’Women Waging Peace’ Share Their Stories at Fletcher

Global Women is a new initiative at Fletcher aimed at increasing awareness of the resources women bring to policy-making, resources which are often under- utilized or under-recognized. In November, Global Women held its second event, bringing in a panel of three women from three different conflict areas, who work towards increasing women’s roles in peace-building. The women were participants in a week-long Harvard conference, Women Waging Peace.

Several panelists, including Visaka Dharmadasa of Sri Lanka, founder of Parents of Servicemen Missing in Action and Atema Eclai of Kenya, a Harvard PhD working in the Sudan shared anecdotes illustrating the imaginative ways that women have affected policy.

Ms. Eclai told a story about the women of a Sudanese village who had grown tired of their men leaving home to fight a protracted war. The women
capitalized on the recent introduction of the birth control pill to their area, by making the men believe that the incessant bloodshed was causing the women to be barren. Unless they stopped fighting, the women told the men, this curse would continue. The men weighed their options and decided they would rather continue their family lines than destroy their enemies.

Another story Ms. Eclai told was about the drastic measures that women went to in an effort to save a community park. When traditional methods failed to bring attention to their cause, the women knew one way to definitely attract attention: they took their clothes off. The sight of hundreds of naked women stopped
policymakers in their tracks. The women could neither be ignored nor could they be forcibly moved by respectful male law-enforcers. The park is still there today.

A third story illustrated the subversive power that exists within the very disempowerment that women face. Ms. Dharmadasa described how a group of Sri Lankan women, searching for their sons who are missing in action, was able to infiltrate enemy lines because it was not perceived as a threat – they were “only women.” They were able to communicate with the rebel groups, and even sat down with the leaders for face-to-face conversations.

In closing, Ms. Eclai led the group in a traditional African song about building peace and trust, which earned a standing ovation from the inspired audience.