Resilience Across Borders and Solidarity with Burmese Women at the 2025 Women’s Forum for Peace

November 14, 2025

Helen Rocker

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security cohosted the 2025 Women’s Forum for Peace in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in partnership with the Women’s League of Burma, Women’s Organizations Network of Burma (WON), and the CEDAW Alliance Burma this September. The forum brought together over 200 women’s and civil society organizations (CSOs) from inside and outside Myanmar to chart the path forward for the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda and to reflect, strategize, and re-energize for a peaceful, just, and inclusive Myanmar.

Throughout the Women’s Forum for Peace, the energy, determination, and vision in the room were palpable. The message was clear: there cannot be a successful end to the hostilities, a defeat of the military junta, and a just transition without the inclusion of Myanmar’s women and the engagement of the country’s diverse, vibrant civil society.

Researchers, activists, artists, and policymakers reaffirmed the importance of women’s participation in peacbuilding, the vitality of women’s economic empowerment, and the power of women’s leadership. Women from throughout Myanmar shared challenges they face across regions and ethnicities. They discussed ongoing initiatives to push for women’s rights and gender equality. They engaged in thoughtful and collaborative breakout sessions and paved the way for targeted and specific recommendations across the four pillars of the WPS agenda: prevention, protection, participation, and relief and recovery.

As women from around the world began to offer their perspectives, another vital component to the realization of a just and peaceful Myanmar emerged: international solidarity across contexts and women’s resilience in the face of devastating violence and injustice.

“In all the darkness, women and youth have not stopped,” Nagwa Konda, a Sudanese humanitarian worker and civil society activist, reminded us. “We need to support each other as women and support each other’s initiatives to be included in peace processes.”

Throughout the three-day forum, Burmese women exemplified solidarity and resilience in action. Healthcare providers and cervical cancer screenings on-site allowed participants to access critical healthcare services and addressed barriers to participation. Hand-crafted artisan goods made by refugees and survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) enabled participants to directly contribute financially to those women’s organizations, refugees, and CRSV survivors.

At the direct request of Burmese civil society, GIWPS facilitated an international panel, bringing together women leaders from various complex conflict and post-conflict settings who are at the forefront of peace and justice efforts in their communities. Women from Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Indonesia shared lessons learned and key recommendations from their peacebuilding work. The discussion illuminated comparative examples of how women are working towards the realization of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, strategizing for gender-just transitions, and advancing inclusive governance.

In an all-too-rare opportunity to connect across borders and contexts, women grassroots leaders came together to share the calls of their countrywomen and stories of strength. The realities and challenges they shared mirrored many of the challenges facing women in Myanmar today, underscoring their desire to support and stand in solidarity with one another.

Mariam Jalabi, a member of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement, told the story of how, in the face of horrible oppression by the Assad regime, Syrian women came together to start their own movement, one that has grown from just eight individuals to over 200 today. The room was full of Burmese women silently nodding, eyes lit up with possibility.

“The whole of us is so much bigger than the sum of our parts,” Jalabi said. “When we come together, our power becomes irresistible.”

A flurry of note-taking ensued as Ruby Kohlifah and Debbie Affianty shared their experiences engaging faith leaders in Indonesia, and a sea of faces expressing harrowing acknowledgement emerged when Konda spoke of the tremendous loss of lives, internal displacement, food insecurity, and horrific atrocities against women and girls in Sudan. She painted a picture that resonated deeply with Burmese women; that, despite the immense darkness, women and youth have not stopped working as agents of change at the grassroots level. Konda shared stories of local Sudanese singers and artists who are promoting social recovery among communities full of despair. A picture not much different than what we saw on the last day of the Forum, when dancers, singers, and poets from Myanmar performed for the International Day of Peace, reminding us of the importance of creative resistance and the power of art to bring communities together.

While each of their contexts varies, and the women of Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, Indonesia, and Myanmar face unique obstacles, the unifying thread of solidarity is strong. From the internal displacement camps of Sudan, to the underground schools for girls in Afghanistan, to the nondescript buildings that house dozens of Myanmar NGOs in Thailand, Konda put it best: “women are standing tall and staying resilient.”

Women’s resilience, commitment, and leadership are driving change and advancing just and sustainable peace—not just in Myanmar, but in communities all around the world. We must honor the resilience and courage of women affected by conflict and call on policymakers, donors, friends, and supporters to amplify their voices, center their experiences, and join in their solidarity.