President Biden authorized Ukraine to use long-range ATACMS missiles to support Ukrainian Armed Forces units operating in Russia’s Kursk region, The New York Timesreports, citing government sources. And Ukraine immediately used them, striking ammunition depots in the Bryansk region, even though the authorization was granted only for strikes in the Kursk region.
When and how this cursed war will end remains to be seen, but this much is clear: No matter who is in the White House or Kremlin and this war ends, it will be women who are left to try to make peace happen and make peace with the trauma of war.
Shortly after the war began. I was on a business trip in a European city, sitting in the lobby of my hotel and talking on the phone with a friend. A group of young women sat nearby with their children, watching me. When I finished my call, one of them approached. She was nervous but resolute, her words blunt.
“Aren’t you afraid to be here? Your country invaded ours. Your men are killing ours.” She was Ukrainian, and she recognized my Russian accent. The look in her eyes was a mix of sorrow and anger.
I felt stunned but replied, “I didn’t choose this war. I left Russia because I didn’t support it. But if we, as women, start to hate each other, our children and grandchildren will inherit that hatred, and the world will fall apart.”
Her face softened, and we ended up talking for nearly an hour. We poured out our frustrations, shared our fears, and even shed tears. By the end, we embraced. Later that night, I lay awake in bed, haunted by the thought of a world entirely of women who would come to hate each other because of a war they didn’t choose. Leaders like Trump and Putin may not worry about this—victory is all that matters to them. But women like her and me, on opposite sides of this conflict, are left to pick up the pieces and try to keep hate from consuming the future.
Today, there are more than 100 armed conflicts worldwide. The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law reports that some of these conflicts have lasted over 50 years, and women are often the first and most enduring victims.
According to the UN, war intensifies existing inequalities, leading to more violence, trafficking, and human rights abuses against women.
Yet, in a world seemingly governed by men and their wars, women have the power to bring about peace. History shows us this truth, even if we often ignore it. In World War I, women’s pacifist organizations emerged worldwide. American women spared from persecution faced by European activists could freely voice their opposition. In 1914, 15,000 women marched in New York City in a major anti-war demonstration. The following year, two European feminists, Rosika Schwimmer and Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, organized a groundbreaking women’s peace conference in The Hague. While governments largely ignored it, this conference laid the foundation for future peace movements.
After World War II, as the threat of nuclear war loomed, women’s voices once again rose in protest. In the 1950s and 1960s, movements like Women’s Strike for Peace emerged, rallying against the consequences of war for future generations. Later, a powerful symbol of female resistance to war took shape in Israel. The Women in Black movement began during the First Intifada as women stood in silent mourning for victims of violence, dressed in black as a stark reminder of the cost of conflict. Despite persecution, they stood firm, showing the world what it means to defy war in silence.
Yet even now, women are systematically excluded from peace negotiations. The Council on Foreign Relations reports that, from 1992 to 2019, women made up only 13 percent of negotiators, 6 percent of mediators, and 6 percent of signatories in major peace processes. In the Afghan peace talks of 2020, women were only 10 percent of the negotiators, and they were absent altogether from the Yemen discussions.
In the decades I’ve spent fighting for women’s and children’s rights, I believe that we urgently need a renewed, global movement of women for peace.
Women-led peace centers in major cities could give displaced women a place to unite, share their stories, and organize for peace. These centers could provide safe havens where women could resist the forces of hate that war breeds.
As I think back to that young Ukrainian woman who confronted me in the hotel lobby, I realize that I have met many like her—Russian and Ukrainian women who are exhausted by war and ready to bridge divides. For many, leaving their country was a way to reject war. These women stand for peace.
The cost of war is staggering. In 2023, global military spending reached $2.24 trillion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Imagine if even a fraction of that amount was dedicated to peace initiatives led by women. This is the question that should weigh on today’s leaders.
In a world dominated by patriarchy, militarism, and fundamentalism, I believe women are uniquely positioned to be keepers of peace. A new era of women-led peace activism could challenge the structures perpetuating conflict. I believe in women because we give life, and we do not want our children to die in war. We have the power to find common ground beyond borders, languages, and religions. We must stand together steadfastly in our pursuit of peace on this planet, hoping to build, love, and create a better world for all.