Women’s leadership key to lasting global peace: Bahous

More women must have a role in shaping peace agreements, security reforms, and post-conflict recovery plans, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on 6 October. Credit: UN News

We meet on the eve of the twenty-fifth anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 — a milestone born from the conviction that peace is stronger and security more enduring when women are at the decision-making table.

Yet the record of the past 25 years is mixed: bold, admirable commitments have too often been followed by weak implementation and chronic underinvestment. Today, 676 million women and girls live within reach of deadly conflict — the highest number since the 1990s.

It is therefore lamentable that we now see rising military spending and renewed pushback against gender equality and multilateralism. These trends threaten the very foundations of global peace and security.

This anniversary must be more than a commemoration. Women and girls living amidst conflict deserve more than symbolic gestures. It must instead be a moment to refocus, recommit, and ensure that the next 25 years deliver far more progress than the last.

The core principles of Resolution 1325 are shared globally by both women and men. Whether through work at the country level, including in conflict zones, or in the renewed Member State commitments for the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the women, peace, and security agenda enjoys overwhelming support among nations and peoples alike.

Even in Afghanistan, UN Women’s monitoring shows that 92 per cent of Afghans — men and women — believe girls must have access to secondary education. Remarkably, most Afghan women remain hopeful that they will one day achieve their aspirations.

Despite everything they endure under Taliban oppression, their hope is neither idle nor naïve. It is a political statement, a conviction, and an inspiration.

As we meet to discuss women, peace, and security, the painful situation in the Middle East — especially for women and girls — remains on our minds and in our hearts. Two years into the devastating Gaza war, amid unimaginable suffering, a glimmer of hope has emerged.

I join the Secretary-General in welcoming positive responses to President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the Gaza war, implement an immediate and lasting ceasefire, secure the unconditional release of all hostages, and ensure unhindered humanitarian access.

We hope this will lead to a just and lasting peace for both Palestinians and Israelis — where all women and girls can live with dignity, security, and opportunity.

The trends documented in the Secretary-General’s report are deeply alarming. It may be tempting to believe that the rise and normalization of misogyny poisoning politics and fuelling conflict is unstoppable. It is not. Those who oppose equality do not own the future — we do.

Suffering and displacement are likely to increase amid intractable conflicts and instability. Painfully, we must prepare for the situation to worsen before it improves for women and girls.

This reality is compounded by shortsighted funding cuts that already undermine education for Afghan girls; curtail medical care for survivors of sexual violence in Sudan, Haiti, and beyond; shutter health clinics across conflict zones; and restrict food access for mothers and children in Gaza, Mali, and Somalia. These cuts ultimately erode the foundations of peace.

Yet, despite the horrors of war, women continue to build peace.

Women are reducing community violence in Abyei and the Central African Republic and mobilising for peace in Yemen, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In Haiti, women have achieved near-parity in the new provisional electoral council and secured a higher quota for women in the draft constitution.

In Chad, women’s representation in the National Assembly has doubled.

In Syria, the interim constitution ratified in March mandates the government to guarantee women’s rights and protect them from oppression and violence.

In Ukraine, women have ensured the adoption of gender-responsive budgeting across national relief efforts.

Whether mediating, brokering access to services, or leading reconstruction, women’s leadership remains the face of resilience — and a powerful force for peace.

The Secretary-General recently highlighted UN Women’s findings showing that current financing trends threaten the survival and safety of women-led organisations in conflict-affected countries. We must change course and invest significantly in these frontline organisations.

While the past 25 years have focused on international security and legal frameworks, much less attention has been given to building national capacities and supporting grassroots movements. The women, peace, and security agenda must now reach local communities — the areas most affected and where it can make the biggest difference.

Recent years have also seen growing attention to conflict-related sexual violence, breaking the silence and challenging impunity. These efforts must intensify, with a focus on reproductive violence, gender-based persecution, and comprehensive accountability for atrocities against women and girls.

As we look ahead to the next 25 years, we must ensure dedicated funding, robust quotas, clear mandates, and accountability mechanisms that make failures visible — and consequential.

Let me end with five urgent calls to action:

Ensure women’s rightful place at peace tables and in peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and human rights work — as a permanent, non-negotiable practice.

Measure progress by the number of women directly participating in peace and security processes and the relief they receive through justice and reparations.

End all forms of violence against women and girls, including technology-facilitated abuse, and challenge harmful narratives online and offline.

End impunity for crimes against women, uphold international law, and ensure peace prevails over conflict.

Embed the women, peace, and security agenda deeply in the minds of young people — both girls and boys — who will shape the future.

Above all, the coming years must see the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 in every context.

When women lead, peace follows. We made a promise 25 years ago. It is time to deliver.