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Inside Geneva: where are women’s voices in peace talks?

Photo of five women in a radio studio
Imogen Foulkes

In Ukraine, and in the Middle East, men say they are negotiating peace. But are they?

“Ending war is necessary to peace without a doubt, but ending war does not mean peace. So, whenever these men use the word ‘peace’ in order to say ‘ceasefire’ and ‘stop the guns’, this is not peace,” says Deborah Schibler from PeaceWomen across the Globe (PWAG).

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“What the US is doing right now is an extractivist assertion of power, arguably even a second imperial ambition that we are seeing now alongside Russia. Democracy, peace and gender equality mutually reinforce each other,” adds Leandra Bias from the Universtiy of Bern.

+ War in Sudan: how women want to influence the peace process in Geneva

So, where are the women in these “peace” negotiations? Our guests tell Inside Geneva that they should be everywhere… not nowhere.

“Women, women’s perspectives, gender perspectives and human security perspectives have to be in every process and every structure of armed forces,” says Mahide Aslan, head of women and diversity at Swiss Armed Forces.

“There are so many women who are really keen to get involved in these formal peace negotiations and who are ready for it, but it is made very difficult for them,” says Larissa Lee, from PWAG.

How can women’s voices be heard in peace talks? Join host Imogen Foulkes on our Inside Geneva podcast.

Find out more about the ‘Inside Geneva’ podcast and our other Swiss podcasts in English here.

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