Women are vital defenders of communities in times of war. They mobilize humanitarian aid, health care and shelter. They heal rifts between individuals and communities and address the trauma of war survivors.
Despite this essential role, women are often overlooked in peace processes – a missed opportunity to build durable peace. Research has shown that women’s meaningful participation in peace negotiations results in agreements 35% more likely to last at least 15 years.
Peace depends on women. MADRE supports grassroots women’s groups striving to create peaceful, just communities in which everyone can thrive. Together, we bring urgent aid to communities, work to address root causes of conflict and advance rights through women’s participation in peace processes.
How We Work
Grantmaking
We fund our partners to provide services like humanitarian aid, counseling, shelter, health care and long-term support to help communities prevent, survive and recover from war.
Capacity Building
We facilitate training, technical assistance and learning exchanges that equip women and girls to meaningfully participate as leaders in peace processes.
Legal Advocacy
We advocate for women’s participation in peacebuilding and hold governments accountable. We help our partners bring their demands to key policy spaces and build leverage for policy and social change.
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Communities have the resources they need to survive and rebuild from war.
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Women are visible and powerful in peace movements locally and globally, and we help prevent and end wars.
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Women are meaningfully included in peacebuilding processes, resulting in lasting and durable peace agreements.
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Our partners are sought out as experts in peacebuilding, recognized and respected by local, national and international decision-makers.
Highlights of Our Work
Our Strategies for Change convenings create space for our partners confronting the impacts of war to exchange their analyses and solutions. For example, we bring together women's rights and peace activists from Iraq and Syria to share their experiences, learn concrete skills, create shared policy platforms and advocate before governments.
The Indigenous women's organization MUIXIL mobilizes among survivors of Guatemala's genocide to promote women's economic empowerment and to preserve Indigenous heritage through a traditional weaving collective. These interventions do more than enable women to raise money to support their families. They provide venues for survivors to speak out and heal together, and they build back the community ties torn by war and violence.
Drawing on our more than three decades of peacebuilding work with our partners, MADRE has brought insight, support and solidarity to Korean women peacebuilders mobilizing to end the Korean War, reunify families and push for nuclear disarmament.
