Our new Peace Sisters and Brothers project begins

Another major new project for the Lotus Flower is now underway!

In our groundbreaking ‘Peace Sisters and Brothers’ initiative, women, girls, men and boys are being trained as peace mediators in their own communities. The new partnership is funded by the program, ‘Strengthening the Participation of Women in the Peace and Rehabilitation Process in Iraq’ (SPW), of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Government.

Designed to help restore harmony within fractured communities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the project focuses on conflict resolution techniques, women empowerment, non-violence, cooperation and integration, plus confidence-building techniques.

While the Lotus Flower has previously run Peace Sisters as one of the only known schemes in the region to focus on women becoming mediators, defenders and active community leaders, this is the very first iteration of Peace Brothers. We believe it is vital to ensure that men support women’s equal participation in peace processes in order to bring far-reaching positive change.

The Duhok-based project, for 25 Peace Sisters and 25 Brothers aged 18-35, has now begun with mediation training, conducted by trainers who are certified in conflict resolution techniques. The participants come from various different religious and ethnic backgrounds, and include Yazidis, Christians and Muslims from IDP, refugee and host communities.

During the programme, they will also complete soft skills training, including leadership and communications skills, critical thinking and public speaking. They will additionally take part in workshops on UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, which calls for the increased participation of women in peace and security efforts. Another part of the project sees research being conducted around Resolution 1325, which will form a report on its status in the region.

Towards the end of the project – which runs until late December – the Peace Sisters and Brothers will hold community consultation workshops to determine peacebuilding initiatives that are needed in the local area. With our support, they will then implement 10 community initiatives that benefit many hundreds of people in their communities.

Lastly, a final ceremony will be held to serve as graduation from the project, with research outcomes also being presented.

We’re really excited about this intervention and believe it will not only increase capacity for women and girls’ participation in peacebuilding processes, but also improve their ability to take part in social and economic regeneration, reduce violence and discrimination against them, and give men and boys the tools to contribute to gender transformative peace.

Our Founder Taban says: “We are thrilled to have launched this exciting new project, and are very grateful for the support of both GIZ and the German Government. It is not only a timely and much-needed intervention in an area which has been destabilised by conflict for many years, but one that is also pioneering in its approach.

“By directly putting women and girls at the heart of mediation processes and improving their capacity for leadership in their own communities, we hope to bring sustainable change that will benefit thousands. We believe that by including men in the process of elevating women and girls’ peacebuilding roles – which itself is groundbreaking in this region – we will accelerate this change further.”

We’ll keep you up to date with the project’s progress!