Women’s footsteps for peace

When he was still a senator and a member of the then opposition, President Benigno Aquino III recalled, he took part in a protest march against graft and corruption where he found himself marching beside Teresita “Ging” Deles. “I noticed that she was dragging her feet, and I asked her if she was not feeling well,” he said. “When she said no, I then observed that she was walking as if the soles of her rubber shoes were falling off.”

It turns out that indeed Ging Deles’ shoes were falling apart. “But she insisted on continuing with the march,” said the President, “even if after a few minutes the rubber soles gave way and she was soon marching with bare feet, even if the tops of her rubber shoes were still intact.”

It was at this point, recalled Aquino, that he felt “as certain of her dedication as I was of her discomfort,” adding that “actions and not just words” are the real gauge of a person’s commitment.

Which was why, the President said at the awarding ceremonies for the “N-PEACE Awards,” which recognize women across Asia for their work on building peace, one of whom was Deles representing the Philippines, he was “deeply honored” to be tasked with handing the honorees symbols of their recognition and their lifelong devotion to the cause of peace.

The timing of the awards could not have come at a better time. Just a few days earlier, the President had announced that his administration, under the direction of Deles who is the first woman to be appointed to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, had forged a “framework agreement” with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), raising hopes that the conflict in the South was on its way to a peaceful resolution.

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“Our countries do not have the most peaceful histories,” Aquino acknowledged, addressing the awardees who hail from Afghanistan, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste and the Philippines.

And indeed, to varying degrees, all these countries have experienced and are still undergoing internal strife, sectarian and ideological violence, as well as grinding poverty and its many challenges.

But each country, too, has achieved a level of scaled down violence that gives hope for not just the silencing of guns but also for the pursuit of other concerns such as development, justice, and education for all. Even if, as Aquino reminded everyone, “building peace is not easy.”

But if building peace amid the deafening drums of war is not easy for everyone, it is particularly difficult for women, who, while being the most vulnerable and visible victims of war, are ignored and silenced when the time comes to sue for peace and lay down the conditions to make this peace just and lasting.

Still, women persist in their efforts. “In many parts of the world, countless women from all walks of life have risen above the oppressing conditions of armed conflict to assert their leadership and assume key roles and responsibilities in the quest for enduring peace,” observed Dr. Luiza Carvalho, United Nations resident coordinator and UN Development Program resident representative in the Philippines.

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Addressing the women and all those attending the ceremony via a video message was Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Laureate for 2011, who was cited for her work in helping keep visible the women of Liberia as conflict swirled about them. As she observed: “Women are in the frontlines of conflict, but rarely in the headlines.”

“War is not acceptable,” declared Deles in a video feature prepared for the awarding rites. “The status quo is not acceptable. We need to highlight the role of ordinary people in the peace process, and find common ground with all the parties to a conflict to bring it to an end.”

Peace-building, she told the interviewer, involves painting a “rainbow,” in which every color, every belief, every interest is represented because “a war is never just one color.”

Here are the N-PEACE (Engage for Peace, Equality, Access Community and Empowerment) Awards by the numbers: six countries, 100 nominations, 55,000 supporters via an online campaign (winners are determined by the number of online votes), 400,000 people exposed to stories of peace builders in the “peak” campaign week, and more than 3,600 people continuing their engagement with the issues on Facebook.

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N-PEACE is facilitated by the UNDP in partnership with Search for Common Ground, the Institute for Inclusive Security, with support from the Australian Agency for International Development.

Beyond the search for award-winners, N-PEACE is a network of tens of thousands of peace advocates “who communicate online and in annual meetings to share their skills and knowledge in promoting and keeping peace in their countries.”

N-PEACE “serves as a means for engagement among government, civil society and other groups on the issues of women, peace and security, and broader conflict prevention and peace building work.” Under its aegis, N-PEACE also provides women skills training in such areas as negotiations, leadership and advocacy.

The other women who received the award as “role models for peace” are: Radha Paudel of Nepal, Rupika Damayanti de Silva of Sri Lanka, Mana Lou of Timor Leste, Suraiya Kamaruzzama of Indonesia, and Farkhunda Zahra Naderi and Quhramaana Kakar of Afghanistan. Recognized as an “Emerging Peace Champion” was Amina Azimi of Afghanistan, who advocates and assists disabled women in her country.

Sadhu Ram Sapkota was given the “Men Who Advocate for Equality” award for his peace advocacy work in Nepal.