Courage in Crisis: The women shaping Ukraine’s path to peace

Olha Zaiarna is a dedicated advocate for women's meaningful participation in Ukraine’s peace efforts. With extensive experience in gender-sensitive peacebuilding, she works to ensure that Ukrainian women have a seat at the decision-making table. She has been a vocal champion for feminist financing for peacebuilding, emphasising the need for quality funding across the conflict cycle.

In this interview, she shares what women peacebuilders are doing across the country to build a peaceful future. She also reflects on the pathways to rebuilding Ukraine in an inclusive and peaceful manner—and the role of women and networks in this process.

What are women peacebuilders currently doing across Ukraine to build a peaceful future for the country?

The ongoing armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has drastically changed the lives of countless Ukrainian women—many for the worse. They are experiencing life as refugees—losing everything and being forced to flee their country due to the destruction of their villages and cities. They are experiencing displacement within Ukraine, adapting to new communities while carrying the weight of uncertainty. They are experiencing the greatest burden of social care, supporting their families, rehabilitating wounded husbands or partners, and caring for young children and elderly relatives.

The war has profoundly reshaped women's social roles, and the central question for women peacebuilders is: How can these experiences be transformed into building the future of Ukraine?

For example, our partners, the Institute for Peace and Commonground, have been implementing the project “Empowering Internally Displaced Young Women in Ukraine to Participate in Peacebuilding - HER PERSPECTIVE” for 1.5 years with funding from the UN Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund. 

The project strengthens social cohesion between internally displaced young women and their host communities across five regions of Ukraine. It also builds their capacity to engage in political processes focused on post-war recovery and reconstruction.

As part of this initiative, the Institute for Peace and Common Ground worked on adapting the Participatory Video methodology for Ukraine. GPPAC members Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy (MEND) from Palestine and the Foundation for Tolerance International (FTI) from Kyrgyzstan shared their experiences using this methodology in peacebuilding efforts.

Through this project, internally displaced young women created a space for dialogue and collaboration with their peers in host communities. Together, they are reshaping perspectives, fostering mutual understanding towards the "other", and addressing the urgent needs of internally displaced women across Ukraine.

What pathways exist for Ukraine to rebuild in an inclusive and peaceful manner, and how do women’s efforts shape these efforts?

Ukrainian women are striving for a lasting and sustainable peace. During three years of full-scale invasion, they have not remained idle. Women peacebuilders have been actively advocating for Ukraine—working to protect the rights and interests of vulnerable groups and strengthening women’s participation in decision-making processes.

One key aspect of this work is learning to negotiate with one another—especially among women—to strengthen each other's influence. This, in turn, helps ensure that the reconstruction process is inclusive and participatory for all segments of the population.

The recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine is a multidimensional process. Its scale and complexity mean that different social groups have different perspectives, requiring broad discussions and an inclusive approach that accounts for diverse needs. Beyond incorporating gender perspectives, it is essential to engage internally displaced women in all their diversity—considering factors such as education level, region of migration, family composition, and age—in decision-making processes.

For example, addressing women’s poverty, a major consequence of the war and a key barrier to women's access to decision-making, is critical. Improving women’s working conditions, supporting their employment and business activities, and ensuring access to lifelong learning are all crucial steps. Additionally, access to information, childcare, social housing, and psychological support play an essential role in enabling women to participate fully in reconstruction efforts.

For Ukraine’s recovery to be effective and sustainable, social infrastructure must be adaptable and responsive to changing needs. This requires flexible approaches, active local community engagement, and continuous reassessment of priorities in response to the evolving situation.

With trust in multilateral responses to crisis eroding, what practical steps can networks take to reinforce, complement, and enhance peace efforts on the ground?

International peacebuilding networks can play a critical role in advocating for Ukraine’s comprehensive recovery by drawing on successful advocacy experiences from other countries. However, it is essential that future policies and programs are rooted in the local context, informed by Ukrainian national expertise, and built on lessons learned from Ukraine’s own past experiences. The mechanical transfer of international practices and approaches has already proven ineffective over 11 years of conflict in Ukraine. Instead, networks can facilitate knowledge exchange on recovery and reconstruction approaches in different contexts, with a particular focus on how women and feminist peacebuilding activists from conflict-affected communities in all their variety have successfully contributed to decision-making processes.

In the Ukrainian post-war period, the implementation of transitional justice mechanisms will be critical, driven by a strong public demand for justice, truth, reparations, and guarantees of non-repetition. Public opinion research will be essential in shaping these mechanisms, ensuring they reflect the needs and priorities of Ukrainian society. Women’s organisations, in particular, have a key role to play—not only in advocacy but also in monitoring anti-corruption measures, ensuring public oversight of funding use, and promoting transparency and accountability in reconstruction efforts.

Ukraine’s recovery will require women experts in reconstruction who bring a context-sensitive approach that civil society organisations (CSOs) can offer to state actors. It is crucial to actively promote the participation and leadership of CSOs—especially those led by, with, and for women and marginalised groups—in shaping recovery discussions and decisions. All voices must be heard, and all citizens must be included to help shape decision-making. This will not only help rebuild Ukraine but also lay the foundation for a more democratic, transparent, and equitable society in the years to come.