By Lorena Mohr, World Vision
For this year’s International Women’s Day, the World Vision EU Office wants to draw specific attention to the contributions of young women and girls to peace and security, as well as their specific needs in conflict contexts. Young women and girls have unique insights and experiences living through all phases of conflict and are crucial in identifying local solutions to achieve sustaining peace and social change. Both UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security emphasise the need to engage women and girls in all stages of peace processes. Still, their contributions are often overlooked, and too often men alone make decisions that affect the lives of women and girls.
To that end, World Vision has produced a series of short video statements with several MEPs. Under the motto “It Takes the EU to empower Women & Girls as Peacebuilders”, they highlight the positive role women and girls play as agents of peace, and explore the complex relation between gender equality and peace. In the run-up to the 8th of March, we will feature one video message a day on our social networks, starting from 1 March. MEPs of different nationalities, political affiliations and age groups will show support for women and girls’ empowerment and participation in the peace and security realm.
World Vision is a child-focused relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. It works in close to 100 countries in most regions of the world, focusing on the most vulnerable and hardest to reach children. Addressing gender equality is one of the key platforms of World Vision’s work. We tackle this issue at the grassroot/community level up to the international level through our programs in a wide range of sectors, in order to transform discriminatory practices together with women, girls, men, and boys.