Allow me first to express my pleasure for joining this gathering to discuss this very important issue; which and conflict. 

As we all know, women are among the most affected groups in regions experiencing wars and armed conflicts, so it is very rational to continue discussing this issue, as conflicts still exist, and increasing, and women still are the most affected, and the most vulnerable category to various violations.

Indeed, most of the women who are exposed to damage in conflict zones are civilian women, who have no direct or indirect relationship with the causes of the conflicts. There are indeed women fighters who are part of armed groups, but this percentage is very small, compared to women who did not involve in wars or armed conflicts.

However, the significance of these meetings lies in reminding us of this reemerging problem, and in addition to this great advantage from my point of view, I believe that assessing the status of women and evaluating the roles that they can play in periods of conflict is what should concern us all. Being satisfied with saying that women are victims of war, without paying attention to the power of women in peacemaking and in bringing about profound transformations in society, and contributing to raising the degree of his rejection of violence, is an act that harms women and harms peace in general.

In 2011, I was awarded the Nobel Prize, along with my dear friend Elaine Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, and her fellow citizen peace fighter, Lima Gbowee. As you know, Gbowee was the leader of the peace movement that put an end to the second civil war in Liberia. Ellen Johnson, whose victory in the presidential election of 2005, has contributed to ending the nearly fourteen-year civil war. What I wanted to emphasize, is that women can do decisive work in building peace and putting an end to violent conflict.

Women's roles and responsibilities during armed conflicts are numerous, as most of the time, they are the breadwinners for their families with the associated efforts and challenges of entering the labor market without adequate qualification and training. They are also, the guardian of the children’s life security and safety, which is a great responsibility in the absence of help and assistance. Women also play the role of a teacher and physician in some critical times. The conflict leaves women in a state of severe stress, as many roles are expected from them to preserve the family and maintain the minimum living requirements.

 

Dear friends

In Yemen, as in many countries, women are showing a great deal of resilience and determination. During the war, women have not abandoned their responsibilities in many fields, but I will refer here to a case that deserves praise and respect, which is the efforts of the mothers of detainees, whether in Sanaa or Aden. When everyone was silent, whether they were politicians, parties, or civil organizations, these women organized themselves and worked under very difficult conditions and hostile environment to protest against the abduction of their sons by the Houthi militia and by the Emirati and Saudi forces, and these women have proven their ability to confront brute force with all pride and free will.

 

Dear friends

No one can deny that women have positive energy for change, and to do useful things without complications. That is why we see initiatives here and there that serve peace, tolerance, combat poverty, and education. What should we do to those women who work diligently to establish the principles of freedom and peace? I believe that such events can provide useful perspectives for developing rejection of war and calling for peace and stability. It is also supposed to propose cross-border alliances that work to achieve at least one goal, which is to reduce conflicts and prosecute warlords who are usually indifferent to people's lives and livelihoods.

I believe that the suffering of women in conflict zones should not make us lose sight of their enormous potential in combating war, tyranny, and political, religious, and sexual exploitation. Societies become stronger when women become strong, and strong societies do not collapse and are difficult to be drawn into conflicts and wars. Through many experiences, women's recovery from the scourge of conflict is seen as the beginning of true peace.

Women's involvement in peace initiatives is not new, and history tells us how women contributed to the consolidation of peace. Before twenty years, the Security Council issued Resolution No. (1325) of the year 2000, calling for an end to sexual violence against women and girls in armed conflict and greater encouragement of their participation in peace building initiatives.

It would be wonderful if we discussed how women can play a greater role in building peace in societies experiencing conflicts and civil wars, and in this context, I must point out the need to get rid of the stereotypical idea of women who are capable of such initiatives. It is unreasonable to reduce societies that suffer conflicts, into a small group of women who worked in the political filed or who have good relations with international organizations, I believe that it is necessary to open up and accommodate influential women in one way or another who are spread out in the countryside, for instance, and in small cities. We will make a mistake if we think that women in those places are non-existent and hopeless.

As you know, the Arab Spring countries have witnessed peaceful popular revolutions and devastating wars caused by counter-revolutions. Peaceful revolutions served as an opportunity for women and men to come together and look towards a future of justice and equality for all members of society. The peaceful nature of popular uprisings created a climate conducive to those fascinating scenes of society cohesion for the sake of freedom and dignity.

Eight years ago, the slogan "The Voice of Women is a Revolution" was among chants repeated during the peaceful revolution in my country, Yemen. Women were in the lead of protest demonstrations, in a unified scene of all segments of society, including men, women, youth and the elderly, driven by one goal: change.

 The February 11 revolution in Yemen and the Arab Spring revolutions in general adopted peaceful means to achieve the change. The peacefulness of our popular uprising in Yemen served as an open gate that attracted a broad sector of female population from all over Yemen to contribute to the change and take part in the most remarkable event in the history of Yemeni society.

Women took to the streets in the first wave of the Arab Spring to say that society can’t rise with one wing and that equality is essential for both women and men. Women went out to shout for better opportunities for life, work, decent living and enjoyment of rights and freedoms guaranteed to all human beings without discrimination.

 On the contrary, counter-revolutionary wars have erupted in some countries of the Arab Spring and women have found themselves again in a new reality dominated by armed groups and extremist sectarian militias, all of which adopt ideas that undervalue women and deprive them from the meager acquired rights accumulated by our societies over a long time of arduous struggle.

 

Based on our experiences and many countries’ similar ones, it becomes evident that women’s issues do not make any difference unless parallel progress takes place also in different areas involving the whole society, including the state, the law and the judicial legal system, and unless that all is accompanied by a qualitative shift in education, which provides a conducive environment for advancing women's rights, enhancing their struggles for the dignity and equality and rejecting discrimination, injustice and enslavement. 

 There have been, and are still there, hopes for a radical transformation of women's issues and gender equality, through the struggle to free the whole society from tyranny and the culture of religious extremism and extremist groups.

 The dignity-driven Arab revolutions brought together men and women who took to the streets demanding equal citizenship governed by the law and constitution without discrimination on grounds of sex, color, belief, race, sect, religion, social level and influence. For eight years, the intertwined structures of tyranny and extremism have tried to hinder all of these ambitions and declared war against popular uprisings in 2011, thus preventing any difference in the status of women.

The feminist movement for equality is facing a legacy of a culture of ignorance, puritanism and extremism that the medieval kingdom of Saudi Arabia has contributed to spread over the past decades for political reasons and in order to prevent transformations and awareness about rights, freedoms and change in general in those parts of the world where wealth has become a curse for its peoples. Furthermore, dictatorships have used religion and religious doctrines to mislead societies and subjugate them to their high-handed policies.

 A culture of puritanism, contempt for women and justification for total exclusion and oppression of women has been fueled since the end of the 1970s, by the rise of the revolution of Khomeini and mullahs and their extremist doctrines in Iran. On the other hand, this culture was also fostered by Saudi Arabia, which for decades worked to spread religious extremism and extremist ideas in Arab societies in conjunction with the Afghan-Soviet war. Saudi Arabia and Iran are two sides of the same coin. 

 The emergence of terrorism as a global problem has not led to the reform of the educational curricula and to pushing governments of the relevant countries towards openness and democracy and enabling political participation of their peoples.

 With the birth of the Arab Spring in its first and second waves, the axis of Saudi Arabia and Iran stand in the face of our peaceful revolutions, despite the conflicting religious and ideological perspectives of both countries.

 Today, however, the second Arab Spring wave shines in our sky, announcing that history is not going backwards. Freedom in the Arab Spring countries has rekindled, and women and their issues, emancipation and role are at the heart of these great peaceful revolutions. Woman play two roles: as fighter for change and as part of a society that aspires to a bright tomorrow and a better reality befitting all human beings.

 Glory to women struggling for change, dignity, freedom, justice and equality in all parts and everywhere of the world! Victory for men and women gathering in areas and squares of dignity, freedom and revolution!