Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

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  Executive Summary: Building Holistic Security

  Neslihan Ozgunes, Eva Dalak, Sandra Melone, Natalija Gojković, Nesreen Barwari, Slava Shikh Hasan, Muna Luqman, Tatu M. Nyange, and Ambassador Liberata Mulamula

  Women peacebuilders inevitably face risks and insecurity in their daily work. International partners have an important role to play in supporting their safety and protection. Understanding women peacebuilders’ roles and the types of risks they face is the first step in ensuring an adequate response. The diversity of roles that women peacebuilders play, as well as the multiple factors that impact the types of risks they might face, need to be taken into account by international partners from the very beginning of a partnership.
  
  Building Holistic Security: Addressing Security Risks of Women Peacebuilders Through Partnerships addresses how international partners who wish to work with women peacebuilders and support them in addressing the risks and insecurity they face need to recognize the scope and nature of peacebuilding work, which is often cross-cutting, overlapping with humanitarian response and development work. Understanding the nuances and breadth of women peacebuilders’ work is crucial to identifying the risks they face and providing them with effective legal, political and financial protection — and is thereby essential to creating partnerships that mitigate and address these risks. Through case studies, the report identifies challenges and opportunities drawn directly from the lived realities of women peacebuilders and their partners, as well as from experts working in the Women, Peace and Security field.

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  FACE Peace Design Brief #1: Communities of Practice On/Offline

  John Porten

  The FACE Peace Initiative at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice intends to help peacebuilders answer questions about in-person and online collaboration with intention and care. This design brief combines desk research on best practices from other fields with observation of peacebuilding organizations to identify key debates and concerns and provide insight into how to navigate trade-offs between in-person and distanced peacebuilding activities and events.

  Peacebuilding organizations often attempt to gather members of the field into “communities of practice” (“CoPs”), which intend to increase skills and knowledge among members through long-term information-sharing and reciprocal mentorship. Facilitators of practice communities in peacebuilding and other fields frequently complain that the community falls moribund over time.

  This FACE Peace design brief considers the question of practice community success from the perspective of hybrid work and the tensions peacebuilders have come to feel between digital and in-person interactions in a truly global field.

  What does in-person interaction between practice community members accomplish? When are these benefits essential for success? When are they simply “nice to have”? What are the best ways to recreate the benefits of in-person meetings at a distance? Are there benefits only distanced work can provide?

  Answers depend in part on the goals, constraints and characteristics of the practice community. This design brief offers insights on two related questions. First, how should the facilitators of practice communities decide what happens in person and what happens at a distance? Second, how can facilitators administer the in-person and online aspects of their practice communities to maximum effect?

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  FACE Peace Design Brief #2: Education and Training Programs in the Digital Age

  John Porten

  This FACE Peace Design Brief considers education and training programs among peacebuilders in the digital age. Recent advances in technology, and cultural shifts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, have allowed program and event designers to consider a wide variety of tools and practices that allow education to happen at a distance or asynchronously.

  Peacebuilding organizations often facilitate programs designed to train or educate. In some cases, these programs seek to impart specific technical skills to professional members of the peacebuilding community; in others, the seek to impart broader skills and knowledge to informal, grassroots peace practitioners. In some cases, facilitators implement these programs in face-to-face sessions. Increasingly, however, educational programing in the peacebuilding field takes place in whole or in part in distanced or even asynchronous settings.

  This Design Brief considers the issue of education and training programs from the perspective of participant recruitment and preparation. It discusses how certain participant needs are amplified by distance from instructors and other students as well as how program design might meet these needs.

  We focus on the problems associated with learning loss in distanced education. Which educational programs are best suited for distanced or asynchronous delivery? How can we choose which elements of hybrid learning programs can be distanced versus face-to-face?

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  IREX and the Community Solutions Program

  John Porten

  The community of practice (CoP) made up of the alumni Community Solutions Program (CSP) caters to a diverse and globally distributed group of professionals in the peacebuilding, humanitarian and development fields. Facilitating such a community without substantial reliance on communications technology and distanced relationship-building would be impossible. Yet this kind of distanced practice community faces a trust hurdle: members will only contribute quality content if they believe others will do the same. This creates a classic “free-rider” problem that leads to the death of many distanced practice communities. Despite this challenge, the CSP alumni that make up the program’s community of practice contribute enthusiastically. Why?

  This case study examines five practices IREX employs to increase trust, overcome the free-rider challenge, and therefore inspire participation and the creation of content that provides value to others in the community. The first four of these practices accord with best practices from a variety of other fields known for hosting practice communities. The last practice, focused on building a “community of care” as opposed to simply creating professional value for members, represents an innovation that is well-suited to peacebuilding practice communities.

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  Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women: Leveraging the Power of Collaboration

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Youssra Biare, Ramatoulie Isatou Jallow, Nermine Mounir, Zarqa Yaftali, Heela Yoon, Briana Mawby, and Hassnaa Tamam

  Compounding crises related to inequalities and violence, health, the environment and food and water insecurity affect people across generations, and solutions to build lasting peace require the involvement and leadership of people of all generations. This report focuses on how generation and age differences affect peacebuilding work among women by analyzing how women and women’s organizations are using intergenerational strategies and partnerships to build peace.

  Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women: Leveraging the Power of Collaboration argues that women’s and women’s organizations’ intergenerational peacebuilding efforts and potential must be better recognized, supported, developed and encouraged at the national and international levels alike. Through the case studies, the report shows examples of existing efforts, opportunities and challenges, with the goal of shaping and influencing how decision-makers and funders approach intergenerational partnerships and strategies as part of peacebuilding work.

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  Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women: Leveraging the Power of Collaboration (Executive Summary)

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Youssra Biare, Ramatoulie Isatou Jallow, Nermine Mounir, Zarqa Yaftali, Heela Yoon, Briana Mawby, and Hassnaa Tamam

  Compounding crises related to inequalities and violence, health, the environment and food and water insecurity affect people across generations, and solutions to build lasting peace require the involvement and leadership of people of all generations. This report focuses on how generation and age differences affect peacebuilding work among women by analyzing how women and women’s organizations are using intergenerational strategies and partnerships to build peace.

  Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women: Leveraging the Power of Collaboration argues that women’s and women’s organizations’ intergenerational peacebuilding efforts and potential must be better recognized, supported, developed and encouraged at the national and international levels alike. Through the case studies, the report shows examples of existing efforts, opportunities and challenges, with the goal of shaping and influencing how decision-makers and funders approach intergenerational partnerships and strategies as part of peacebuilding work.

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  Addressing Chronic Violence from a Gendered Perspective (Case Study: Honduras)

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Nattecia Nerene Bohardsingh, María Dolores Hernández Montoya, Tania Cecilia Martínez, Briana Mawby, and Aliza Carns

  Violence has traditionally been viewed through the lens of armed conflict or specific, concrete violent incidents. However, it is necessary to understand that violence may be a chronic phenomenon— a persistent, deeply ingrained aggression affecting daily lives.
  
  The report makes the case for reconceptualizing violence in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and gender equality fields, building upon feminist conceptions of the continuum of violence to recognize that societal structures, systemic discrimination and even pervasive cultural norms can be sources of violence. This comprehensive view has significant implications for policy, demanding multisectoral strategies that address not just symptoms but the root causes. This report illuminates the pervasive issue of chronic violence, especially its gendered dimensions, and advocates for comprehensive approaches to understanding and addressing it.

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  Addressing Chronic Violence from a Gendered Perspective (Executive Summary)

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Nattecia Nerene Bohardsingh, María Dolores Hernández Montoya, Tania Cecilia Martínez, Briana Mawby, and Aliza Carns

  Violence has traditionally been viewed through the lens of armed conflict or specific, concrete violent incidents. However, it is necessary to understand that violence may be a chronic phenomenon— a persistent, deeply ingrained aggression affecting daily lives.
  
  The report makes the case for reconceptualizing violence in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and gender equality fields, building upon feminist conceptions of the continuum of violence to recognize that societal structures, systemic discrimination and even pervasive cultural norms can be sources of violence. This comprehensive view has significant implications for policy, demanding multisectoral strategies that address not just symptoms but the root causes. This report illuminates the pervasive issue of chronic violence, especially its gendered dimensions, and advocates for comprehensive approaches to understanding and addressing it.

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  Addressing Chronic Violence from a Gendered Perspective: Fostering People-Centered Approaches at the National Level

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Nattecia Nerene Bohardsingh, María Dolores Hernández Montoya, Tania Cecilia Martínez, Briana Mawby, and Aliza Carns

  Violence has traditionally been viewed through the lens of armed conflict or specific, concrete violent incidents. However, it is necessary to understand that violence may be a chronic phenomenon— a persistent, deeply ingrained aggression affecting daily lives.
  
  The report makes the case for reconceptualizing violence in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and gender equality fields, building upon feminist conceptions of the continuum of violence to recognize that societal structures, systemic discrimination and even pervasive cultural norms can be sources of violence. This comprehensive view has significant implications for policy, demanding multisectoral strategies that address not just symptoms but the root causes. This report illuminates the pervasive issue of chronic violence, especially its gendered dimensions, and advocates for comprehensive approaches to understanding and addressing it.

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  Addressing Chronic Violence from a Gendered Perspective: Fostering People-Centered Approaches at the National Level (Case Study: Jamaica)

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Nattecia Nerene Bohardsingh, María Dolores Hernández Montoya, Tania Cecilia Martínez, Briana Mawby, and Aliza Carns

  Violence has traditionally been viewed through the lens of armed conflict or specific, concrete violent incidents. However, it is necessary to understand that violence may be a chronic phenomenon— a persistent, deeply ingrained aggression affecting daily lives.
  
  The report makes the case for reconceptualizing violence in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and gender equality fields, building upon feminist conceptions of the continuum of violence to recognize that societal structures, systemic discrimination and even pervasive cultural norms can be sources of violence. This comprehensive view has significant implications for policy, demanding multisectoral strategies that address not just symptoms but the root causes. This report illuminates the pervasive issue of chronic violence, especially its gendered dimensions, and advocates for comprehensive approaches to understanding and addressing it.

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  Addressing Chronic Violence from a Gendered Perspective: Fostering People-Centered Approaches at the National Level (Case Study: Mexico)

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Nattecia Nerene Bohardsingh, María Dolores Hernández Montoya, Tania Cecilia Martínez, Briana Mawby, and Aliza Carns

  Violence has traditionally been viewed through the lens of armed conflict or specific, concrete violent incidents. However, it is necessary to understand that violence may be a chronic phenomenon— a persistent, deeply ingrained aggression affecting daily lives.
  
  The report makes the case for reconceptualizing violence in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and gender equality fields, building upon feminist conceptions of the continuum of violence to recognize that societal structures, systemic discrimination and even pervasive cultural norms can be sources of violence. This comprehensive view has significant implications for policy, demanding multisectoral strategies that address not just symptoms but the root causes. This report illuminates the pervasive issue of chronic violence, especially its gendered dimensions, and advocates for comprehensive approaches to understanding and addressing it.

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  Análisis de la violencia crónica desde una perspectiva de género (Estudio de caso: Honduras)

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Nattecia Nerene Bohardsingh, María Dolores Hernández Montoya, Tania Cecilia Martínez, Briana Mawby, and Aliza Carns

  Tradicionalmente, la violencia se ha considerado a través del prisma de los conflictos armados o de incidentes violentos concretos y específicos. Sin embargo, es necesario comprender que la violencia puede ser un fenómeno crónico, una agresión persistente y profundamente arraigada que afecta a la vida cotidiana.
  
  El informe aboga por una reconceptualización de la violencia en los ámbitos de la Mujer, la Paz y la Seguridad (WPS) y la igualdad de género, basándose en las concepciones feministas del continuo de la violencia para reconocer que las estructuras sociales, la discriminación sistémica e incluso las normas culturales dominantes pueden ser fuentes de violencia. Esta visión integral tiene implicaciones significativas para la política, ya que exige estrategias multisectoriales que aborden no solo los síntomas sino las causas profundas. Este informe pone de manifiesto la cuestión de la violencia crónica dominante, especialmente sus dimensiones de género, y aboga por modelos integrales para comprenderla y abordarla.

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  Análisis de la violencia crónica desde una perspectiva de género (Estudio de caso: Jamaica)

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Nattecia Nerene Bohardsingh, María Dolores Hernández Montoya, Tania Cecilia Martínez, Briana Mawby, and Aliza Carns

  Tradicionalmente, la violencia se ha considerado a través del prisma de los conflictos armados o de incidentes violentos concretos y específicos. Sin embargo, es necesario comprender que la violencia puede ser un fenómeno crónico, una agresión persistente y profundamente arraigada que afecta a la vida cotidiana.
  
  El informe aboga por una reconceptualización de la violencia en los ámbitos de la Mujer, la Paz y la Seguridad (WPS) y la igualdad de género, basándose en las concepciones feministas del continuo de la violencia para reconocer que las estructuras sociales, la discriminación sistémica e incluso las normas culturales dominantes pueden ser fuentes de violencia. Esta visión integral tiene implicaciones significativas para la política, ya que exige estrategias multisectoriales que aborden no solo los síntomas sino las causas profundas. Este informe pone de manifiesto la cuestión de la violencia crónica dominante, especialmente sus dimensiones de género, y aboga por modelos integrales para comprenderla y abordarla.

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  Análisis de la violencia crónica desde una perspectiva de género (Estudio de caso: México)

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Nattecia Nerene Bohardsingh, María Dolores Hernández Montoya, Tania Cecilia Martínez, Briana Mawby, and Aliza Carns

  Tradicionalmente, la violencia se ha considerado a través del prisma de los conflictos armados o de incidentes violentos concretos y específicos. Sin embargo, es necesario comprender que la violencia puede ser un fenómeno crónico, una agresión persistente y profundamente arraigada que afecta a la vida cotidiana.
  
  El informe aboga por una reconceptualización de la violencia en los ámbitos de la Mujer, la Paz y la Seguridad (WPS) y la igualdad de género, basándose en las concepciones feministas del continuo de la violencia para reconocer que las estructuras sociales, la discriminación sistémica e incluso las normas culturales dominantes pueden ser fuentes de violencia. Esta visión integral tiene implicaciones significativas para la política, ya que exige estrategias multisectoriales que aborden no solo los síntomas sino las causas profundas. Este informe pone de manifiesto la cuestión de la violencia crónica dominante, especialmente sus dimensiones de género, y aboga por modelos integrales para comprenderla y abordarla.

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  Análisis de la violencia crónica desde una perspectiva de género: promover modelos centrados en las personas en el ámbito nacional

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Nattecia Nerene Bohardsingh, María Dolores Hernández Montoya, Tania Cecilia Martínez, Briana Mawby, and Aliza Carns

  Tradicionalmente, la violencia se ha considerado a través del prisma de los conflictos armados o de incidentes violentos concretos y específicos. Sin embargo, es necesario comprender que la violencia puede ser un fenómeno crónico, una agresión persistente y profundamente arraigada que afecta a la vida cotidiana.
  
  El informe aboga por una reconceptualización de la violencia en los ámbitos de la Mujer, la Paz y la Seguridad (WPS) y la igualdad de género, basándose en las concepciones feministas del continuo de la violencia para reconocer que las estructuras sociales, la discriminación sistémica e incluso las normas culturales dominantes pueden ser fuentes de violencia. Esta visión integral tiene implicaciones significativas para la política, ya que exige estrategias multisectoriales que aborden no solo los síntomas sino las causas profundas. Este informe pone de manifiesto la cuestión de la violencia crónica dominante, especialmente sus dimensiones de género, y aboga por modelos integrales para comprenderla y abordarla.

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  Análisis de la violencia crónica desde una perspectiva de género (Resumen ejecutivo)

  Elena B. Stavrevska, Nattecia Nerene Bohardsingh, María Dolores Hernández Montoya, Tania Cecilia Martínez, Briana Mawby, and Aliza Carns

  Tradicionalmente, la violencia se ha considerado a través del prisma de los conflictos armados o de incidentes violentos concretos y específicos. Sin embargo, es necesario comprender que la violencia puede ser un fenómeno crónico, una agresión persistente y profundamente arraigada que afecta a la vida cotidiana.
  
  El informe aboga por una reconceptualización de la violencia en los ámbitos de la Mujer, la Paz y la Seguridad (WPS) y la igualdad de género, basándose en las concepciones feministas del continuo de la violencia para reconocer que las estructuras sociales, la discriminación sistémica e incluso las normas culturales dominantes pueden ser fuentes de violencia. Esta visión integral tiene implicaciones significativas para la política, ya que exige estrategias multisectoriales que aborden no solo los síntomas sino las causas profundas. Este informe pone de manifiesto la cuestión de la violencia crónica dominante, especialmente sus dimensiones de género, y aboga por modelos integrales para comprenderla y abordarla.

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  Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women (Case Study: Afghanistan)

  Zarqa Yaftali

  This case study is part of the Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women: Leveraging the Power of Collaboration report created by the Women PeaceMakers program. In this case study, Woman PeaceMaker Fellow Zarqa Yaftali explores the state of intergenerational peacebuilding for women’s rights activists in Afghanistan. This research demonstrates that women of different generations must work together with mutual trust and respect to challenge the dominant narrative that women are not involved in peacebuilding. Leveraging the strengths of the younger generation in Afghanistan and the older generation abroad is vital for successful partnerships.

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  Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women (Case Study: Eastern Afghanistan)

  Heela Yoon

  This case study is part of the Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women: Leveraging the Power of Collaboration report created by the Women PeaceMakers program. In this case study, Woman PeaceMaker Fellow Heela Yoon explores the state of intergenerational peacebuilding for women in the eastern provinces of Afghanistan. This research demonstrates that there are significant barriers to intergenerational peacebuilding in the Eastern Zone, due to limited funding and capacity in the face of security and social constraints that prevent young women from participating fully.

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  Rise Up Industries and the Challenge of Reentry for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals

  Andrew Blum

  Rise Up Industries provides reentry services and support to formerly incarcerated individuals who were previously in gangs through an intensive job training program, offered alongside a holistic set of support services. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Executive Director, Andrew Blum, provides a deeper understanding of this approach and the results it has produced to date, while situating it in the context of other initiatives focused on reentry and reducing recidivism.

  This case study concludes that RUI’s reentry program is a promising approach and likely makes a small-scale contribution to solving a very hard problem – successfully fostering the reentry of formerly gang-involved, incarcerated individuals into society.

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  Youth Empowerment: Case Study and Learning Strategy

  Andrew Blum and Nohelia Ramos

  The U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is invested in preventing violence and reducing recidivism. To achieve these objectives, PSN has committed to supporting lived experience mentoring, often called credible messenger mentoring, through grants made to community organizations in San Diego and Imperial Counties.

  This document consists of two separate research products that align with these two objectives. The first is a case study of Youth Empowerment. The case study has several goals: first, to document the work of Youth Empowerment and allow others to learn in a detailed way about lived experience programming; second, to place the lived experience work of Youth Empowerment in the context of other violence prevention and anti-recidivism programming; and, third, to provide an opportunity for Youth Empowerment and its stakeholders to reflect on its approach and ways it can continue to increase its impact in the community.

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  Investing in Equity: Creating Equitable Funding for Women Peacebuilders

  Jennifer Bradshaw, Ruth Buffalo, Rina Kedem, Mossarat Qadeem, Lilian Riziq, Rebecca Besant, Paulina Chiwangu, Jennifer Hawkins, Nia Jones, Elin Miller, Andrew Blum, Christiana Lang, Necla Tschirgi, and Carolyn Williams

  Although women are vital to the success and sustainability of peace efforts, and despite progress made by the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda over the past two decades, women peacebuilders remain severely underfunded — and the funding that is available to them is often unresponsive to their needs and characterized by a power disparity between funder and funded. In order to advance women’s inclusion in peace and justice processes, this report examines what equitable funding partnerships are, why they are essential to peacebuilding, and how they can best be cultivated, providing evidence from the field to support its findings, conclusions and recommendations.

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  Peace Incentive Fund 2021-2022

  Peace in Our Cities and Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice

  Launched in September 2020, Kroc IPJ's Peace Incentive Fund supported cities and local organizations as they worked to advance health while simultaneously reinforcing public safety amidst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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  Compilation of Mentoring Programs in San Diego and Imperial Counties

  Nohelia Ramos, Caitlyn Lauchner, and Andrew Blum

  This document compiles information on mentoring programs in San Diego and Imperial Counties. The goal is to provide a clear picture what mentoring programs are being implemented and to give basic information about those programs as of June 2021.

  The purpose of the document is three-fold. First, as a deliverable under the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative (PSN), it is designed to provide basic information to the US Attorney’s Office and others involved in the PSN on the range of mentoring programs that exist. Mentoring programs have proven to be an effective program strategy for producing a range of positive youth development outcomes, including reducing violence and recidivism. Therefore, it is useful for those working on PSN to have an understanding of the number and nature of mentoring programs that exist.

  Second, and similarly, the compilation is for others working on issues of youth development, violence prevention and reducing recidivism. The goal is to provide a continually-updated compilation of mentoring programs for those who wish to access these programs, those who wish to support these programs, and those who wish to ensure they are working in a complementary instead of a duplicative way. This includes the organization currently working under the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, many of which are implementing mentoring programs.

  Third, the compilation serves as a foundation for our own and for others’ future research efforts regarding youth development, violence prevention, and reducing recidivism in San Diego. Part of our work under the PSN initiative will be a comprehensive report on youth development as a strategy to reduce violence and recidivism in San Diego and Imperial Counties. This will serve as a foundation for this research and for similar research conducted by others working on these issues.

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  Tell Them Our Names: The Life of Pauline Dempers of Namibia

  Jenna Barnett

  In the following pages, you will find narrative stories about a Woman PeaceMaker, along with additional information to provide a deep understanding of a contemporary conflict and one person’s journey within it. These complementary components include a brief biography of the peacemaker, a historical summary of the conflict, a timeline integrating political developments in the country with personal history of the peacemaker, a question-and-answer transcript of select interviews, and a table of best practices in peacebuilding as demonstrated and reflected on by the peacemaker during her time at the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice.

  Pauline Dempers is a human rights activist from Namibia and co-founder and national coordinator of Breaking the Wall of Silence (BWS), a grassroots group that advocates for the rights of those affected by imprisonment, torture and enforced disappearances during the Namibian war of independence.

  Dempers grew up in the country formerly known as South West Africa when it was ruled by South Africa’s apartheid regime. Encouraged at an early age by her father’s personal resistance to white-minority apartheid rule, she developed a powerful yet painful awareness of the injustices in her community. Dempers became involved with student and community political protests, eventually joining South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), the leading voice of the liberation movement, which would dramatically alter the course of her life.

  When the political tension in her country intensified, Dempers fled to Angola in 1983 to receive military training with SWAPO. Along with many hundreds of young SWAPO recruits, she was later arrested by her fellow comrades, tortured and held underground in the “dungeons” of Lubango on suspicion of spying for the South African government. Dempers writes, “I experienced political violence at the hands of my own comrades. I was betrayed in the cause for justice and self-determination.” The personal losses and human rights abuses took a devastating toll on her life. She was separated from her daughter for three years and lost her fiancé, the father of her two children, who was one of the many Namibians whose fates and whereabouts are still unknown.

  After independence finally came to Namibia in 1990, Dempers was determined to continue her fight for peace, justice and freedom. She made it her mission to raise awareness about what transpired in exile, and co-founded BWS.

  Under her dedicated stewardship, BWS has forged links with the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). Her work with the national and international movement against gun violence is greatly influenced by her imprisonment and torture. She says, “That was done by the power of the gun. It made me realize the power that lies in a gun. I feel that there are people out there who are vulnerable, especially women. And I feel that I have the chance to make a difference.”

  Dempers is also a former politician with the Congress of Democrats and was chairperson with NANGOF Trust, an umbrella organization of Namibian NGOs that promote and protect human rights and strengthen democracy.

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  They Danced in Windowless Rooms: The Life of Najla Ayubi of Afghanistan

  Gabrielle Clifford

  In the following pages, you will find narrative stories about a Woman PeaceMaker, along with additional information to provide a deep understanding of a contemporary conflict and one person’s journey within it. These complementary components include a brief biography of the peacemaker, a historical summary of the conflict, a timeline integrating political developments in the country with personal history of the peacemaker, a question-and-answer transcript of select interviews, and a table of best practices in peacebuilding as demonstrated and reflected on by the peacemaker during her time at the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice.

  Judge Najla Ayubi of Afghanistan is a firm believer that there can be no peace without justice. She first took the bench in the late 80s in her native Parwan Province, before being forced out of her profession and public life during the rule of the Taliban. Unwilling to accept her fate, Ayubi was soon organizing clandestine schools and sewing classes in bunkers, hidden from the Taliban’s religious police that forbade work for women or education for girls older than 8 years old. Raised in a family that prized education for both boys and girls, Ayubi herself has two MA degrees: one in law and politics from the State University of Tajikistan and another on post-war recovery and development studies from the University of York in the United Kingdom.

  With the fall of the Taliban in 2001, Ayubi returned to work as senior state attorney, but saw that more was needed in the tumultuous period of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the country’s transition. Not one to sit idly by, Ayubi took increasing leadership roles promoting civic education, women’s empowerment, human rights and transparency as the country sought to write a new constitution and hold its first elections after decades of conflict. She served as a legal advisor for the State Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs of Afghanistan, commissioner at the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan and commissioner of the Joint Electoral Management Body.

  An outspoken proponent of women’s rights frequently tasked with advising on gender mainstreaming, Judge Ayubi has not hesitated to critique post-conflict transition processes that have excluded women. This has not made her popular with the Taliban or certain tribal leaders who continue to hold positions of power. Undeterred, she continues to advocate for women’s rights in Islamic contexts and a society that values education and justice for women and men, as her family did in Parwan.

  Ayubi served as a board member of Open Society Afghanistan and as country director of Open Society Afghanistan. She sits on a number of boards including as a global advisory board member of Women’s Regional Network, and a steering committee member of Tawanmandi. She recently served as deputy country representative of The Asia Foundation’s Afghanistan office.