Rondine and its international fellows continue to promote the campaign through a series of opinion articles on peace education and the United Nations 2030 Agenda: “Leaders for Peace Voices”.
The fifth article in the series features the contribution of Adelina, currently a World House fellow, a feminist activist, journalist, and performer from Kosovo, who reflects on the essential role of women in peace processes and the threat posed by regressive movements that hinder their participation. Adelina combines research, politics, and art to advocate for gender equality, social justice, and human rights, challenging oppression and creating spaces for dialogue.
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As the world regresses into defining peace as merely the absence of bombs, it is time we take it seriously. This abstract, decontextualized notion of peace has cost us generational enemies and lack of harmony. And in this flawed construction, women remain systematically sidelined—not from war, where they suffer disproportionately, nor from its consequences, which they bear in silence, but from the very processes meant to build and sustain peace. The rise of anti-gender movements further exacerbates this exclusion, seeking to erase the hard-fought progress of women in decision-making and conflict resolution.
The Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda, first formalized through UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000, was meant to change this. It recognized that women are not just victims of war but powerful agents of peace. It called for their full, equal, and meaningful participation in all efforts to prevent and resolve conflict. Yet, 25 years later, progress remains painfully slow. Women continue to be underrepresented in peace negotiations, and their leadership in conflict resolution is often dismissed as secondary or symbolic. Meanwhile, States continue to treat WPS commitments as optional rather than fundamental to global security.
Today, we find ourselves at a dangerous crossroads. The backlash against gender rights is not just a matter of social policy—it is a direct attack on peace itself. The anti-gender movement, disguised under the rhetoric of protecting ‘traditional values,’ systematically undermines the role of women in peace processes, reinforcing patriarchal structures that perpetuate violence and exclusion. In many countries, women’s rights defenders are targeted, and feminist movements are labeled as threats to national security. In this climate, we must ask: can there ever be peace if half of the population is silenced?
The evidence is clear. Peace agreements are 35% more likely to last at least 15 years when women are involved. Inclusive security is not a favor to women; it is a necessity for sustainable peace. And while we are here playing with numbers and percentages, having to prove that our seat at the table must always be available, States continue to underfund and deprioritize the WPS Agenda, treating it as a peripheral issue rather than a core security strategy. Words of commitment are abundant, but action remains scarce.
The Leaders for Peace campaign, launched by young peace ambassadors of Rondine, calls upon States to shift course—before it is too late. We urge world leaders to not only reaffirm their commitment to the WPS Agenda but to allocate concrete resources to its implementation. Investing in women’s leadership, ensuring their safety in peace processes, and dismantling the barriers imposed by patriarchal systems is not an ideological stance; it is a necessity for conflict transformation and global stability.
At Rondine, we do not wait for permission to be part of peacebuilding. Here, we challenge narratives, transform conflicts, and reclaim agency in shaping a better future. We know that peace is not a passive state but an active, ongoing struggle against injustice. And in this struggle, women will not be sidelined.
It is time to recognize that peace without gender justice is not peace at all. The choice is clear: either we build a future where all voices matter, or we continue down a path of exclusion and escalating conflict. The world cannot afford the latter.
Now more than ever, we must resist the forces that seek to erase us. We must demand a peace that is just, inclusive, and enduring. Because without women, there is no peace.
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Adelina Tërshani
Adelina Tërshani is a feminist activist, journalist, and spoken word artist from Kosovo, dedicated to transforming narratives on gender equality, social justice, and human rights. She joined the World House Fellowship Program in 2023. Through research, policy work, and artistic expression, she bridges the worlds of advocacy, activism, and storytelling to challenge oppression and create spaces for dialogue. Her work spans policy reports, international conferences, and poetry stages, where words become both resistance and healing.
