Dear Debra,
Today, the long-stalled peace process for Syria finally got started again in Switzerland. The headlines about the negotiations are full of the demands of men with guns.
But there's a different picture I want to show you.
I'm writing to you from Switzerland, where I've joined women peace activists from Syria and across the world. We're here for what we're calling the Women Lead to Peace campaign, and our demands are simple: Syrian women must be at the table in this week's talks.
They need more than token representation on the delegations of the warring parties. Women want their own platform in the talks, to express the priorities of those communities and organizations that have been at the forefront of calling for peace and human rights—including women's rights—in Syria.
In fact, history teaches us that peace treaties without women do not work. Without women, they leave out half of the people impacted and exclude the very actors whose contributions to community-based recovery and reconciliation efforts are vital to lasting peace.
To explain the conflict, its impact on women and families, and the solutions we need to support now, MADRE created this resource: a Q&A on the Prospects for Peace and Women's Human Rights in Syria.
I hope you'll read it, share it and join MADRE as we demand a peaceful end to the war. And feel free to pass me your well wishes for Syrian women activists struggling for peace and justice. I'm here with them now and I'd be more than happy to share your solidarity.
In peace,
Yifat
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