Defying silence: reflections on the 25th anniversary of UNSCR 1325

Avazkan Ormonova, Association for Businesswomen and Social Issues (DIA), Kyrgyzstan

In the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, Avazkan Ormonova leads the Association for Businesswomen and Social Issues (DIA), a women’s rights organisation that bridges peacebuilding, governance and gender equality in Fergana Valley (where the city of Osh is located) one of Central Asia’s most fragile regions. 
 
For over a decade, DIA has been deeply involved in implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 through Kyrgyzstan’s National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security, as well as the broader Regional Action Plan (RAP) for Central Asia. Avazkan herself serves on the national working group guiding the NAP’s fifth phase and has contributed to regional consultations connecting Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. 
 
“We’ve experienced at least three major conflicts - cross-border clashes with Tajikistan, local unrest inside Kyrgyzstan, and tensions with Uzbekistan. These crises remind us that peace in Central Asia is fragile,” Avazkan explains. “Building trust within the framework of 1325 among neighbouring countries is essential if we are to prevent escalation and sustain peace.” 
 
When the 2021–2022 border clashes closed Kyrgyzstan’s borders and imposed travel bans on Tajik citizens, DIA continued coordinating online with women led CSOs in Tajikistan, maintaining dialogue between women’s groups across frontlines. Through these exchanges, Avazkan and her peers advocated for stronger regional collaboration and practical guidance to help local actors implement 1325 on the ground. 
 
DIA’s work spans four interconnected areas: women’s political participation and peacebuilding, prevention of domestic and gender-based violence, volunteerism and economic empowerment. Before joining the national working group, Avazkan and her colleagues underwent extensive training on international frameworks, learning how civil society could meaningfully shape and monitor the NAP. 
 
Each new NAP cycle has become more participatory than the last. “In the early years, government ministries drafted plans alone,” she recalls. “Now, consultations are broader, with both government and civil society contributing expertise. It’s progress, but implementation still lags behind.” 
 
Despite advances, gaps persist. Vulnerable groups, women with disabilities, displaced families and young people are rarely consulted in government recovery or peace plans, particularly when conflict erupts. “When violence breaks out, priorities shift overnight,” Avazkan says. “High turnover among government officials means we lose institutional memory and momentum. Meetings often focus only on state priorities, while communities most affected are excluded.” 
 
The Fergana Valley, where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan intersect, remains a hotspot of tension over borders, and water. Avazkan highlights that digital disinformation and climate stress now compound these risks. “Fake information spreads quickly online and can inflame communities,” she warns. “We need trusted, verified channels of communication and we must link gender equality to peace, stability, and development so people understand why it matters.” 
 
To address these challenges, DIA works with partners in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and engages in an annual regional women’s leaders’ forum, where issues related to UNSCR 1325, climate and digital safety are central. "This is a more peaceful period in our region,” she reflects, “so it’s time to focus on conflict prevention, to innovate beyond traditional training and support critical thinking and local leadership.” 
 
During past outbreaks of violence, DIA organised mobile groups to assist pregnant women, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, often stepping in where government systems failed. “Civil society fills these gaps,” Avazkan says, “but we need to be recognised as legitimate partners, not viewed through suspicion.” 
She calls for stronger donor support to fund education and awareness on women’s roles in peacebuilding, cross-border collaboration, and early-warning mechanisms in the Fergana Valley. “There is so much written about the valley’s risks,” she adds, “but not enough investment in preventing them.” 

“Peace in Central Asia depends on inclusion and trust. Governments must work hand-in-hand with civil society, and women must be part of every discussion not as tokens, but as decision-makers. Peace isn’t built in time; it’s built over time, through relationships, education, and collaboration. 
 
We need greater donor investment in women’s peacebuilding and equal recognition alongside youth movements. We must change perceptions that gender equality threatens traditions. In truth, it strengthens families, stability, and peace. Now is a peaceful time, let’s use it to prevent future conflict. Peace must be maintained by informed, engaged communities and women are central to that.” 

Shukria Dini, Somali Women’s Studies Center (SWSC), Somalia 

For over three decades, Somalia has been mired in protracted conflict, state collapse, and repeated humanitarian crises. Amid the instability, Somali women’s organisations and leaders have been the backbone of peacebuilding, creating protection networks, mediating local disputes, and advocating for inclusive governance even as formal political processes excluded them. 

Shukria, a long-time advocate for women’s rights and peace, recalls that the turning point came when Somali women asked a simple question: “How do we protect our women and children?” That question gave rise to a movement and to new women-led organisations, many supported by Saferworld and other partners, which began documenting violations, engaging with duty bearers, and opening civic space for women’s participation in reconciliation and conflict prevention. 

“We debunked the belief that women can’t lead,” Shukria says. “Despite being mothers, sisters, and wives, we are also peacebuilders. We created spaces for women to speak openly about their challenges, to design their own solutions, and to understand that they are rights holders, not beneficiaries.” 

Through community dialogues and work with men and young men, her organisation has helped reshape social attitudes toward women’s roles in public life. Yet, Somalia’s patriarchal norms persist and conservative leaders continue to argue that women should not hold political office. “Even so,” she notes, “women are the ones sheltering men and boys fleeing violence. They are literally holding communities together.” 

Reflecting on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, Shukria is candid. “When the resolution was first adopted, African women were already living the reality of conflict, it wasn’t designed in Geneva or New York; it was born from our struggles,” she says. As a graduate student, she personally co-translated the resolution into Somali with her father to make it accessible to government officials and activists. 

But she worries the early momentum has faded. “There was a golden period when 1325 had strong political support nationally, regionally, and globally,” she explains. “Now, the enthusiasm is declining, and the context has changed. My fear is that we are losing the gains we made, and that women’s protection and participation will once again become invisible.” 

Many countries, she argues, have developed National Action Plans (NAPs) only to attract funding, without true domestication or implementation. “We need more awareness,” she insists. “1325 requires its own resources, strategies, and commitment. Civil society must be part of monitoring in IDP camps and rural areas holding governments accountable for women’s protection and security.” 

Shukria also points to deep structural gaps: 

• Peace negotiations and national peace processes remain dominated by men, militias and warlords, who later become political leaders. Women were and continue to be sidelined despite their daily peace building efforts. 
• Women are rarely recruited into the Security Sector; the few women who are recruited into the security sector do not receive social and institutional support they need to perform their roles meaningfully including clear career progression pathways, protection from harassment, and access to leadership opportunities etc. 
• Training often targets low-level officers, while senior officials remain unaware of civilian-protection standards, gender-sensitive response and safeguarding. 
• Annual national reviews on protection, security and women’s rights, proposed by women’s rights organisations, have not materialised. 

Despite the setbacks, Shukria believes the next 25 years must be about re-energising global and local commitment to WPS: 

“We cannot be dismayed by global shifts. We must double our efforts, find creative ways to keep momentum, and hold duty bearers accountable. WPS is not just a women’s issue — it’s about humanity.” 

She calls for stronger accountability and engagement with power centres in fragile states, focused support for women with disabilities and minority communities, and a renewed emphasis on gender and protection as standalone priorities, not merely mainstreamed add-ons. 

Shukria also urges the international community to diversify funding sources. “We must explore non-traditional donors and public-private partnerships. Gender equality, human rights, and social inclusion are not luxuries; they are the foundation for peace.” 

As funding cuts – particularly from the UK and other traditional donors – reshape aid portfolios, she warns of the consequences: “Reduced ODA [overseas development assistance] has huge implications for women’s rights and protection in fragile contexts like Somalia. If support continues to decline, we risk erasing decades of progress.” 

For Shukria, the path forward is through investment in women as protectors, mediators, and leaders. “If we give Somali women the technical support and resources they need,” she says, “the transformation will be enormous.” 

Colean Nafula, Pokot Youth Bunge Forum, Kenya

Longstanding conflict between the Pokot, Turkana and Marakwet communities in Kenya’s greater North Rift has been driven by competition over land, pasture and water; pressures intensified by climate change, drought, political interference, the proliferation of small arms, and practices such as cattle rustling. These dynamics have deepened insecurity and eroded social cohesion in border areas.  

In response, the Pokot Youth Bunge County Forum (PYBCF) was founded in 2013 by young women and men to address the root causes of conflict through community-led peacebuilding, alongside initiatives on climate justice, sustainable livelihoods, education and skills development, laying the groundwork for long-term peace and resilience. Colean, the Programs Lead at Pokot Youth Bunge County Forum (PYBCF) reflects on the organisation's WPS work and approaches. As a youth-led community-based organisation working in West Pokot, we believe that peace cannot be imposed from outside; it must be built over time, through trust, dialogue and community ownership. In our pastoralist context, women, youth, and elders all play distinct but interlinked roles in sustaining peace. 

Over the years, we have seen how UNSCR 1325 has opened doors for women’s participation, yet, in practice, this participation often remains tokenistic. Women attend meetings, but rarely shape the agenda or influence outcomes. In pastoralist communities, patriarchal norms still define women’s status, and exclusion is reinforced by limited education and economic dependence. We have learned that when women are economically empowered – for example, through livestock or small enterprises – they gain respect and voice in decision-making processes and peace dialogues. 

Our peacebuilding approach is intergenerational and inclusive, engaging elders, men, and youth to recognise women’s wisdom and leadership. We weave indigenous knowledge and community structures into peacebuilding rather than creating parallel systems. Across the Pokot–Karamoja border, women have been central to preventing cattle raids and mediating conflicts; they have become peace connectors across ethnic lines. 

Our recommendations for the international community: 

• Invest in long-term, locally-led peacebuilding - peace is not built in projects, but in relationships. 
• Decolonise programming by designing with, not for, communities, and build on what already exists. 
• Shift from counting women’s participation to measuring women’s influence in decision-making spaces. 
• Support local women’s and youth networks as equal partners in peace, recognising that localisation is not one-size-fits-all but context-specific. 

Peace and stability in West Pokot and across border regions will only endure when local women and communities are trusted and resourced to lead. 

Bahia Al-Saqaf, Head of Peace and Sustainable Society (PASS) Organisation, Yemen 

Bahia Al-Saqaf leads the Peace and Sustainable Society (PASS) Organisation, headquartered in Aden. PASS is one of the few local organisations in Yemen working directly within the framework of UNSCR 1325 to advance women’s protection, participation, and leadership amid one of the world’s most protracted conflicts.

Since 2022, Bahia and her team have been part of the local taskforce supporting the implementation of Yemen’s National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security. The plan seeks to strengthen women’s protection, rebuild institutional structures, and create an enabling environment for gender equality. PASS collaborates closely with the Ministry of Interior and local security apparatus to make governance systems more inclusive and responsive to women’s needs. 

Bahia explains that the work has not been easy. “Yemen has been a conflict zone for over ten years. We are trying to enhance our work in fields that serve women, but we face constant insecurity and limited access,” she says. Despite these challenges, PASS has supported women’s empowerment and protection initiatives and coordinated with women’s coalitions to amplify women’s voices at local and national levels. 

However, implementation of the NAP has been partial and geographically limited. “The plan was only applied in the governorate of Aden under the legitimate authority,” Bahia notes. “It faced gaps and difficulties, and areas under Houthi control completely reject the resolution. This leaves many women deprived of protection and empowerment.” 

She emphasises that institutional reform is critical: “We need to rebuild institutions from policies to culture so they are open to women and provide equal opportunities to participate and lead.” 

Bahia also speaks of the risks that women face, referencing the assassination of Iftehan Al-Mashahri, a local female official in Taiz, as a turning point. “That incident was a red alarm for all of us. It broke a taboo [of] attacking a woman [that] was once unthinkable in our traditions. Now, women face defamation, blackmail, and hostility, even from religious figures. The moral fabric of society has been damaged by war,” she explains. 

PASS continues to push forward, focusing on rebuilding social cohesion, addressing moral and behavioural regression and promoting protection for women. Bahia calls for donor support to expand the NAP beyond Aden and to reform institutional structures: “If I could access funding, I would direct it to a new stage of implementing the NAP in more governorates to reform institutions and open more space for women’s participation in decision-making.” 

“We need long-term, flexible support, not projects designed externally, but funding that recognises local realities, empowers women’s organisations, and strengthens state institutions that can sustain protection and participation.” 

Huda Ahmed Ismail, Project Manager, Women’s Action for Advocacy and Progress Organization (WAAPO), Somaliland

Women’s Action for Advocacy and Progress Organization (WAAPO) is a grassroots-to-policy women’s rights and peacebuilding organisation committed to advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in conflict-affected communities. Based in Somaliland, WAAPO works at local, regional, and national levels to promote women’s meaningful participation in peace processes, protection from gender-based violence (GBV), and access to justice and livelihoods. “Our work starts at the grassroots and connects to national policy,” Huda explains. “Every safe space, every legal case, every trained young woman brings us closer to the peace we envision.” 

WAAPO has become a lifeline for women and girls affected by conflict and displacement. Its Safe Houses provide round-the-clock security, psychosocial care, and nutritious meals for survivors of GBV. Its youth innovation and livelihood programmes empower young women through business training, life skills, and start-up seed funding, while climate resilience projects promote sustainable environmental practices and community adaptation to climate change. WAAPO also plays a critical role in emergency response, distributing hygiene and sanitation kits, non-food items, and cash-based assistance to vulnerable families. 

Reflecting on 25 years of the WPS agenda, Huda recognises that progress has been uneven. “There is now greater awareness that women and girls should be part of peace and decision-making,” says the team. “But violence, poverty, and exclusion persist. Funding and policy support are inconsistent, leaving many women unreached.” 

Among the organisation’s biggest challenges are unpredictable funding, weak localisation, insecurity for women human rights defenders, limited access to justice and deeply rooted patriarchal norms that keep women out of public decision-making. Coordination between donors, UN entities, and local civil society remains fragmented, slowing progress and undermining sustainability. 

WAAPO calls on the international community to shift from rhetoric to action by: 

• Providing multi-year, flexible core funding directly to local women’s organisations to sustain and expand their work. 
• Requiring international partners to co-design initiatives with local women’s groups. 
• Creating rapid-response protection funds for women human rights defenders. 
• Ensuring all donor and UN programmes are conflict-sensitive and protection-driven, with community-level risk assessments. 
• Recognising women’s economic empowerment as peacebuilding, and fund livelihoods that increase women’s agency and negotiating power. 
• Support access to justice through legal aid for women and girls, training  or police and justice actors (formal and informal) with prioritisation to women in the security and justice sector, and community legal literacy. 
• Apply principled diplomacy that challenges actors who exclude women or allow GBV. 
• Invest in youth and intergenerational leadership to build the next generation of peacebuilders. 

“As we look to the next 25 years, the future must be one where every woman and girl is safe, heard, and empowered to lead because lasting peace begins with their voices at the centre.” 

Maeen, lawyer, human-rights activist, and member of the Wahag Women's Hub in Taiz, Yemen  

Before Yemen’s war, few had heard of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. “It was seen as something for other countries not ours,” recalls Maeen, a lawyer, human-rights activist, and member of the Wahag Women’s Hub in Taiz. “Only after the war did organisations begin to train women on it, to connect it with our realities.” Since 2015, Maeen has worked at the frontlines of local mediation, negotiating prisoner exchanges, reopening roads, and supporting women’s roles in security institutions.

With Saferworld’s support, her network helped create dedicated spaces for policewomen in Taiz and trained dozens of women in leadership and conflict resolution. These efforts led to two women being appointed to senior public roles. One of them, Iftehan al-Mashhari, the trailblazing head of the Taiz Cleaning and Improvement Fund and women’s activist, was brutally assassinated in 2025. “Her killing shook our faith,” Maeen says quietly. “Taiz was once a model of freedom. Now even our families fear for us when we leave home.” 

Women leaders in Taiz now face escalating threats, harassment and fear, and almost no institutional protection. “We need laws, not only sympathy,” Maeen insists. “Protection should come through enforceable decisions, and international partners must pressure local authorities to guarantee women’s safety.” She also calls for flexible funding: “Financial stability is protection. It allows women to keep working without having to compromise or retreat.” 

Donor funding cuts and gender backlash have further deepened this insecurity. ‘When U.S.[government] aid stopped, many organisations – health, education, women’s rights – had to shut down. My own salary was cut by 40%. We can’t survive like this.’ Maeen believes future funding must prioritise sustainability: “Every grant should include a portion for resilience so when the funding ends, the work does not.” 

She sees reviving Yemen’s National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS as urgent. “A plan was drafted but never finished. Women must be part of redrafting it, across all governorates, based on our real needs not what men tell donors.” 

Her voice is both steady and weary. “We are still shocked, but we will continue. Women have lost too much to stop now. If the world really believes in Resolution 1325, it must believe in us and trust us and support us to lead.” 

In December 2025, Maeen’s commitment was recognised internationally when she received the Embassy Tulip Award from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Yemen. The award honours individuals whose work advances peace and human rights in challenging contexts. Maeen was also among the top three candidates for the Dutch government’s Human Rights Tulip – an annual award that supports defenders working to protect and promote human rights worldwide. These acknowledgements underline the global significance of her efforts to mediate locally and champion women’s rights in Yemen. 

Interview with a women’s rights advocate in South Darfur (name withheld for security)

Majda (not her real name) is a lawyer and women’s rights advocate from South Darfur who has spent over a decade working to advance women’s protection and participation in one of Sudan’s most volatile regions. Since war erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan has descended into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises with over 12 million people displaced, widespread hunger, and a sharp rise in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). She was part of early efforts to localise the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in collaboration with civil society coalitions in Khartoum. 

“For us, 1325 was a victory,” she reflects. “It gave women a framework to demand participation, protection, and prevention in a country where we have long been excluded from political processes and decision-making.” 

Majda and her peers helped establish women’s networks that have worked to support survivors, and advocate for women’s inclusion in peace dialogues. “We are forming pressure groups to ensure women’s participation in negotiations and future constitutional processes,” she explains. “Women must not only be present; they must influence outcomes.”

However, the April 2023 war and the deepening crisis in Sudan have derailed much of this progress. “After the conflict erupted, hopes for implementing the National Action Plan on 1325 collapsed,” she says. “Now, women face widespread violations, sexual abuse, displacement, violence, poverty, and famine. In Al-fashir, women are dying from hunger. Protection must be part of every peace and humanitarian process.”

Majda’s current focus is on awareness and accountability. She works with individuals in the judicial sector in South Darfur to deliver training on women’s rights, case referrals, and the handling of gender-based violence. “There is willingness among some in the justice system to improve,” she says. “If we can train those who deliver aid and enforce the law, we can start preventing violations rather than just documenting them.” 

She calls for direct, flexible funding for local organisations: Many of us handle sensitive cases of violence against women. We need resources for personal and digital safety, legal support, and trauma recovery, not only project budgets that end after six months. 

Looking ahead, Majda hopes for greater investment in women’s leadership and negotiation skills, and for women to take active roles in ceasefire and transitional justice processes. “Sudanese women are ready to lead,” she says firmly. “If 1325 is to mean anything, it must protect us as we work for peace.” 

Interview with a representative of the Women’s Emergency Rooms (WERs), Sudan (name withheld for security) 

When conflict erupted across Sudan in April 2023, displacing millions and collapsing health and protection systems, women’s groups stepped in where institutions failed. Among them is Mariam (not her real name) a young woman who helps coordinate one of Sudan’s Women’s Emergency Rooms (WERs), volunteer-driven initiatives that provide essential services and safety to women and children amid the war. 

“Our organisation was founded at the start of the conflict to respond to women’s urgent needs,” Mariam explains. We offer health services, protection, and guidance in displacement camps and host communities. We listen to women’s experiences, especially cases of violence, and refer them to specialised organisations for legal or psychosocial support. 

The WERs emerged as a grassroots protection mechanism during Sudan’s current war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Across the country, women volunteers have organised informal response systems to fill gaps in the provision of food, medicine, and community safety. Yet, as Mariam notes,  

“We face immense challenges - waves of displacement, and insecurity that restricts our movement, and a lack of funds to meet basic needs. Most of our team are volunteers without professional training, but we do what we can because women and children are the most fragile in this crisis.” 

Despite these obstacles, the WERs have become a lifeline for displaced women offering safe spaces, distributing aid, and connecting survivors of violence to assistance. Mariam sees their role as extending beyond relief: “We are now focusing on peacebuilding sessions with women and local communities, helping people understand peaceful coexistence. Peace is our priority without peace, humanitarian work cannot continue.” 

She believes that women’s participation in Sudan’s peace processes must start from local realities, and many displaced women are already mediating conflicts among displaced communities. They raise awareness, encourage dialogue, and try to repair community ties. Their efforts deserve recognition and support. 

"Funding rarely reaches us directly. Most donors have complex procedures and conditions that exclude small women’s organisations. We need direct support, both financial and technical to strengthen women’s organisations at the community level." 

Her vision for Sudan’s future is rooted in local peace.  

"If women understand peace, live it, and lead it in their communities, then Sudan has a chance to heal.”