During the week of July 17, 2023, members of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers attended and participated in the Women Deliver Conference in Kigali, Rwanda. The Peacemakers Network was represented by members: Rev. Toni Kruger-Ayebazibwe, Global Global Interfaith Network for People of All Sexes, Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities and Expressions; Merette Khalil, A Common Word Among Youth, Lyka Mtambo, Religions for Peace International, Imam Elie Bukuru, Alliance des Imams du Corridor Nord pour le Developpement Humanitaire and Jessica Roland, Peacemakers Network Secretariat.

As part of the Women Deliver Conference, the Peacemakers Network organized and participated in two different events. First, the Peacemakers Network, along with our JISRA project partner, the Faith to Action Network, as well as Amplify Change, the Berlin Institute for Population and Development, and Alliance of Inclusive Muslims, organized a concurrent session focused on, ‘Transformative Partnerships with Faith Actors to Advance Gender Equality.’ This session focused on rethinking approaches to empowering the gender equality movement, including who participates and shapes the process with their unique experience and added value to foster inclusive and co-created spaces. The event featured personal stories of how faith actors and communities are partnering with secular actors to advance gender equality, as well as breakout group sessions to reimagine partnerships between faith and secular actors in the areas of: 1) supporting life skills education; 2) breaking joint barriers faced by youth; 3) transforming masculinities to address gender-based violence and other harmful practices; 4) sharing language, narratives and messaging that has been successful within conservative spaces; and 5) addressing backlash against marginalized populations. Click on each of the infographics below to read some key strategies and recommended areas for collaboration identified by the breakout groups!

Peace for Gender Equality

The second event that the Peacemakers Network co-hosted was the Women Deliver side event ‘Peace for Gender Equality,’ along with other co-hosts including: NGO Committee on the Status of Women, the UN Foundation, Women’s Refugee Commission, Soka Gakkai International and Red Dot Foundation. The goal of this event was to develop and launch an advocacy strategy which builds momentum for further integrating and uplifting the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) and broader intersectional peace and security efforts into the UN Commission on the Status of Women processes in order to bolster support and awareness. The event featured a panel of those working in the WPS and YPS spaces, a presentation by the Women Peace and Humanitarian Fund on available joint funding resources, and a space to reflect on advocacy synergy areas. Read the event summary for key takeaways here!

Finally, the Peacemakers Network attended a ‘Faith Community Meet and Greet’ during the Women Deliver Conference, organized by the Act Alliance. The meeting allowed for an open group discussion on the challenges that faith actors are facing in advancing the gender equality movement within their prospective communities and possible best practices and solutions to address those challenges.