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Zekia Musa (South Sudan)

Zekia Musa is a 29-year-old visually impaired youth activist and peacebuilder who works with the South Sudanese Ministry of General Education and Instruction representing people with disabilities. Among her many activities, she also mentors disabled pupils at schools in the capital, Juba. According to the newly-founded National Union of Disabled People's Organizations, over a million people live with a disability in the country, notably as a result of poverty and decades of conflict. Launched in 2020, the Union brings together eight organizations including the South Sudan Women with Disabilities Network of which Zekia is an active member. While a 2015 law aims to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, social stigma and poor access to information has often confined them to the margins of society. ¡°Often, our culture can impact the disabled negatively and I wanted to break the myths surrounding people like me. Disabled people are no ¡®lesser¡¯ than anybody who has complete use of all their faculties. As a citizen of South Sudan, I felt that it was my duty to speak up, speak out on behalf of disabled people.¡±

Fifi Baka (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Fifi Baka is a feminist and human rights activist living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A social entrepreneur, she works on gender, leadership, empowerment and human development. As the executive secretary of the Gender and Women's Rights Network, she promotes the protection and defence of the fundamental rights of women and girls. In the capital Kinshasa, she also represents the Nothing Without Women Movement (Rien sans les Femmes/RSLF), which brings together more than 300 civil society organizations and Congolese activists to push for equal participation of women and men in decision-making bodies across the DRC.

The UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, facilitated advocacy meetings with Fifi and traditional leaders, which resulted in more women traditional leaders being appointed to the National Assembly. In liaison with the mission, she has been part of the women mediators meeting and the engagement of the Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) with the African Women Leadership Network where she champions women¡¯s agendas aimed at sustaining peace.

According to UN Women, the Democratic Republic of the Congo ranks among the bottom 10 countries in their Global Gender Gap Index 2021. However, in 2021, 15 women were appointed as part of the new presidential cabinet including strategic positions such as Minister of Justice and Minister of Mines, two key portfolios in the country, increasing the percentage of women in the cabinet from 17 to 27 percent. MONUSCO strategically partners with women changemakers, like Fifi. This has contributed to expanding women¡¯s political space in peace dialogues, early warning mechanisms and efforts to sustain peace.

Loda Coulibaly (Mali)

Originally trained as a biologist, Loda Coulibaly also works to advance women¡¯s rights in Mali as a member of several women¡¯s organisations including the Network of Young Women Leaders of Political Parties and Civil Society and the G5 Sahel Women's Coordination group. Throughout the ongoing transition process in Mali, a diverse group of women leaders have played a prominent role in mediating between parties to find a peaceful solution. Loda advocates for the participation of women in the process and is a member of the ¡°Citizen Initiative for the Consolidation of Peace and Women's Political Leadership¡± project implemented by the Malian Center for Inter-Party Dialogue and Democracy which is supported by the UN peace operation there, MINUSMA. Mali saw the largest progress in terms of the number of seats held by women among all countries holding parliamentary elections in 2020. The percentage of women MPs tripled from 9.5% previously to nearly 29% thanks to a quota law. While the elections were nullified following a coup d¡¯¨¦tat in August 2020, the ensuing Transitional National Council maintained a similar level of representation of women.

B¨¦atrice Epaye (Central African Republic)

A leader relentlessly advocating for women¡¯s participation in politics, B¨¦atrice Epaye has been elected several times as a member of parliament to represent Markonda, her constituency and home. After the 2013 coup in the Central African Republic, and despite the insecurity, she was re-elected in her constituency and tapped to serve in the Transitional Government under the leadership of another woman, Catherine Samba-Panza. She has leveraged her position as president of the forum of women parliamentarians to reform the country¡¯s electoral code, making it more favourable to women, with a 35% representation quota. Through community sensitization and support to women candidates in the country¡¯s recent polls, she has paved the way for women in politics. B¨¦atrice Epaye is also the deputy and president of Fondation Voix du Coeur, a charity that helps survivors of sexual violence.

Olla al Sakkaf (Yemen)

Olla al Sakkaf, a 27-year-old youth activist from Yemen, has been active for over a decade, joining youth initiatives and volunteering in several organizations and foundations. After her graduation from the Faculty of Arts at Taiz University, she joined a civil society movement with a pioneer youth organization, working on projects related to gender-based violence, peacebuilding and enhancing coexistence between communities. Olla Al Sakkaf is a member of the which is supported by UNFPA and UN Women. Her work also includes humanitarian initiatives and community stabilization projects. Olla works with youth and women from different community groups and governorates around Yemen and has represented them in various events and conferences at the local, regional and international levels including at the Nobel Prize Winner Summit at the age of 17. In 2020, she briefed the Security Council on the Youth, Peace and Security and the Women, Peace and Security agendas in Yemen. Olla is a member of several youth groups like the Youth Mediation Support Team in which she facilitated prisoners¡¯ exchange deals between warring parties in Taiz, and enabled youth and women to play significant roles in their societies.

Randa Abu Saleh (Lebanon)

Randa Abu Salih is a member of Tyre Municipal Council in Southern Lebanon and chairs the Council¡¯s Women and Child Affairs Committee . There, she helps train local police officers on women¡¯s rights and child abuse prevention in one of the poorest areas of the city. According to UN Women, the successive crises in Lebanon compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 Beirut port blast have pushed more women and girls into poverty, putting them at greater risk of sexual exploitation and abuse. Randa¡¯s efforts to promote women¡¯s rights and support children have gained her recognition and she is the recipient of multiple awards. She acts as a focal point for the UN peace operation in Lebanon, UNIFIL, at the Tyre city council for activities promoting women and children¡¯s rights and working together with UNIFIL on the implementation of Lebanon¡¯s first National Action Plan on women, peace and security. One of her most outstanding contributions is her work in the council¡¯s COVID-19 Crisis Management Cell.

Ola al-Aghbary (Yemen)

A Yemeni community entrepreneur who has worked with many local and international organizations, Ola al-Aghbary is the Founder and Executive Director of the Sheba Youth Foundation for Development. An activist since 2011, she focuses on youth and women empowerment to foster positive change within Yemeni communities and society. More recently, she played an instrumental role in the negotiation efforts to reopen roads and create a humanitarian corridor to the war-torn city of Taiz. Ola was the youngest speaker on the 2014 edition of TEDx Taiz on the theme of ¡°Igniting Creativity¡±.

Hawa Games Dahab (Sudan)

Hawa Games Dahab Gabjenda has extensive experience as a gender specialist, having worked on women¡¯s empowerment, development, humanitarian and peacebuilding initiatives. Most notably, she participated as a gender observer in the Juba peace talks held between the Transitional Government and the Sudan People¡¯s Liberation Movement in 2021. In 2020, marking the 20th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, Sudan adopted its own National Action Plan for the implementation of the resolution, charting the course for increased representation of women in political processes. To further help Sudanese women affected by three decades of conflict, Hawa is also involved in several organizations including the Religious Coexisting Council, and she also co-founded Nora, an organization combating violence against women and girls.

Alokiir Malual (South Sudan)

Alokiir Malual made history as the only woman to have signed a peace agreement in South Sudan in 2015. A decade earlier, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement had no women signatories and Alokiir¡¯s unprecedented move set a milestone for the future of women¡¯s participation. Through United Nations support in South Sudan, Alokiir was one of the seven women signatories to the Revitalized Peace Agreement in September 2018, while 28 were involved in negotiations. Alokiir¡¯s advocacy efforts helped broker the adoption of a 35% quota for women represented in the agreement, and she continues to advocate for its implementation. Today, she is part of the Revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, established to monitor and oversee the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement, and she co-chairs the subcommittee on peacebuilding. She also currently chairs the South Sudan Civil Society Alliance and is a member of the South Sudan Women, Peace Monitoring & Advocacy Group.

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Maha Zeinelabdin Abdelwahad Sidahmed (Sudan)

Sudanese activist Maha Zeinelabdin Abdelwahad Sidahmed led the Women of Sudanese Civic and Political Groups, better known as MANSAM, an alliance of eight political women's groups and civil society organizations, during the Sudanese revolution in 2019. Maha focuses on capacity-building for women and youth in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Most recently, Maha was one of the gender observers at the Juba peace talks held between the Transitional Government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in Juba in 2021. She holds a Master of Arts in Peace and Development studies and is a PhD candidate at the Development Studies and Research Institute of the University of Khartoum, Sudan.

Victoria Sandino (Colombia)

Victoria Sandino Simanca Herrera began her career in political activism with the Communist Youth in Tierra Alta, C¨®rdoba, as she witnessed persecution and violence towards her family. In 1993 she joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia¡ªPeople's Army (FARC-EP). 20 years later, she led the gender sub-commission on behalf of the FARC-EP at the Havana, Cuba, peace talks. In 2017, Victoria participated in the political council of the Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Com¨²n (FARC) party as one of the few women elected. She has continued working to promote gender issues, women's rights and a gender-sensitive reintegration process for women ex-combatants of the FARC-EP, who make up more than 25% of former guerrilla members. Today, Victoria is a senator in the Colombian parliament.

Mouna Awata Tour¨¦ (Mali)

Mouna Awata is the president of the Women¡¯s Peace Hut (Case de la Paix) in Gao, supported by UN Women and the UN peace operation there, MINUSMA. The Hut brings together 76 women¡¯s groups from diverse backgrounds and communities. Together, they promote peace and social cohesion to prevent and resolve conflicts in this volatile region of Mali. Her broad scope of work includes mediating with armed groups, preventing violent extremism and working with survivors of sexual violence. Mouna, together with other women leaders, has continued to fight for their political space in the implementation of the agreement. Recently, the representation of women in the agreement monitoring committee increased from 3 to 31 per cent - an historic achievement, which was facilitated by MINUSMA and UN Women. Thanks to training and capacity-building supported by MINUSMA, she became involved in local politics and is now a member of the local council in Gao. Her commitment to bringing peace to Mali has gained her national and international recognition.

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Marthe Mbita (Central African Republic)

Marthe Mbita holds a series of official functions with women¡¯s organizations and actively participates in creating a conducive environment to consolidate peace. She played a key role in the negotiations of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed between armed groups in December 2017 by directly engaging in discussions with their respective leaders. Building on this, in 2019, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MINUSCA, supported women to formally participate in the peace negotiations for the first time in the history of the country. Women¡¯s efforts were critical in ensuring a peace agreement was reached and gender provisions integrated. Marthe actively promotes the civil and political rights of women with local authorities and community leaders and brings together international organizations and communities, including women to promote their rights and support them in their activities. She develops a wide array of activities to help promote peaceful coexistence between women from diverse ethnic, political and religious backgrounds to prevent further tensions.

Daniela Soto (Colombia)

Renowned Youth Leader of the Indigenous movement, Daniela Soto plays a key role in the construction of peace. She is a 22-year-old indigenous woman from the Nasa people, a philosophy student and a victim of the armed conflict. She has been a coordinator of the youth programme at the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC), where she has led training processes on the rights of indigenous peoples, youth and women. She participated in the creation of the youth network "Cauca Youth Peace Agenda", which unites more than 17 groups of afro, indigenous, rural and urban youth who work towards the construction and implementation of youth policies with a focus on ethnic, cultural and gender diversity. She coordinated the project "Leadership camp for young women in Cauca for the construction and sustainability of peace", a pilot project of the UN Women Colombia youth strategy.