She Stands for Peace: Recent Episodes
United Nations Office to the African Union
"She Stands for Peace" is a podcast by the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU), hosted by Dr Yemisi Akinbobola. She Stands for Peace explores the state of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Africa, through a series of conversations with key actors. From policymakers, to donors, and grassroots peacebuilders, each episode takes a deep dive to unpack the various insights and lived experiences of guests to explore the central question; "20 years after UNSCR 1325 was passed, how far have we come?". The interviews are insightful and inspiring, as they take stock and share forward looking strategies for the implementation of UNSCR 1325, post-2020. For enquiries, email UNOAU Communications Team: unoau-public-information@un.org
Sarah Muhoya is the Coordinator of the Democracy Trust Fund in Kenya and Head of Positioning & Democracy at Echo Network Africa. In this episode, we discuss women’s equal participation in electoral processes in Africa for political stability and sustainable peace.
Anita Kiki Gbeho is the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). In this episode, we discuss inclusive approaches to women’s meaningful political participation and leadership.
Mona Juul is Norway's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In this episode, we discuss Norway's presence in the Security Council, its focus on safeguarding women's participation and broader discussions on foreign policy and WPS in Africa.
Editar Adhiambo Ochieng is Founder of the Feminist for Peace, Rights and Justice Centre. In this episode,we discuss the impact of women's civic and political participation, election violence, and peacebuilding in informal settlements.
Comfort Mussa and Amal Habani are journalists from Sudan and Cameroun. In this episode, we discuss the role of journalists, and women journalists, and the impact of their working conditions on the extent to which they can contribute to achieving the Women, Peace and Security agenda in Africa.
Awa Dabo is the Deputy Head of Office for the Peacebuilding Support Office, Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. In this episode, we have a conversation about supporting peacebuilding strategies for the Women, Peace and Security agenda in Africa, the realities of localising global strategies, transitional justice, and creating enabling environments for women peacebuilders in Africa.
Rita Lopidia is Executive Director and Co-founder of Eve Organization for Women Development in Juba, South Sudan, and coordinator of the South Sudan Women’s Coalition for Peace. In this episode, we have a conversation about the experiences of women peacebuilders when executing their roles and work, and how we might rethink how women peacebuilding organisations are supported.
Pravina Makan-Lahka is an Advisor on Women, Peace and Security at the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD). In this episode, we discuss the importance of women's meaningful participation in mediation and early warning, and how we can ensure the gender perspective is integrated into conflict early warning systems.
Fatima Maiga is a Founding Member and President of the Coalition des Femmes Leaders Nord, Sud et Centre du Mali (NSC). In this episode, we discuss how we might rethink our interpretation of protection and Fatima shares examples of advocacy for the protection of women and girls in Mali.
Mr Michael Dunford is the Regional Director for Eastern Africa at the UN World Food Programme (WFP). In this episode, we discuss the realities of tackling food security in conflict settings, the impact of climate change, and how conflict-sensitive food systems might better respond to impacts of conflict on women.
Ilwad Elman is the Chief Operating Officer of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre. In this episode, we discuss the challenges and trauma of peacebuilding, her work in supporting survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, and applying a youthful lens to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.
Hamsatu Allamin is the Founder and Executive Director of the Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development. In this episode, we discuss how we might rethink our consideration of who makes up partners in peacebuilding and reconciliation, and our approach to establishing these partnerships in a local context.
Dr Mandiedza Parichi is the Chairperson for the Peace Studies Department at the Midlands State University in Gweru. In this episode, we discuss the role academia can play in peacebuilding processes.
Dr Speciosa Wandira Kazibwe, former Vice President of Uganda, and currently Senior Presidential Adviser on Health & Population. In this episode, we discuss increasing the representation of women and their perspectives in formal and informal peace processes.
Signe Gilen is Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security, at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this episode, we discuss Norway's membership of the UN Security Council and its work towards protecting women’s participation in peace processes, alongside other key WPS and humanitarian strategies.
SRSG Parfait Onyanga-Anyanga is the Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union and Mme Bineta Diop is the African Union’s Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security. In this episode, we discuss the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union and coordinating the activities of stakeholders towards achieving the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Africa.
On 31 October 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted the landmark Resolution 1325, recognising the central role women play in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, and giving birth to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.
Over 20 years after UNSCR 1325, what have we achieved, what have we learnt, and what more can we do?
Host of She Stands for Peace, Dr Yemisi Akinbobola, will be asking these questions and more from key actors in the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Africa.
Season Three is coming out soon and her guests work in grassroots, they are thought leaders and experts, sharing their reflections and best practices.
Don’t forget to join the conversation using the hashtag #shestandsforpeace.
Ahunna Eziakonwa is the Regional Director and Assistant Secretary General for UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa. In this episode, we talk about the application of a gender perspective on reconstruction and peacebuilding.
Ilze Brands Kehris is the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights. In this episode, we discuss the range of mechanisms to respect, protect, and promote women's rights before, during and post-conflict. She offers her insights on keeping rights defenders safe in their interactions with the UN for human rights.
Candice Mama is an author and activist whose work has been centred on trauma, reconciliation, and forgiveness. In this episode, we talk about her experience meeting and forgiving the man who murdered her father during Apartheid. Candice shares her thoughts on how we might approach reconciliation differently, support survivors of trauma and the importance of accurate historical education for peacebuilding.
Marwa Azelmat is a Technology and Women's Rights Policy Consultant. In this episode, we explore the gaps and opportunities for women's digital inclusion in Africa’s Women, Peace and Security Agenda.
Raheemat Omoro Momodu is Head of Human Security and Civil Society at ECOWAS- Economic Community of West African States. She shares her insights and best practices on how RECs, the African Union, and the Member States have translated commitments to action towards Africa's Women, Peace and Security agenda.
CORRECTION: The RECs Liaison Officers' mandate was expanded to cover all areas of cooperation beyond Peace and Security, between the RECs and the African Union, was January 2009 and not January 2018.
H.E. Bankole Adeoye is the African Union's Commissioner for Political Affairs and Peace and Security. SRSG Hanna Tetteh is the Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union. In this episode, we discuss the importance of partnerships based on mutual respect and commitment to implement the Women, Peace and Security agenda in Africa. With a background in political affairs, the guests share how their work in this area has shaped their perspectives on their approaches to the WPS agenda.
Hon. Betty Achan Ogwaro is an MP in the government of South Sudan. In this episode, we discuss arms as a root cause of conflict that impacts women and girls unequally. Hon. Ogwaro offers insights on important sociocultural contexts in understanding the challenges of disarmament and the successful implementation of the peace agreement.
In this episode, Dr Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, former UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women discusses how the UN system, Member States and other parties at all levels work to uphold their commitments to implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. She shares her insights on the importance of political will in moving the needle on women's rights and the central role youth play in this.
Commissioner Amira El Fadil is the African Union's Commissioner for Social Affairs. In this episode, we discuss displacement and humanitarian assistance, and she shares her reflections on the Saleema Initiative and wider efforts to eliminate gender-based violence.
Dr Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili is co-convener of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. In this episode, we speak with Dr Obiagelli Ezekwesili about inspiring and organising the next generation of peacebuilders. She shares insights on how we might approach governance and youth participation differently.
Aya Chebbi is a pan-African feminist activist and former AU Special Envoy for Youth. In this episode, we talk about pan-Africanism and women’s participation in leadership and decision making for peace and development in Africa. Aya shares key insights on the importance of intergenerational dialogue towards the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
Betty Bigombe is the Special Envoy of Uganda to the South Sudan Peace Process. In this episode, we talk about her experiences as a negotiator, which started with her encounters with LRA leader, Joseph Kony. Ms Bigombe talks further about the participation of women in formal peace negotiations and mediation, and the mental health toll of mediation.
Pramila Patten is the Special Representation of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. In this episode, we discuss sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women in conflict and post-conflict settings. SRSG Patten also speaks to the plight of refugees in conflict areas and offers her insights and expertise on how the international community can better address sexual violence in conflict.
Teresa Whitfield is Director of Policy and Mediation Division, at the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA). In this episode we talk about conflict prevention, and the incorporation of a gender perspective and the participation of women in preventing the emergence, spread, and re-emergence of violent conflict.
Nicholas Haysom is Special Representation of the Secretary General to South Sudan, and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. In this episode, we discuss the roles peacekeepers play in the protection of women's rights. From being Chief Legal and Constitutional Adviser to Late President Nelson Mandela, with whom he worked again during the Burundi Peace Talks, to his work in Sudan and more recently South Sudan. SRSG Haysom shares his reflections, insights, and expertise.
Mr. Andre Mundal is the Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security, at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affair. In this episode, we discuss the commitment of member states to the WPS agenda. Mr. Mundal has a background in both the military and diplomacy and brings insights on the effective operationalizing of National Action Plans of UNSCR 1325. Norway's current, and fourth National Action Plan offers an example of how member states might monitor and measure success of NAPs. Mr. Mundal stresses the importance of working with an active civil society and creating opportunities for new learning.
Hajer Sharief is the cofounder and project manager of 'Together We Build It' organisation in Libya, and Karabo Mokgonyana is the African Youth Ambassador for Peace at the African Union. In this episode, we explore their journey as young women peacebuilders, and discuss youth participation, participation of young women in peacebuilding, and social media led activism as a natural habitat for youth participation. Hajer and Karabo also offer their insights on the extent to which UNSCRs1325 and 2250 have been integrated in Africa's Women, Peace and Security agenda.
In episode one of season two of the She Stands for Peace podcast, Dr Yemisi Akinbobola interviews Bintou Keita, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). SRSG Keita speaks on the importance of localising peace processes.
Mme Bineta Diop is the Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, to the African Union Commission. In this episode, we talk about examples of WPS initiatives in Africa, highlighting the key attributes that make them successful. Mme Diop's insights also considers what the wider international peacebuilding community can learn from these localised approaches, and how that might impact donor funding allocation.
In this episode of She Stands for Peace podcast series, host Dr Yemisi Akinbobola, is joined by three women who each have a range of roles and experiences in peacebuilding. Hester Adriana Paneras, is the Head of Institutional and Operational Partnership Service at the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU); Martha Tukahirwa is the regional advocacy and communications offer at the Strategic Initiative for women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network); and Lydia Hafyenanye, a Police officer with the Namibian police force, and a former peacekeeper with the UN Police working with the UN/AU Mission in Darfur. The focus of this episode is Mediation for Peace.
Per Olsson Fridh is the Swedish State Secretary for International Development Corporation. In this episode, we talk about financing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Africa, and how governments might apply a feminist approach to their foreign policy.
Hanna Tetteh is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union. In this episode, we talk about the various levels of partnerships involved in achieving the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Africa.