I was a keynote speaker at the IWOO Gala on Women, Peace & Empowerment : Niloufar Pourzand - UPDATED with text of remarks

A memorable evening as Keynote Speaker at the IWOO Gala on Women, Peace & Empowerment. Wonderful to see my accomplished dear second cousin @lily_pourzand and her amazing mother, dear Mehrangiz Kar, one of our foremost Women’s Right activists & lawyers. Mrs. Kar translated & analyzed CEDAW for us in UNICEF, Iran, some 30 years back. Tashakor to IWOO for inviting me @azadehmomeni26 @dr_bashiri . I spoke specifically about the UN SC Resolution on Women, Peace & Security as well as how it applies to Iran, Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan…Canada.

EMPOWERED WOMEN, PEACEFUL WORLD

Salam/greetings. It is an honour and pleasure to be here with you all and thanks to Dr. Bashiri and Dr. Momeni and colleagues for inviting me. I was invited by dear Mrs. Homa Rouhi Sarlati to speak at another event organized by the IWOO when I was working for the UN, UNICEF, in Afghanistan, perhaps approximately around 2002, some 23 years back. Therefore, being invited back means a lot to me.

It was around that same time – almost 25 years back – that a determined coalition of women, peace activists, governments and United Nations representatives broke new ground for women and girls – and the world at large – at the United Nation’s Security Council.

They showed that gender equality was essential to lasting peace and global security, leading to the adoption of UNSC resolution 1325, known as the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.

Unfortunately, inspite of the efforts of many champions, activists and Organizations, we are currently witness to a very serious backlash in this regard, in many countries.

Only 1 in 10 peace talks in 2024 included women negotiators

4x more women and girls have been killed in conflict (2022–2024 over 2020–2022)
9.4 per cent increase in global military spending, while gender equality remains critically underfunded (2024 over 2023)

We are all familiar with the discrimination, repression and brave struggles of Iranian women and the men who are their allies. But our struggles cannot be seen in isolation from the struggles of others around the world.

For example, across our borders, we are witness to the return of Taliban in August 2021. We all know how Afghan girls and women have continued to pay the price of decades of war and regional geo-politics, religious fundamentalism and poverty. This has been increased in the past months by the inhumane and forced deportation of over 2 million Afghan girls/women and men, from Iran and Pakistan, unfortunately. Yet the situation is not completely without hope and inspiration. Afghan women and progressive men have always been standing up for peace and human and women’s rights. I have had the honour of knowing and working with many of them. I believe Afghanistan is a litmus test for the region and beyond and especially for Iran.

Yes when talking about women and peace in these times – once cannot NOT mention Palestinian women and girls especially those who have been killed by Israel in the past two years and those who continue to suffer from war, bombardments, famine, displacement, loss and much more. In May 2025, UN Women estimated that over 28,000 girls and women have been killed in Gaza – almost half of the approximately 67,000 killed in this Genocide. One of those killed is Fatma Hassouna – a beautiful, vibrant and talented young Palestinian photographer now immortalized in Sepideh Farsi’s award-winning documentary Take Your Soul and Go For a Walk shown at TIFF and the TPFF. I am really proud that another Iranian woman has directed this documentary. Again, I hope that in the future, we can share stories of how young Palestinian girls and women have succeeded in contributing once again to rebuilding their communities, as pillars of peace and prosperity – as they have demonstrated so often in their turbulent history.

Another country we cannot forget when talking about women and peace is Sudan – a country suffering from an unimaginable Civil War since 2023– encouraged by regional and international players – which has destroyed the infrastructure of the country including its educational and health centers.

A group of independent human rights experts recently strongly condemned the widespread and systematic violations committed against women and girls in Sudan, including conflict-related sexual violence, rape, abductions, and killings, many of which have been attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The cases of rape in this recent Civil War has shocked everyone, especially Sudanese themselves. I have worked with amazing Sudanese women in the past, and am confident given the chance, they too will once again rebuild their communities and systems.

Unfortunately, the list of countries one could speak about is long, from Ukraine, to Yemen, to Lebanon and Syria, and of course, the terrible 12 day war that our own motherland, Iran, experienced in June 2025 and which we hope will never happen again.

However, in the short time left, I want to talk a bit about the work done internationally to ensure women’s rights and women’s voices are integrated into peace processes and the building of peaceful and just communities. And if some of you are interested, you might want to access these and read more about them, and include them in your work.

As mentioned earlier, the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda which is a global framework, established by UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), that promotes the full and equal participation of women in all efforts to achieve peace and security. It is built on four key pillars: Protection, ensuring women and girls are shielded from gender-based violence; Participation, increasing women's involvement in conflict prevention and resolution; Prevention, addressing the root causes of conflict; and Relief and Recovery, meeting women's specific needs during and after conflict.

And of course, one must mention CEDAW and CRC, as two of the most significant Human Rights Conventions, highlighting women and girls’ rights. You might know that Iran has ratified the CRC but not CEDAW yet. Of course, ratification is not enough and it is implementation which is most important. I have worked with these two Conventions throughout my over 4 decades career – including translating them for the first time into Farsi – with the support of Mrs. Mehrangiz Kar and Mrs. Shirin Ebadi (Iran’s first Nobel Peace prize winner) – in the 1990s in UN Iran, published by Mrs. Shahja Lahiji’s feminist publishing house, Rowshangaran - and hope that one day soon – these translations will be shared hand to hand in Iran and its various languages, not only Farsi.

Fortunately, we continue to have many outstanding voices in Iran and internationally who highlight the importance of women’s empowerment and sustainable/just and lasting peace – including Narges Mohammadi, Iran’s second Nobel Peace Prize winner (after Shirin Ebadi) and prominent human rights activist – who continues to bravely and at great cost to herself and her family, speak up on the immense human rights violations experienced by Iranians, including by our girls and women, and political prisoners, and calls for a women centred and peaceful social movement for Iran to transition towards a just and democratic society. As we all know – millions of Iranian girls and women were amongst the courageous protestors of the Women, Life, Freedom Movement subsequent to the murder of Mahsa Zhina Amini in 2022, whose legacy continues to inspire us all, turning a historic chapter in the struggles of the Iranian peoples and amplifying the peaceful manifestation of Iranian girls’ and women’s rightful aspirations.

Another such woman is the Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Nadia Murad, who herself survived ISIS abduction of Yazidis in Iraq in 2014. Just recently, at the UN General Assembly, on the 22nd of September 2025, she again spoke about the pivotal link between women’s rights and peace.

Speaking about the many women around the world who continue to experience injustice, Nadia Murad, called on the international community to fund women’s organisations on the frontlines, guarantee women’s participation in peace and security, and hold perpetrators accountable. This is especially important as the US Government and other Governments including here in Canada are unfortunately cutting back on their Official Development Assistance.

“The next generation of women and girls deserve to inherit no more promises but the reality of justice, equality and dignity,” said Ms. Murad at the UN GA in September.

I hope that we can all continue to champion women’s empowerment and its critical role in ensuring peace in our communities and societies. Any such advocacy of course also includes advocacy with the Canadian Government to remain committed to its FIAP (Feminist International Assistance Policy) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its allocation of Official Development Assistance. Investing in girls and women’s empowerment will do much more for just and sustainable peace than investing in the military and in arms deals. As Women’s Rights and Feminist Activists, as Civil Society Activists, we are watching and also holding the Canadian Government accountable for its actions.

From Iran, to Afghanistan, to Palestine, to Sudan, to Ukraine, to Canada: we all want, need and have the right to live in peace, equality and dignity.

Tashakor and enjoy the rest of the evening.