Women’s voices could help silence the guns in Africa
Community connections, cross-border activities, data-gathering opportunities and conflict-defusing ability make women indispensable peace-process players.
From 12 to 13 June 2026, the African Union (AU) Silencing the Guns (StG) unit met with the Mano River Union (MRU) secretariat, to enhance the roles of regional actors and communities in StG. The Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire meeting ― the latest in a series initiated by the AU unit ― focused on strengthening women’s leadership in StG, particularly in the MRU region.
The role of women’s has been central to the AU’s agenda for at least the last decade, with efforts to develop conducive frameworks. These include the AU Maputo Protocol to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse in peace support operations (PSOs). Other are the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa and the AU strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (2018 to 2028).
Efforts by FemWise-Africa have led to the standardisation of women’s participation in AU preventive diplomacy and electoral observer missions under the Continental Results Framework. These initiatives guide women’s participation in continental peace and security processes, including StG. In addition, the AU Commission has established a women, peace and security (WPS) office, currently spearheaded by Ambassador Liberata Mulamula, special envoy of the AU Commission Chairperson on WPS.
Since her appointment in August 2025, she has sought to bolster coordination with key stakeholders, including regional economic communities, the Peace and Security Council (PSC), other AU structures and development partners. The aim is to promote women’s full and meaningful participation in continental peace and security and enhance the AU WPS office’s connection with communities.
However, despite growing recognition of the importance of women’s leadership in StG, much remains to be done. Social and institutional barriers prevent women from fulfilling their potential in community, national and continental initiatives.
Social and institutional barriers prevent women from fulfilling their potential in peacebuilding initiatives
Women in StG
At its 1 309th meeting, in October 2025, the PSC reiterated the pivotal role of women. The Council acknowledged that women’s inclusion brings empathy, moral authority and sustainability to peace and security processes. In the same vein, the StG engagement with the MRU secretariat highlighted the important role women play in fostering sustainable peace through community-level early warning and mediation.
Their proximity to and often direct involvement in local realities make women indispensable actors. Given their daily cross-border activities, such as trade and farming ― across the MRU region, for instance ―women relate to state security forces and non-state armed groups. They can gather granular data essential for early warning and security threat anticipation. Sources state that information provided by women has allowed security forces to gain strategic advantages over criminal groups operating across the region’s porous borders.
Women, according to civil society representatives, have helped defuse several communal conflicts in the area. In western Côte d’Ivoire, for example, according to the chairperson of the MRU Joint Civil Society Organisations Border Units, they have assuaged their husbands and male relatives amid heightened tensions over resources, including land.
They’ve facilitated peaceful resolution of herder and farmer conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, advising men behind the scenes. Similarly, in the Southern Africa Development Community and the Horn of Africa, women have contributed significantly to institutional actions against organised crime and counter-terrorism. These contributions are key to the success of the StG agenda, given the strategic lessons they offer for its ongoing and future processes. Strengthening women’s participation in StG is, therefore, pivotal.
Women’s inclusion brings empathy, moral authority and sustainability to peace and security processes
Challenges
However, age-old social and institutional barriers impede participation. In many African societies, women are viewed as mere caregivers or community members lacking the ability of men to take part in political and policy decision-making. Thus, their access to peacemaking and conflict-prevention efforts is severely limited.
And, while Africa has made strides in primary school gender parity, a growing gap at secondary and tertiary levels has been noticeable over the last decade. Beyond economic reasons, millions of girls have dropped out of school due to safety concerns, early marriage or lack of menstrual management. This, combined with stereotyping, prevents women from accessing essential networks and resources to lead peace processes.
Institutionally, women are excluded from decision-making and negotiation, leading again to male-dominated interventions and limited meaningful participation of females in government roles. Although consulted informally, mainly through civil society organisations, they remain underrepresented in official delegations at the forefront of peace talks and security initiatives.
This, according to experts, is the result of inconsistent implementation of gender commitments and inclusion mechanisms by member states. Limited funding, weak enforcement and inadequate accountability mechanisms are cited among the main causes of states’ slow progress. The StG engagement in Abidjan confirmed the existence of such obstacles in the MRU region and beyond.
The AU could assign women role models to high-level and local mediation and peacebuilding efforts
Women-led formal and informal organisations often lack the funds to participate in consultations, mediation and shuttle diplomacy. Many of these organisations, according to representatives of the Mano River Women's Peace Network (MARWOPNET), are barely able to cover accommodation, travel and subsistence costs. Women’s organisations and networks remain dependent on short-term donor funding rather than sustained institutional support.
Possible solutions
The AU, through the AU Commission, could tackle social barriers, promoting positive social norms and women’s leadership in line with the AU Strategy for Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (2018-2028). Beyond institutional engagements with regional economic communities and similar entities, the AU could liaise with local civil society organisations to challenge stereotypes. It could assign women role models to high-level and local mediation, negotiation and peacebuilding efforts.
AU engagement with member states, regional entities, local civil society organisations and potential partners would enhance women’s prominence. This could be accompanied by training in areas such as mediation, leadership and conflict prevention. Mentorship linking experienced female leaders with communities could be considered. All could be coordinated by the special envoy on WPS, with regular and timely reporting to the PSC.
Institutionally, accountability and implementation should be strengthened within the AU and member states. Exclusive reliance on member states’ reporting under the Continental Results Framework on WPS and other frameworks is insufficient for effective accountability. According to an AU source, inconsistent and irregular submission of reports continues to undermine comprehensive assessments of implementation, progress and impact across the continent, despite efforts by the special envoy. A monitoring system blending member-state, civil society and community reporting could close the gap in the mid- and long-term, as requested by the PSC.
Finally, financial support for women’s participation in continental peace processes should be a priority. Financial challenges have often deprived initiatives of women’s crucial insights and strategic vision that could strengthen negotiation outcomes. Given the central role women could play in stabilising Africa, their voices must be heard in strategic decision-making, beyond symbolic participation. Thus, engagements such as the recent StG-MRU meeting should be encouraged.
