Nobel Women’s Initiative blog

by Jane Gabriel, openDemocracy’s program director

The Laureates, having sat amongst us all day, each day and listened to the stories being told and the arguments that came and went, have proposed four areas in which they might move forward. More media strategies. Linkages between disarmament and violence against women. A women’s peace statue. An annual women’s human rights report.

But it’s Shirin Ebadi’s idea of the women’s peace statue that has captured everyone’s minds – who should the statue be for? What should it say? What should it symbolise? What should it look like? It was discussed at length and the suggestions flowed:

Each country should design its own statue.

It should be not to the unknown victim but to the unknown survivor.

It should be of a woman on her own, without a child.

It should reinforce the Women in Black model.

It should be an antiwar symbol as well as a focus on women.

It should be to the unknown heroine.

It should be of two women, not one.

It should be a symbol – something that will change minds and therefore change culture.

Shirin Ebadi listened to the long list of suggestions and explained that her goal in suggesting it was to respect people who survive wars - the injured and the women and children. The sculpture by an Iranian artist who had voluntarily taken up the idea was one possible response. Shirin Ebadi feels that using the word ‘victim’ states that the memorial is for all the suffering that comes from war, but that this idea is something we can go on discussing. I think it’s likely to happen, so if you are interested, keep an eye on the Nobel Women’s Initiative website. It’s an idea that is here to stay…

I’ve heard how in coalition-building and inclusivity, the principles and not the ideology are the key. That dialogue works, but only when there is equality in the dialogue. That in order to transform victimisation the term itself must be used as a tool – a political tool for consciousness raising – and not abused. That we must humanise not demonise each other in order to transform the culture of violence. That peacebuilding is long hard painful work, that women can and do make a difference. Northern Ireland is the proof. The Irish Laureates gave the Iranian women here at the conference their word that if America attacks Iran, Shannon airport will not be used by the American military to refuel and carry out extraordinary renditions, as it is now.

The women Nobel Laureates created a space this week for women from around the world to gather: women who have lived and continue to live through wars at the same time as continuing to demand peace; women who experience violence on all levels and in all places day after day, year after year; women who try to raise their children and build a better life for them; women who simply will not give up, who survive, who not only carry on but search for other women and men with whom to share their peacebuilding knowledge.

The Laureates came not only to listen to them, but to pledge their support for the hard painful work of peacebuilding by women – for the sake of us all.

So, how did this conference end? It ended with women from around the world who will not give in to the violence, singing, drinking and dancing long into the night – Iranian music, Spanish music, Irish music, the Beatles – we sang, danced, clapped and laughed - with Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Shirin Ebadi there all the way.