Seeking Peace

The United Nations is the largest peacekeeping body in the world. In this episode, we explore the dynamic and interconnected world of peacekeeping. You’ll hear from uniformed women working in different positions in UN peacekeeping missions – one works in corrections and another serves in military affairs. These women discuss the technical nature of their jobs and reveal what it is like to work in male dominated fields where respect...

Around the world, women face countless barriers to political participation. In this episode, you will hear from women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and Kosovo—all of whom are engaged in politics. One works to ensure women’s meaningful participation in politics, another serves as a parliamentarian, and the other is a pioneering journalist who has built a career holding politicians to account....

Peace agreements are a formal means to pave the way for lasting peace. Women must play a critical role in shaping these agreements. In this episode, you’ll hear from several women who have worked on peace negotiations across the African continent. Women who have created a seat for themselves at the table when originally there was none. These peacebuilders discuss the importance of supporting women’s agency and the value of quotas i...

You might think of peacebuilding as peace talks that take place in big rooms, between country officials. But peacebuilding takes many forms, including within communities, between coworkers, families, and neighbors. Around the world, women play central roles in the daily work of building peace. Their critical contributions to international peace and security were formally recognized by the UN Security Council in 2000 in a landmark r...

Welcome to Season Three of Seeking Peace from Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security. This season, we are collaborating with the United Nations Department of Peace Operations and Our Secure Future to explore women’s roles in bringing lasting peace to communities - whether it be through grassroots activism, peace negotiations, journalism, politics, or as uniformed peacekeepers.

Tune in on October 24th to ...

In this episode, we hear about how women like Kenithia Alston are fighting for peace and security for Black lives in America. Ms. Alston’s son, Marqueese, was killed blocks away from the White House by the DC Metropolitan Police in 2018. Ms. Alston has spent the past two years seeking an explanation for her son’s death from the police and the mayor of Washington, and has filed a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit. She is currently...

Opal Tometi co-founded Black Lives Matter alongside activists Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors. Time Magazine named her as one of 2020’s 100 most influential people and BBC calls her one of the 100 most inspiring women. In this interview, Opal shares the origins of Black Lives Matter and her hopes for the future of the country under the Biden-Harris administration. She reminds us that human rights violations are not just something...

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is a Tamil-Canadian actor known for her leading role in the Netflix comedy series Never Have I Ever, written by Mindy Kaling. This year she was named Global Celebrated Ambassador by Plan International Canada, to promote gender equality around the globe. In this conversation Maitreyi talks about representing a South Asian teenager on a hit Netflix show, her experience protesting from a young age, and how she is...

This is a Spanish language version of our field story about the struggle for peace in Colombia. 

Although a peace deal was signed in Colombia in 2016, peace still seems out of reach for many Colombians – especially for human rights defenders. Between January and June 2020, 120 human rights defenders were killed. But Clemencia Carabalí, the founder of the women's cooperative ASOM, is determined to change this by training human r...

Yemen is one of the hardest places in the world to be a woman. Far too frequently, women die in bombings and disappear without a trace. It can be difficult to accurately record their experiences, due to the lack of infrastructure and security. But that doesn’t stop Wameedh Shakir. At significant risk, Wameedh researches and records women’s daily challenges and aspirations, so that the future government of a democratic Yemen – a...

December 10 is International Human Rights Day, an annual commemoration of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To celebrate how far we’ve come – and examine the work we still have ahead of us – we bring you this conversation between our host Melanne Verveer, and two distinguished former United States secretaries of state: Madeleine Albright and Hillary Rodham Clinton. This conversation was recorded in October,...

A surgeon and gynecologist, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Muwkege has spent over twenty years treating women survivors of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo and supporting their quest for justice. With a team of doctors and community leaders, Dr. Mukwege runs Panzi Hospital and the Panzi Foundation, which offer physical, psycho-social, economic and legal support to survivors. We talk to Dr. Mukwege about how he offers surviv...

Aweng Ade-Chuol was born in a refugee camp in Kenya and has become a world famous model, recently appearing in the cast of Beyonce’s film, Black is King. In this conversation, she tells us about her memories as a refugee and the importance of mental health care for children who have lived in conflict zones. She also shares her story as a proud member of the LGBT community, highlights from her career, and dreams for her future.

You ...

In Afghanistan, one the most unequal and dangerous countries in the world for women, activist Muqadasa Ahmadzai tells us about how she went from hiding her studies from her family, to becoming one of the country's most well-known social activists and a member of the Youth Parliament. Muqadasa tells us about the network of women activists she leads, their involvement in peace-building activities, and their efforts to support their c...

Ziauddin Yousafzai is known around the world for being the father of Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai. He’s a Pakistani educator and has been advocating for girls education for decades. After Malala survived a Taliban attack for her own activism, Ziauddin joined her in creating the Malala Fund for girls education. He’s also a United Nations Special Advisor on Global Education.

In this conversation, Ziauddin speaks about how ...

Although a peace deal was signed in Colombia in 2016, peace still seems out of reach, especially for human rights defenders. Almost 50 have been killed in Colombia so far this year. Clemencia Carabalí, the founder of the women's cooperative ASOM, has a solution: She’s training human rights defenders to make themselves heard and seen. That way, if they are attacked, the attackers know there will be consequences. Hear how Carabalí ha...

Award-winning journalist Jineth Bedoya has survived multiple violent attacks during her efforts to get at the truth. In 2009 Jineth broke her silence and became a leading advocate for survivors of sexual violence in Colombia. Jineth tells us about her involvement in the historic peace agreement signed in Colombia in 2016 and how it is impacting women activists today. She also updates us on the case against her perpetrators, which l...

Protesting has its limits. At least that’s 23-year-old activist Rawan Khalfallah’s experience in Libya. Now, nine years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Rawan and her colleagues at Together We Build It are finding creative ways to advocate for peace and women’s rights, starting at home. Hear all about their “Super Nsaween” campaign, which uses comic strips to fight against the toxic gender stereotypes many women and girls face in...

2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad was 21 years old when ISIS militants carried out a genocide against her Yazidi community in Northern Iraq. During the genocide, ISIS killed her mother and six of her siblings and forced her into sexual slavery. Nadia managed to escape and soon after began speaking out.

 Today, Nadia is working with Amal Clooney to bring ISIS to justice. Her organization, Nadia’s Initiative, is rebuild...