海角大神

Violence takes many forms. The pernicious abuses behind closed doors, hidden by family members in the name of honor. Structural and economic violence that disadvantages particular groups, condemning them to lifelong marginalization and insecurity. The encompassing devastation wrought by war.

Whatever the cause, cycles of violence require tenacity, courage, and understanding to break.

The 16 women profiled here鈥攚ho recently came together at Inclusive Security鈥檚 鈥攁re standing up to violence, in all its myriad forms. From Mexico to Myanmar, Sudan to South Sudan, Iraq to Ukraine, they are defying the notion that violence is inevitable, or that injustice should be tolerated.

Khadija Al-Jabiry Na鈥檃ma has sown the seeds鈥攍iterally鈥攆or peace and reconciliation in Iraq. As owner of a plant nursery, she hosted an informal outdoor 鈥渟alon鈥� where women met to discuss their daily security issues.

鈥淚t was like a space of freedom,鈥� she says now. Khadija emerged from these meetings with an understanding of women鈥檚 needs and priorities. Over two terms on Baghdad鈥檚 provincial council, she fought for schools, hospitals, sewers, clean water, and other basic services for her constituents. 鈥淚f the government fails to provide for urgent needs,鈥� she explains, 鈥減eople will be less invested in their communities鈥�which offers an opening for extremists.鈥�

Nowadays, Khadija鈥檚 specialty is bridging the gap between the country鈥檚 highest decision makers鈥攖he prime minister, parliament, and ministries鈥攁nd its citizens.

Apuk Ayuel and her family fled Juba during Sudan鈥檚 civil war in 1996, eventually settling in the US. Yet she never forgot her homeland. In 1998, she remembers seeing a photo of a starving child in famine-stricken southern Sudan, and thinking 鈥渢his could have been my fate.鈥� After South Sudan gained independence in 2011, Apuk became a diplomat, serving her new country in South Africa and the US.

When war resumed in December 2013, she became a refugee once again. As part of the Taskforce on the Engagement of Women in Sudan and South Sudan, she helped organize women from both sides to pressure the government and opposition to stop the senseless violence. She reflects now: 鈥淭he fact that we were women, and not seen as a threat, was our most important asset.鈥�

鈥淚 never expected to become a character out of my own PhD dissertation on forced migration,鈥� observes Iryna Brunova-Kalisetska. But after speaking out against Russian annexation of Crimea, her home region, she had to flee in order to avoid arrest. For more than 15 years, as a professor and a psychologist, she trained people on how to avoid conflict and solve misunderstandings. Now, the place where she taught peace has become an epicenter of violence.

From her new base in Kyiv, Iryna directs a center supporting education for the prevention of conflict. 鈥淚n my country,鈥� she says, 鈥減eople don鈥檛 usually share their stories of suffering.鈥� But she believes that talking鈥攁nd listening鈥攖o each other is the path to reconciliation.

Lilia Aguilar grew up with more than 20 鈥渂rothers and sisters鈥濃�攎ost of whom weren鈥檛 related to her. As a result of her parents鈥� political activism, which caused them to be closely monitored by the government, she was placed in a house with children of other dissidents. At age 21, Lilia was elected to local congress in Chihuahua. Because of her campaign to end the epidemic of missing and murdered women in the city of Ju谩rez, she was threatened.

鈥淭his was my first lesson in the dangers of leadership,鈥� she says. But she persisted, and was elected to the national legislature of Mexico in 2012 as a leader of the opposition. Since 2014, she鈥檚 been one of the most prominent voices within the government demanding justice for 43 students who were forcibly 鈥渄isappeared鈥� while traveling to Mexico City.

Naw Rebecca Htin recalls the reason she and her husband, both doctors, started a mobile clinic to provide care to ethnic minorities in Myanmar鈥檚 rural areas: 鈥淭hose of us who had grown up in the city hadn鈥檛 felt what [the war] was like.鈥� Apart from the bad roads and infrastructure in those provinces, she learned that people there fear every day for their lives and property.

Following this sobering experience, Rebecca sought to address the root causes of the conflict. She currently supports ceasefire negotiations between the government and ethnic armed groups. 鈥淒emocracy alone won鈥檛 solve all our problems,鈥� she insists, 鈥淚t has to be linked to addressing the grievances of ethnic groups.鈥�

Huda Shafig has, by her own account, led a privileged life. Unlike many women in her native Sudan, she grew up in the city, went to private school, and had all her basic needs covered. As she got older, she realized that violence and inequality in faraway regions impacts the whole society.

鈥淓ven if I鈥檓 not living in a conflict zone, it still affects me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f a part of your body is suffering, you suffer too.鈥�

In 2009, Huda cofounded a youth organization to monitor human rights throughout the country. Over the last few years, as part of the Taskforce for the Engagement of Women in Sudan and South Sudan, she has advised the government on how to make the country鈥檚 national dialogue process more inclusive鈥攊ncreasing the positions reserved for women from 10 to more than 200 seats (29 percent of the total).

Olga Bogomolets grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine, when it was still part of the USSR. 鈥淭here was only one god,鈥� she now says, 鈥渁nd his name was Lenin.鈥� But she rose above this restrictive upbringing to become a doctor, a renowned folksinger, and, finally, a national political leader.

She remembers the day her life changed: 鈥淚 was in a village and got a call from a journalist, who said that there were a million people in the street.鈥� She rushed over to the site of what would become the Maidan revolution, and spent the next three months coordinating medical care for the protesters. Sixteen young, unarmed men died in her arms over just three days in February 2013. This experience inspired her to run for president.

鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be a doctor anymore in a country where people are just shot in the streets and I have no chance to save their life.鈥� She came in fifth, but was elected to parliament later that year, and has used that position to advocate for reform.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut this is a chance and a choice to change your country.鈥�

There is no official number, Sylvia Aguilera notes, but 鈥渢ens of thousands of people have been 鈥榙isappeared鈥� in Mexico over the last eight years.鈥� She is working with the victims鈥� families to transform their suffering into structural change. Sharing their experience of how they searched for their loved ones is not only healing for the individuals. Sylvia channels this information to decision makers to ensure that new legislation to end forced disappearances is responsive to the needs of the victims.

鈥淚t won鈥檛 bring all their loved ones back,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut if we find one 鈥榙isappeared鈥� person, it will be worth it.鈥�

When Saddam Hussein鈥檚 regime fell in 2003, Liza Hido gave up a 25-year computer engineering career to enter political life. After winning election to her district council, she used her position to condemn rampant violence against women. Because of this, and her later role in establishing the Baghdad Women鈥檚 Association, armed extremists have harassed her repeatedly.

鈥淢y life is a continuous threat,鈥� Liza says. But she refuses to stop. More recently, she鈥檚 been assisting women fleeing the onslaught of ISIS, as well as advising the Ministries of Defense and Interior on how to include women in countering violent extremism.

The Nuba Mountains, in southern Sudan, is a rich land, whose farmers feed the whole nation. Yet there are no schools or health centers, says Kamilia Ibrahim Kuku Kura. This disparity between different regions is one of the root causes of persistent violence in her country, and one she has been working to correct for decades. Drawing on her own experience being displaced by war, she has courageously spoken out on behalf of civilians stuck in the line of fire and has helped provide humanitarian aid to those in need.

Kamilia also elevates and mobilizes women across ethnic, tribal, and national lines to increase their participation in peace processes.

鈥淲e need to work not as Darfuri women or Nuba women,鈥� she insists, 鈥渂ut as Sudanese women.鈥�

鈥淚 grew up in an educated, open-minded family,鈥� says Suzan Aref Maroof, 鈥渂ut culture is culture.鈥� Widowed at age 27, with three children, she learned firsthand how women are prevented from participating in economic or political life. To protect her family鈥檚 honor and reputation, she was forced to stay hidden in her parents鈥� home for eight years. She contemplated suicide, but convinced her father that she was better free than dead. After that, Suzan founded an organization to empower other women like her.

鈥淚 want a strong country that depends on both men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 contributions,鈥� she says. To this end, she鈥檚 helped more than 50,000 women find jobs and escape violence, and successfully advocated to raise the legal marriage age from 16 to 18.

A woman is killed in Mexico every four hours, notes Katia Ornelas-Nunez. Only 25 percent of overall crimes are reported because most citizens don鈥檛 trust the judicial system. A lawyer, Katia spent eight years pushing for criminal justice reforms, culminating in an amendment to the constitution in 2008. But then she realized, she says, 鈥渢hat all the violence and the underlying inequities could not be solved鈥� by the justice system alone. So she designed a model to address the cycle of conflict, heal psychological trauma, and better serve victims鈥� needs.

As Deputy Director of a violence prevention program, she is now replicating this model in communities across the country. 鈥淲e have to understand that violence is something we鈥檝e been learning,鈥� Katia insists, 鈥渂ut we can learn other ways.鈥�

鈥淢y mother told me: If you鈥檙e not educated, you鈥檙e like a blind woman,鈥� Suaad Allami remembers. Though she grew up in Sadr City, one of the poorest areas of Iraq, she became the first in her family to graduate from university. Shattering more taboos, in 1992 she became a lawyer; at the time, one of only three female lawyers in her city. She remembers an early client鈥�18 years old and seeking a divorce, the woman鈥檚 family prevented her from pursuing legal help, and eventually one of her children died in her husband鈥檚 care.

鈥淭his is how the tribal system compromises women鈥檚 rights,鈥� Suaad says. Because of examples like this, she is an outspoken advocate for women in Iraq, and has been recognized by the US State Department, UN, and others around the world for her courageous leadership.

Tabitha Mathiang spent 10 years in the bush, fighting for justice and freedom for South Sudan alongside her husband, a general in the liberation movement. When the peace agreement was signed in 2005, she was hand-selected to lead the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of more than 3,000 women and child soldiers.

But, she says, even after the armed groups handed over their guns, 鈥淭here was still a culture of war.鈥� When renewed conflict broke out in December 2013, 10 of Tabitha鈥檚 relatives were killed. With her friend Apuk, she provided support to the peace talks, reasoning that 鈥淢aybe when they see us together, a Dinka and a Nuer, these men will think differently.鈥�

The warring parties signed a peace agreement in 2015.

Though her father came from the ethnic Burmese majority (50 percent of the population), Phyu Phyu May Sabe grew up among the Kachin minority of her mother (1.5 percent). At 19, she decided to marry a Kachin man鈥攂ut her father disapproved, saying that Burmese men are smarter. When she went forward anyway, he refused to talk to her for 10 years.

鈥淒iscrimination and inequality are so deeply rooted in our country,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 only affect me as an individual,鈥� but is the cause of Myanmar鈥檚 68-year civil war, the longest-running in the world. Phyu Phyu insists that the new government must make space for everybody to participate in solving the conflict. To that end, she directs the Gender Equality Network, which ensures women鈥檚 participation in the country鈥檚 ongoing peace process.

In 2013, journalist Oksana Romaniuk鈥檚 email was hacked and her personal stories and photos were published online.

鈥淚 was already a troublemaker for the government,鈥� she says, because of her strong stance against censorship. Her opponents published articles鈥攅ven made a documentary film鈥攂ased on her private emails, accusing her of 鈥渋mmorality鈥� and working for foreign interests. When she reported the attack, the police responded by interrogating her parents and colleagues.

Instead of succumbing to intimidation, Oksana redoubled her work. When the Maidan revolution started a month later, she immediately organized a campaign to provide journalists with helmets and bullet-proof vests, so they could safely cover the protests and subsequent crackdown. She also advocated for media reforms, which were recently passed in parliament. But, she says: 鈥淭he biggest task鈥攊mplementation鈥攊s still in the future.鈥�

鈥� was originally published by .