Marruecos acogerá el Foro Mundial de Mujeres por la Paz
Justice, emancipation and freedom. This is the message that "The Warriors for Peace" want to send to women from all over the world from the Moroccan city of Essaouira on 7 and 8 March, on the occasion of International Women's Day, at the founding event of the "Women's World Forum for Peace". This is the first edition of a future annual meeting of reference in the defence of feminism and peace. The event will be co-chaired by Hanna Assouline, director of the organisation, and Fatima Boussou, and will be attended by Jewish and Muslim activists committed to peace.
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— Samuel MAYOL (@samuelmayol) February 13, 2023
l’APPEL INTERNATIONAL DES FEMMES POUR LA PAIX
Palestiniennes, israéliennes, iraniennes, arméniennes, afghanes, libériennes, kurdes, syriennes… Ces femmes se donnent rendez vous à Essaouira le 8 mars. @Hanna_Assouline @B_Shanihttps://t.co/pRFdjQPerV
"In the face of the genocides and wars of aggression that continue in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere, in the face of rising extremism and populism around the world, we want to make the voices of women resound, determined to fight together," says the organisation's official statement. To this end, women from different countries, symbols of the struggle for emancipation, will gather in Essaouira to launch an appeal for peace.
Activists such as Shirin Ebadi, lawyer and first Iranian and Muslim woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize; Jessica Mwiza, activist for the memory of the Rwandan genocide; Huda Abu Arquob, president of the Alliance for Peace in the Middle East; and Nurith Hagragh, activist of Women Wage Peace, will attend this world forum as representatives of women in the decision-making processes of institutions and organisations. "We want to contribute to the valorisation of the voice of women in conflicts that oppose communities, and that transmit messages of hatred, racism and anti-Semitism", announces the communiqué of "The Warriors for Peace".
The meeting is supported by the United Nations through the Alliance of Civilisations and sponsored by UNESCO, and is expected to take place in the presence of André Azoulay, advisor to the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, and Nadia Bouaida, President of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The fact that the first edition of the Women's World Forum for Peace is being held in Morocco is no coincidence. For Hanna Assouline, Morocco is the Muslim country that has made the most progress in 20 years on the road to democratic reform and is a leader in the region and in the world in terms of culture and coexistence. "This country inscribed its plural national identity in its Constitution, forged by the coexistence of its multiple components and enriched by its African, Andalusian, Hebrew and Mediterranean influences", says the director of "The Warriors for Peace".
Proof of this is the city of Essaouira itself, which "has entrusted its cultural diversity as a lever for development in a city that is a symbol of bridges and reconciliation between cultures, particularly between Muslims and Jews", as the organisation argues. A coexistence, for them, boosted by the commitment of King Mohammed VI.
The joint celebrations between Jews and Muslims of festivities such as Shabbat and Eid are proof of this coexistence, which this forum now aims to export to the whole world. "We see this as a model that could inspire different communities around the world and that makes this place a strong symbol of the possible coexistence between peoples", they publish.
"The Warriors for Peace" is a women's movement founded in March 2022 in France by Hanna Assouline, with a name that refers to the title of the documentary film about Palestinian and Israeli women from the Women Wage Peace movement. In turn, this documentary was inspired by the Liberian Women's Mass Action for Peace, in what has been called "a good example of inspiration and transmission of women's struggles and mobilisation around the world".
A story of activists that now wants to give value to the first edition of the Women's World Forum for Peace in Morocco: "Each woman present that day will be the representative of her country in this congress that will meet every year to exchange and deliver a collective message to the world".
