil society organisations fighting for the right to self-determination – including in Iran. In addition to solidarity, however, women in Iran also need concrete support. We therefore call on civil society organisations, governments and the international community to back up their expressions of solidarity with women in Iran with concrete measures.

Das Thema «Verhüllungsverbot» und die anstehende Abstimmung dazu scheint Feminist*innen zu spalten. Wie kommt das? Was würde eine Annahme aus feministischer Sicht bedeuten? Kann eine in der Verfassung festgeschriebene Kleidervorschrift bestehende patriarchalische Strukturen anfechten? Oder ist diese Abstimmung reine Symbolpolitik? FriedensFrauen Weltweit fragt in diesem Text nach den möglichen längerfristigen Folgen einer Annahme der Initiative und den dahinterliegenden Diskursen.

Das Schweizer Stimmvolk sagte am 7. März 2021 mit 51,2% knapp ja zur Volksinitiative zum Verhüllungsverbot. In der Initiative ging es angeblich um die individuelle Freiheit von Frauen und ihren Schutz vor patriarchalen Zwängen. Wir erachten dieses Verbot als gefährlich. Es befeuert anti-muslimischen Rassismus und instrumentalisiert Frauenrechte im politischen Diskurs.

Am 13. Juni 2021 entscheiden Schweizer Stimmberechtigte über das Polizeimassnahmen-Gesetz. Zusammen mit einem breiten Bündnis von NGOs sagen wir NEIN zu diesem Gesetz. Es fördert nicht Sicherheit, sondern Willkür und es gefährdet die Grundrechte.

With two petitions like-minded organisations are urging Switzerland's Federal Council and Parliament to continue funding for the UN relief organisation for the Palestinians UNRWA and to work towards an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

PeaceWomen Across the Globe is horrified by the unspeakable atrocities committed in this asymetrical war against Gaza. The scale of destruction and loss of human lives is beyond words.

Peace is more than the absence of war. Patriarchal power relations, structural violence and physical or psychological violence against women are also obstacles on the path to lasting peace. This is why we are committed to peacebuilding with a feminist, intersectional perspective. And because our understanding of peace is comprehensive.

In our range of multimedia products you can listen to human rights and women's rights activists talk about their lives and work. You can also learn more about our and our partners’ projects and events.

Compact, interesting and relevant: in our printed and electronic newsletters, you can find out about our events and projects and our political activities in Switzerland and abroad.

In this interview with the Swiss daily newspaper Le Temps, Sima Samar lets her memories emerge. As a Hazara, a woman and a feminist, she is everything the Taliban reject. She left her country on 25 June 2021, before Kabul was taken by the Taliban. "Just a few days before I saw my country collapse." Sima Samar is a human rights activist and member of our International Board.
The interview is only available in French.

The peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government have been ongoing since September 2020, with only four women on the 21-member government negotiation team and none among the Taliban negotiators. We ask Sima Samar, founder of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and of Gawharshad University in Kabul, what the chances are for lasting peace.

International support for peace in Colombia must not waver, warns human rights lawyer Luz Marina Monzón Cifuentes in an interview with swissinfo. What is needed now is a peace policy that focuses on the small communities caught up in the violence. In April, we invited Luz Marina to an event in Bern.