Peace Begins with Her: Amplifying African Women’s Role in UN Peacekeeping
Written By Maxine Ansah
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On this year’s International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, UN Women has reiterated a clear message: peacekeeping is stronger when women are involved. This call comes 25 years after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and 30 years after the Beijing Platform for Action. Both set a firm agenda for women’s full participation in peace processes an agenda that remains far from fulfilled, especially in Africa.
Africa hosts most of the UN’s peacekeeping missions, from Mali to South Sudan. These operations rely not only on military might but also on trust, local engagement and conflict resolution areas where women peacekeepers make a unique impact. They are often better able to access communities, gather sensitive information and support survivors of violence. Yet, women still represent just a fraction of deployed peacekeepers: 6.4 percent of military and 12 percent of police personnel globally as of 2023 (UN Peacekeeping).
To address this, UN Women backs initiatives like the Elsie Initiative Fund, now active in 15 countries including Ghana and Senegal. It supports the removal of barriers to women’s participation in peacekeeping. The Women’s Military Peace Operations Course also trains women for leadership roles in missions.
African women like Nigeria’s Lieutenant Colonel Priscilla Akwashiki, honoured by the UN in 2022, show what is possible when women lead. But much more is needed. As UN Women states, real progress requires political will, funding and action.
For peace to last in Africa, women must be fully included not as an afterthought, but as central actors in building and keeping peace.
