News Center — UN Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted in 2000, was the first official recognition of the pivotal role of women in conflict prevention, resolution, and peacebuilding. It calls for strengthening women’s participation in peace processes, protecting them from violence, and ensuring their needs are integrated into relief and reconstruction efforts.

The Nada Alliance, a democratic women’s coalition in the Middle East and North Africa, marked the 25th anniversary of Resolution 1325 in a report released on Monday, November 10, criticizing the continued marginalization of women in the region.

The report stated:

“Twenty-five years have passed since the adoption of Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security, a historic milestone in recognizing women’s essential role in building and protecting peace.”

It noted that women in MENA remain far from the resolution’s goals. Ongoing wars, occupations, civil conflicts, rising authoritarianism, and extremism have marginalized women and targeted them physically and socially. International reports indicate that over 62% of women in the region live in conflict zones or political crises, with about 11.7 million women and girls internally displaced in Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, and Palestine. Women constitute half of the refugees in the region, numbering more than 14 million, according to UNHCR 2024 reports.

Violence and living conditions

The alliance highlighted that one in three women suffers physical or sexual violence, 40% of women in conflict areas face food insecurity, and more than 28 million women lack safe livelihoods, according to the World Bank and UN Women.

In Palestine, the report described the crisis since October 2023: over 10,000 women and girls killed, more than 700 women arrested, over 80% of women in Gaza living in poverty, and 90% facing food insecurity. Around 60% of pregnant women in Gaza lack proper medical care due to the siege and health system collapse, yet Palestinian women continue to play central roles in resilience and community organization.

In Syria, after 13 years of war, 6.7 million women and girls are internally displaced, over 80% of female-headed households live in extreme poverty, and child marriage rates have risen 25% since 2011. The autonomous administration in North and East Syria provides a rare example of female inclusion, with women holding 50% of local council and administrative positions, a notable achievement of regional women’s liberation movements.

In Sudan, women face one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises after the April 2023 conflict: 7.3 million women and girls displaced, thousands subjected to sexual violence, 4 million women severely malnourished, and widespread loss of family members, described by human rights groups as “war on women’s bodies and dignity.”

In Yemen, ongoing conflict since 2015 has created one of the most complex humanitarian crises: over 73% of women in extreme poverty, 8.6 million women and girls needing urgent aid, maternal mortality up 44%, and child marriage up 35% over the past decade.

Despite some improvements after ISIS’s defeat, Iraqi women continue to suffer from war, sectarian, and economic violence, with 1.2 million women displaced, 17% experiencing domestic violence, and only 15% representation in decision-making, with corruption and marginalization hindering empowerment.

In Afghanistan, restrictions under the Taliban have banned secondary and higher education for girls, restricted women’s work and public participation, leaving only 17.3% of women able to access rights and decision-making, with displaced female-headed households suffering severe insecurity.

In Iran, women face increasing legal and social repression, with 31 executions of women in 2024 and the Women, Peace & Security Index ranking Iran 140 out of 177, reflecting limited inclusion.

In Turkey, weak legal protections, withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, and limited female participation in decision-making (WPS Index rank: 99) highlight ongoing challenges.

In Tunisia and Egypt, despite relative stability, women face structural barriers in political participation and gender-based violence. In Egypt, female unemployment is 21%, three times higher than men, and over 30% experience domestic violence. In Tunisia, gender-based violence has risen 60% since 2021, while female parliamentary representation dropped to 25%.

Sustainable peace requires women

The Nada Alliance praised revolutionary women’s initiatives in the region, calling for a critical review of Resolution 1325 implementation, stressing that sustainable peace is impossible without women’s meaningful participation. They urged recognition of local democratic female models, regional collaboration among women’s movements, and a comprehensive feminist vision based on freedom, dignity, and social justice.

Despite 25 years since Resolution 1325, women’s participation in peace processes in MENA remains extremely limited compared to global averages: globally, women constitute 7% of negotiators and 14% of mediators, while in the Arab region, representation is even lower or nearly absent.

Women in conflict zones face multidimensional suffering: sexual violence, forced displacement, loss of reproductive health services, and lack of justice, compounded by responsibilities such as household leadership, interrupted education, and economic deprivation. Cultural and social barriers further hinder empowerment, with surveys showing 70–90% of men in some MENA areas seeing women’s primary role as home care.

The report concludes:

“Women do not lack competence or will; they lack recognition as partners in shaping shared destiny. True and sustainable peace requires gender equality and active participation of women at all decision-making levels. Societies that marginalize women reproduce violence; those that empower them open doors to justice and establish human-centered peace based on freedom, dignity, and citizenship.