12 Women Peacebuilders You Should Know in 2012

In a landmark speech last month, Secretary Clinton reminded us of just how in touch she is with the individuals around the world who are affected by policies crafted in Washington. She discussed:

...the growing body of evidence that shows how women around the world contribute to making and keeping peace, and that these contributions lead to better outcomes for entire societies.

The Secretary emphasized, “when women organize in large numbers, they galvanize opinion and help change the course of history."

Meet 12 extraordinary women who have done just that.


Lt. General (Retired) Orit Adato
Title: Founder and Managing Director of Adato Consulting Ltd.
Conflict Area: Israel

As Israel's only three-star female general to date, Gen. Adato is also the only women to head a security organization in that country. During her tenure as commissioner of the Israeli Prison Service, which coincided with the start of the Second Intifada, she emphasized the promotion of qualified women into positions of leadership. Those efforts observably reduced tensions in prisons where the numbers of inmates had increased substantially and rapidly within a year.

Read the full bio.

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Zaynab El Sawi
Title: Coordinator of Sudanese Women Empowerment for Peace (SuWEP)
Conflict Area: Sudan

“When the policeman asked me which tribe I come from, I told him: ‘I am Sudanese.’” El Sawi put her own freedom on the line when protesting the arrests of women who violated unjust laws that limit their freedom. El Sawi promotes conflict resolution across the country and advocates for women’s full participation in democratic peace processes. She engages with women who have diverse perspectives, noting that, "While we might agree on A and B but disagree on C and D; we will work on A and B together.”

Read the full bio.

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Samira Hamidi
Title: Country Director for Afghan Women’s Network (AWN)
Conflict Area: Afghanistan

Hamidi pushed the Interior Ministry to establish a department for gender mainstreaming, particularly in the area of policing, where just 500 out of 8,000 were women. “We are not the women of 2001,” Hamidi says of the Afghan Women’s Network. Given the intense advocacy they’ve engaged in since the fall of the Taliban government, she asserts that the rights of women are no longer on the table to be traded away.

Read the full bio.

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Sameena Imtiaz
Title: Executive Director of Peace Education and Development (PEAD) Foundation
Conflict Area: Pakistan

Imtiaz is an avid proponent of education to counter extremism. She leads training courses for youth groups, teachers, clergy, and community leaders to promote tolerance and nonviolence. She counseled the central government to include peace education in standard curricula and has pushed for the same goal at the provincial levels since decision making on education was decentralized.

Read the full bio.

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Fadwa Sha’er Khwaja
Title: General Director of the General Administration for Non-Governmental Organizations in the Palestinian Ministry of Interior
Conflict Area: Palestine

At 15, Fadwa was arrested for the first time for her peaceful protest against human rights violations. She began working with Israeli women for peace in college and today continues joint projects with women across that conflict’s divide. From a place of deep experience, she says, “Peace isn’t easy. It isn’t cheap. But war is costlier still.” Her goal within the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior is to promote transparency and support non-governmental organizations working in the West Bank.

Read the full bio.

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Philister Baya Lawiri
Title: Chairperson of South Sudan Civil Service Commission
Conflict Area: South Sudan

At age 10, Lawiri walked with her family for 35 days through the forests of South Sudan to escape violence. She traces her desire to build peace to her years as a refugee in Uganda and as a displaced person in Khartoum. Today, she chairs South Sudan’s Civil Service Commission, promoting democratic values within the country’s newly formed government. Prior to South Sudan’s 2011 secession, she was one of only two women on Sudan’s National Electoral Commission, the nine-member national body appointed to govern the 2010 general elections.

Read the full bio.

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Samia Nihar
Title: Program Manager at the Gender and Development United of the University of Khartoum
Conflict Area: Sudan

Growing up, Nihar’s father encouraged independence and strength. Among her five brothers were a communist and an Islamist, and Nihar’s father told her, “you are as strong as any of them.” In 2006, Nihar joined the Sudan Liberation Army after the signing of a peace agreement that ended three years of conflict in her father’s home region of Darfur. Since then, Nihar has been the point person for a coalition of women leaders in Sudan and South Sudan. Known for her ability to work with women across all sectors and from all backgrounds, she brings her characteristic empathy to promoting women’s voices in both countries.

Read the full bio.

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Rebecca Joshua Okwaci
Title: Deputy Minister for General Education and Instruction, Government of the Republic of South Sudan
Conflict Area: South Sudan

As second in command at the education ministry, Okwaci has turned from the voice of the revolution to the face of the future of the newest nation on earth. She refuses to be known only for her leadership in the ministry. Okwaci puts her role as Secretary General of a women’s civil society group at the top of how she wants her country—and the world—to know her and her work. “Secession isn’t the end. As the women of Sudan and South Sudan, we must continue to work together for peace.”

Read the full bio.

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Mossarat Qadeem
Title: Executive Director, PAIMAN Alumni Trust
Conflict Area: Pakistan

With a mission of social change through innovative approaches, Qadeem works directly with mothers to deradicalize extremist youth in Taliban strongholds and reintegrate male family members into communities. In moderating extremism in Pakistan, she chooses to “collaborate, not confront.” She was a lecturer in Peshawar University in 1990, when just four out of 180 professors were women and has continued to break new ground. “Working with conservative religious clerics, we were successful often when we thought we would fail. Often, our own fears are the only thing stopping us from reaching out.”

Read the full bio.

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Rula Salameh
Title: Palestinian Education and Outreach Coordinator for Just Vision
Conflict Area: Palestine

Salameh uses media to promote peace in Israel and Palestine. She produced Budrus, an award-winning documentary about a nonviolent movement in which unlikely allies came together to save a village from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. She also spearheaded the creation of an Arabic screening guide for the documentary Encounter Point, which promotes a nonviolent end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Salameh is a senior producer and projects coordinator with the Ma’an News Network in Bethlehem, a weekly presenter on the Ma’an satellite channel, and co-founder of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation.

Read the full bio.

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Talia Sasson
Title: Attorney, former head of the special tasks division in Israel's state attorney's office, and co-chair of the International Council of the New Israel Fund
Conflict Area: Israel

Having represented the State of Israel in the highest courts for 25 years, Sasson identifies two states as the best way forward for both Israel and Palestine. In 2005, she presented the Sasson Report to the Prime Minister and Israeli government following an investigation into settlement activity. She has pushed for implementation since the report’s release. Sasson currently is emphasizing women’s participation in the security sector, preventing their removal or exclusion from positions of leadership. “It’s not about the military,” she says. “It's about the struggle of a democratic state for a democratic state.”

Read the full bio.

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Mahbouba Seraj
Title: Founder and Director of Soraya Mashal Consulting
Conflict Area: Afghanistan

After graduating from Kabul University, Seraj was imprisoned when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Following 26 years in exile after her release, she returned to Afghanistan in 2003, where she has been a tireless advocate for women’s inclusion in national reconstruction and reconciliation. Seraj prioritizes the next generation, promoting leadership among young women in Afghanistan.

Read the full bio.

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These women were all participants of Colloquium 2012: Women Bridging Divides for a Secure World.

To arrange media interviews with these women peacebuilders or other members of the global Women Waging Peace Network, please contact Jaime at jaime_horn@huntalternatives.org or 917-523-0705.