Nobel Peace laureates Jody Williams, Tawakkol Karman and Leymah Gbowee, and United for Ukraine president Olga Hamama, share their insights and calls to action after visiting the women of Ukraine and creating a campaign and documentary to highlight the role and plight of Ukrainian women.
a collective portrait of Ukrainian women who face the constant challenges of war yet fight for peace and victory by taking on extra roles in civilian life, running businesses in addition to looking after their families, volunteering, fundraising, joining the military and much more.
Although there are many inspiring stories about the courage and activism of women in this war, the invasion has undoubtedly left many Ukrainian women vulnerable. As Karman said, “In all wars, and the Ukrainian one is no exception, women are more vulnerable to risks.” The laureates heard multiple accounts of Russian forces beating and raping Ukrainian women and girls and torturing civilians. There have been many allegations that Russia is indeed usingwho is documenting war crimes, said, “There are already 12,941 criminal episodes in our database [as of June 2022].” She also expressed concern that this war “has a genocidal character.”
Gbowee said that hearing the testimonies and stories of so many women enduring the war “underscored urgency for peace in its fullest form and how decision-makers could ensure women’s voices are heard in all processes related to the invasion and in charting the course toward peace,” especially since women are often left out of the conversation.