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Women are uniquely and disproportionately affected in conflict zones around the world, while at the same time leading much of the peacebuilding, care, and conflict resolution activities. Despite these truths, women are typically left out or underrepresented in official political discussions and negotiations. This webinar highlights women’s agency and leadership in conflict zones across Latin America and Africa.

In this webinar we will hear from women in Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Somalia, and Sudan in Africa, as well as women in Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela who are resisting U.S. military imperialism in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ann Wright will open the webinar by describing the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) established by U.S. Congress in 2001 to replace the School of Americas (SOA). Ann Wright will also provide the latest on AFRICOM activities on the continent.

Speakers:

Masoso Antoinette (DRC)

Masoso Antoinette is a Congolese humanitarian leader born and raised in Minembwe, a remote and conflict-affected area of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where violence, displacement, and insecurity have shaped daily life for decades. In 2015, she made the courageous decision to return to Minembwe at the height of armed conflict to serve her community. There, she began her professional work directly in the crisis, supporting orphaned children, assisting women affected by gender-based violence, and helping families struggling with malnutrition. Witnessing the deep suffering of civilians, she founded Association Miséricorde, a grassroots organization dedicated to protecting children and restoring dignity to survivors of conflict and abuse.

Argelia Betanzos (Mexico)

Argelia Betanzos is a Mazatec woman from Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón, Oaxaca, Mexico. She is a lawyer, and a daughter and sister of former political prisoners and victims of political persecution. Along with her Mazatec companions, she has spent more than a decade fighting for freedom and defending autonomy and the Xangá Ndá Ge River.

Marietta Borrego (Venezuela)

Marietta Borrego is a digital and political marketing specialist, feminist, and public administrator. She is an activist with the International Antifascist Women’s Organization and the Cilia Flores Brigade for Peace. She currently heads the Inter-People’s Department at the Intersaber Center for Thought. She is known for her tireless work in defense of truth, peace, and women’s rights.

Fardosa Elmi (Somalia)

Fardosa Elmi is a Somali peacebuilding practitioner and former journalist with the BBC. She currently serves as Communication and Partnership Manager at the Somali Institute of Peace (SIP), where she works to promote women’s leadership, community resilience, and locally led peacebuilding initiatives across conflict-affected communities in Somalia.

Diana Salcedo López (Colombia)

Diana Salcedo López is a political scientist from the National University of Colombia, with a Master’s in Women, Gender and Citizenship Studies from the University of Barcelona and a Master’s in Human Rights, Rule of Law and Democratization from the University of Alcalá de Henares in Madrid. She is an anti-militarist feminist. She is a representative to the Intersectoral Commission of Security Guarantees for women defenders and leaders in Colombia, and representative for national organizations in the Special Women’s Instance for the follow-up of the Peace Agreement. Currently, she leads the Colombian section of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), which positions issues related to the socio-emotional recovery of victims, the strengthening of their social leadership, guarantees for the defense of human rights, the accompaniment of women in reincorporation processes, the strengthening of territorial processes of social and political advocacy and the implementation of the agenda of women, peace and security in Colombia.

Ann Wright (U.S.)

Ann Wright is a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel and a 29-year veteran of the Army and Army Reserves. She was also a diplomat in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan, and Mongolia. She received the State Department’s Award for Heroism for her actions during the civil war in Sierra Leone. She resigned from the Department of State on March 19, 2003, in opposition to the Iraq war. She is the co-author of Dissent: Voices of Conscience and appeared in the documentary “Uncovered”. Ann is a board member of CODEPINK and an advisory board member of Veterans For Peace, International Peace Bureau, World BEYOND War, Gaza Freedom Flotilla, NO to NATO, Hawaii Peace and Justice, Pacific Peace Network, and Women Cross DMZ.

Dr. Talatu Philomena Zamani (Nigeria)

Dr. Talatu Philomena Zamani is a UN Ambassador for Peace, defence and security expert, and senior peacebuilding practitioner with over 28 years of experience across humanitarian response, peacebuilding, and public policy. She is the President of the Zamani Foundation and a national coordinator with the Women Situation Room in Nigeria. Dr. Zamani is widely recognised for her leadership in SGBV prevention, DDR, civil engagement, and high-level policy advisory work with governments, security institutions, and the United Nations.

Speaker to be announced (Cuba)

A representative from Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblo (ICAP) in Cuba.

Webinar: Women in Conflict Zones