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"WAR IS JUST A MICROCOSM OF
PEACE" - INTERVIEW WITH ZAINAB SALBI
Eva Fernández Ortiz – Women News Network – WNN
A recent Women News Network – WNN
interview with Zainab Salbi, Founder and President of Women for Women International,
which held its annual fundraiser luncheon in New York City on May 18, reveals
how a very simple act, a smile of recognition and respect, can help women
survive in war-torn regions. Long-term trauma for women who have survived armed
conflict is a haunting reminder that health issues and depression can follow
decades after the end of war, but women who hope for healing can and do move
forward. Many of those who work today with global advocacy still want to know
the answer to a basic, yet important, question: How far can women recover after
conflict survival? These and other topics are part of this interview. The
recent Women for Women International event in New York featured a informative
panel discussion, moderated by Isobel Coleman from the Council on Foreign
Relations, covering views on the “Future of Afghanistan” with Salbi and
Afghan Member of Parliament Sayed Gailani in discussion with war news
correspondent Sebastian Junger. Salbi was interviewed by WNN on Thursday, May
19, 2011, one day following the
WNN: Where does your interest in women and
equality come from?
ZS: My mother! Since a very young age, my mother made sure to tell me
about the plight of women. She made me read books by Arab feminists such
as Nawal Saadawi and other books about injustice at large such as Roots. She
also told me stories of what women go through from the story of her own mother,
my grandmother, to the stories of women I know and I don’t know. As she raised
my awareness about women’s issues, she also made sure to ingrain in me the
importance of being strong and independent and not to let anybody define me by
their images of what women should be.
WNN: Your work has been recognized and
published by many media outlets; do you think that media/people’s interest
towards women issues is growing? Why?
ZS: Now more than ever the global women’s movement is reaching out to new
audiences and constituencies. We’re seeing everyone from private sector to
governments to media, men and women alike, experiencing a growing recognition
that from economic issues to matters of national security, women’s issues are
neither “soft” nor exclusively “women’s.” The fact just plainly is that if half
the society isn’t engaged on any number of sectors, success and potential will
be limited. In that sense, I do definitely believe there is a growing movement
and moment for women’s issues, the question is what are we going to do with it
now that it is here and how can we ensure that women issues stays up front and
center in our daily consciousness from consumers to politicians.
WNN: You are survivor of war yourself and
wrote about your life growing up in Iraq, how do you remember that period? What
did you learn from that experience? How’s the situation right now?
ZS: Living in war is a co- existence with death. One sees life and death every single day so life taste differently there… a smile goes a long way and it becomes an act of survivor to stay happy and with joy.
I remember that period with the sounds of bombs,
the darkness of no electricity in the middle of a raid, my mother’s laughter
and tears, my joy and fear. I remember the buildings and the
destructions. The love and the anger. I remember it with all the emotions once
can feel… fully… boldly. War is nothing but a microcosm of peace… it
shows you life in a more intense way and that’s how I continue to live it… for
good or bad reasons.
WNN: You have written stories of women who
overcome the horrors of war and rebuild their families and countries, what did
you want to tell the world about these stories? What do you admire the most
about these women?
ZS: The most important message for me just like the title of a book I wrote
on the subject, “The
Other Side of War: Women’s stories of Survival and Hope.” So often our
discussions of war are limited to what I call the frontline discussions—how
many men, how many weapons, how many casualties. My message to the world is
that until we recognize that peace is not just the absence of war but the
revival of life on the “backlines,” where women are keeping kids in school,
caring for the sick and injured, and daily negotiating space for the
continuation of critical life processes of this nature, we’re going to continue
to miss the point. Women are not just victims; they are survivors and leaders
on the community-level backlines of peace and stability. That’s the story we
need to tell the world.
WNN: What have women achieved in the last
50 years?
ZS: We have made real progress in the last 50 years. But if this is a mountain, we are half way through the peak and not there fully.
Women have increased their political participation
to 18% worldwide. More women are running for president in recent years than
ever before. Women are active participants in the economy. Women are part of
peace keeping troops in countries like
WNN: What still needs to be done? Who are
the real protagonists of the future changes?
ZS: Women and their children are still 70 percent of all civilians killed in war and 80 percent of all refugees. Only 8 percent of all peace talks have included women at any level. and only 3% of peace agreements are signed by women.
Women are still underpaid for doing the same work as men—they do 2/3 the world’s work, grow 50% of the world’s food and are yet earning 10% of the income and own less than 2% of the property. One out of 4 women worldwide still face violence.
And frankly women still need higher political
representation and to be included at decision making tables in all issues in
order for solutions that relates from peace to food, to health, to basic
stability in the world. We cannot continue to marginalize half of the
population in the world in finding sustainable solutions that are good for all.
WNN: What’s the state of women in
ZS: As the international community talks about the future of its
relationship with
Much has been promised to Afghan women some
delivered and some not. What we know is they have rose up and succeeded
despite of their circumstances and it is up to us to help fulfill the promise
for our sisters there to fulfill their full potential.
WNN: How do you think women will be impacted
by the recent internal conflict in the Arab world (
ZS: Women in the Arab world have a rich history in their active
participation in political change from the
Are women fully included in the reform, political
and economic process. Are women’s voices heard? Will they be able access
to resources for women’s full participation in the rebuilding process or will
the women be asked to go home, as they were asked in the past. This is
the moment of change and I hope the change will not stop until it includes
women.