LOS ANGELES / WASHINGTON — January 25, 2025. Women from the Middle East see a new door open to advance the peace process and multi-faith collaboration. One initiative that has emerged in response to recent conflict is the Abraham Women’s Alliance (AWA). The co-founder and director, Shirin Taber shares, “Research shows that women-led initiatives are key to the peace process. Since the October 7 attacks, we have convened leaders from the Abrahamic faiths on a monthly basis, highlighting women’s critical stories and solutions. The Abraham Women’s Alliance offers a unique platform to mobilize leaders to support peaceful co-existence across the Middle East.” The AWA women-led initiative is a direct outcome of United Nations and State Department declarations to counter religious-based conflict.
“Many organizations already do a great job documenting the tragic cases of conflict in the Middle East,” shares Shirin Taber. “While the Abraham Women’s Alliance acknowledges the violence, we focus on drawing attention to what is not being talked about enough – the many positive stories where women are actively working on peace initiatives in the Middle East. With a new president in the White House, we want to challenge more leaders to engage in inter-religious collaboration. We have a plan of action, and we want to scale our efforts in 2025.”
Objectives of the Abraham Women’s Alliance:
- Increase women’s participation in social, economic, and political affairs in the Middle East
- Highlight and support women’s inclusion in business and governance
- Amplify women’s participation in the Middle East peace process
- Gather leaders to coordinate multi-faith working groups, trainings, and media strategies
- Foster exchanges among the Abrahamic faiths to build trust and collaboration.
Astrid Hajjar, AWA co-founder and director of partnerships, commented, “While there is great work underway for peace worldwide, the Middle East has high rates of religious-based violence. Women suffer the most. Our vision is to develop an allied network, highlighting women advocates and digital media to support coexistence across the entire region.”
Women are more entrepreneurial and contribute to society in positive ways when they are allowed freedom of expression and belief. Research suggests that women’s empowerment supports economic growth, and by doing so, contributes to peace and stability. Yet millions of women in the Middle East face limitations on their social, economic, and political rights, and a variety of barriers to equal citizenship in society because of ingrained cultural mindsets and institutional structures. Women are also underrepresented in peace negotiations, but including females is correlated with a higher probability of durable peace.
This is crucial for normalization and peacemaking efforts, which include the Abraham Accords. According to Prof. Lindsay Benstead, “The full and equal participation of women is crucial to the success of the Accords and the security and prosperity of the region. Women should be included in negotiations at parity with males and through programs such as financial support for female entrepreneurs and civil society organizations.” The full inclusion of women can support the Accords’ success and contribute to security and prosperity of all parties by supporting their public diplomacy objectives.
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Contact:
Shirin Taber
Empower Women Media
949-235-5148
[email protected]
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