Morocco’s Dilemma: Rights and Reform or Closure and Conservatism? (March 2015)

Recognizing the value and need to channel equitable resources to local women’s peacebuilding organizations (WPBOs) have been constant stipulations of the value of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda since its inception at the turn of the 21st century. From the United Nations to its 193 member states, the desire and intent to support such organizations has increased over the years. But the chasm between donors’ good intentions and their political, financial, and administrative constraints has hampered the flow of funds to the grassroots women who need them the most.

This policy brief highlights key challenges impeding progress on the global PVE and SDG 16 agendas, underscoring how they are two sides of the same coin.

This brief examines and reflects on existing efforts to enable the participation of civil society voices, notably women, in Yemen’s formal negotiations. And it provides practical recommendations to the U.S. administration and Congress on steps needed to reach peace in Yemen.

Images of women’s mass participation surprised Western observers and revealed the vibrant force of Yemeni women as influential, yet previously unrecognized, change agents.