How Can Young Women and Feminist Policies Drive Peace and Justice?

Anoushka Sinha: Hello and welcome everyone to this very special UNGA Edition episode of Conversations with Young Justice League Leaders podcast. Today, in my presence is a visionary, a leader, and someone who I deeply respect and admire. But before I tell you about her, let me tell you why we have these conversations. It is to bridge the divides. It is to have intergenerational conversations where we can all learn together how we can foster a more just and fair world for all. So joining me today is Tony Ann Broadver, who is the head of the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund Secretariat. Toni has spent her career, years and years, championing women’s rights, inclusive peacebuilding, and ensuring that women and roles are at the forefront of humanitarian response. Tony, it’s such an honor to have you with us today. Thank you so much for taking the time from this very crazy schedule, as everyone knows, and treading so many streets in your heels to join us. You’re in person at the NYU CIC office on the sidelines of UNGA. How are you doing today?

Tonni Brodber: I’m doing well. I mean, you know, this is going to be a very boomer reference, as one of my comms team always says. But with Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger, she did everything backwards and heels. So women are very well known to do excellent things.

Anoushka: I love that. And I could never match your level of referencing examples. That’s how you know she is going to be an amazing podcast guest. It’s a dream to have her as a host on this conversation. To begin, I swiftly want to ask you the very first question. Let’s talk about a little of young women. I’m sure you must have worked with so many of them across your career and also young leaders as catalysts of peace building and humanitarian responses, especially in local communities. How do you see them, you know, driving change on the ground at the brass bridge?

Tonni: So I think, you know, I was a young woman once as well, and I think I remember those feelings. And what I remember is what I see. There’s a specific passion and a specific understanding of what could be and what should be that is not yet muted in younger people and in younger women especially. And so when they’re in their countries and they don’t think that the institutions in their countries are serving them in the way they know they deserve to be served, they are often the first on the front lines to speak that truth to the powers within their spaces and also to do the work that needs to be done. We’ve been very lucky. We have multiple ways of funding different young people and organizations through the wphf, which is the Peace and Humanitarian Fund. And we often see many young women, and we’re often able to give many young women grants, advocacy grants through a women human rights defender window to speak on behalf of their community, in their words, at places like the UN General Assembly.

Anoushka: And I am a living example.

Tonni: You are. And you’re a global luminary.

Anoushka: Yes, exactly. Well, I love that you talked about WPHF and how you are really funding and investing in women more than anything to become leaders of their own generation. And so I really want to go about it and ask. We’ve also seen how women-led movements are not only sustaining peace, but also innovating entirely new pathways for justice. Could you share how WPHF in detail is supporting these efforts?

Tonni: Sure, and I think this is the reason for intergenerational dialogue is to understand from time immemorial women led movements have led to peace, whether it is in South Africa. And we celebrated South Africa Heritage Day yesterday where the women’s movement Women Together came, both white women and South African black women. It was the past laws that they came together to say enough is enough. We know that when women come together, not only do we achieve peace, but peace lasts. Bumper.

Anoushka: Absolutely.

Tonni: So we have three different ways of funding. I’ve spoken about the women humanitarian window. Yes. The Women Human Rights defenders window rather. And we have a rapid response window. And in this window we know that when women lead as UN women says, peace follows because the peace is lasting. When you have women at peacemaking tables, the peace lasts longer after 30 under PER. Exactly. So what we’ve been trying to do is making sure that we give money to international NGOs because we have to support an ecosystem, international NGOs and community-based NGOs so that at each level women are prepared to be at the peace-making tables where the decisions are made. So we fund, whether it’s even from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sudan, we really Colombia make sure that they have the skill set because they already have it. But sometimes they may not know the UN speak, sometimes they may not know certain speak. And these are the kinds of things we’re able to assist through our learning help and then together with INGOs, make sure they’re at the tables.

Anoushka: You talk so much about intergenerational learning. And I think we’re having that moment today with each other. And I am learning so much from you, your work throughout this past week and everything that you’ve been doing with Double phf. I really want to ask you. The theme that comes up a lot in these spaces is intergenerational partnerships, that we should foster them, that we should nurture them. From your perspective, how can collaboration between women leaders who are so seasoned like you are, and young leaders like myself make peacebuilding more inclusive and sustainable?

Tonni: I mean, I’m not as seasoned, but I’m nowhere half as seasoned and marinated as you will. As so many who exist within the space, even within this building, in the church building, we have people that created our organization. Right. So one, we have to listen to one another. Sometimes it’s difficult because we don’t always speak the same language. And our understanding of what needs to come first may not be the same. But when we recognize and acknowledge that we all want the same goal and we listen to one another, we learn from what worked before. When Mama Grass and Michelle starts speaking about what they had to do to achieve peace in Mozambique, we listen and we learn because we don’t need to reinvent the we. Yes, we listen and we learn and we don’t judge.

Anoushka: That’s a Gen Z place right here, I guess. I love that. Another thing that I want to ask, and especially on the coin that you said that when women leave, peace is lasting, it’s sustainable. So I want to ask for peace to be really lasting, systemic shifts are needed for sure. What changes, you know, whether in policy, funding or institutionally, would you ensure that include youth and women that are not only participants, but also real decision makers in peace processes.

Tonni: So we have lessons from Rwanda that we could take.

Anoushka: Yeah. Tell me.

Tonni: This morning there was a representative from Rwanda speaking at the feminist foreign policy meeting that was hosted by the governments of France in the government of Colombia. And one of the things that he said was how proud he, as a man who works for the government of Rwanda, was of the strides that they institutionalize to ensure gender parity. They knew they needed to make it codified in the policy that women had to be at the decision making table. Women had to be not only part of the foreign policy.

But the national policy development as they rebuilt their country so systemically, one of the things that we need to look at is governance and political participation and ensuring that women have equal access to the space, which they don’t. Which often, whether it is through the issues around campaign financing or the kinds of very harsh Critiques. Women receive women when they run.

We need to create opportunities and incentives, positive incentives for more women to run. We also need to. And some of the systemic changes are institutional.

And then some of them are more in terms of our cultural understanding of the roles that women play and what we are okay with.

Anoushka: Hope you’re listening and taking notes.

Tonni: We need, really, to see that kind of behavioral and attitudinal shift about what is acceptable for women to be doing. And that’s why we make sure at WPHF that we’re collaborating with UN Women, UNFPA, other agencies, and of course, civil society to ensure that women’s voices are not tokenized.

That they’re understood as critical for sustainable development, for human rights, and for peace and security, which are the three pillars of the.

Anoushka: Oh, I love that. And I think you touched a lot on so many important topics. Reversing the gender roles, rethinking of what these gender roles can be for women, removing tokenism. Because when we’re in spaces like this, a lot of companies or organizations get young people and young women to be their mouthpieces, essentially. They don’t really care about what happens and if it’s followed up. And so I think you really brought forward a very important point, and I want to follow it up with something that’s very close to my heart, and I’m sure it is to yours as well as well. How do we ensure that peace is feminist? And how can we center women’s voices and leadership at every single stage of peace building, especially at places like the UN, which are so barricaded off?

Tonni: The first thing I would say is so many people seem to have a negative reaction to the word feminism. Like, oh, it’s exclusive, it’s all of these things. Feminism equals efficiency. Feminism equals acknowledging human beings in the fullness of their capacity. And when you do a deep dive in feminism, you realize that that is what it’s all about. The pushback on rights and even the word feminism that has become the F word is something we need to really reject and reclaim. And that’s why I love the feminist foreign policy work that many of the governments are doing. The UN is such a beautiful organization because it’s based on the principles of human rights, the principles of peace and security, the principles of sustainable development, and an understanding that justice comes with accountability. 1325, which is a Security Council resolution that was made 25 years ago, tells the world exactly how to ensure women are engaged in every single step of the peace building process, gets what we need to do what young women need to do across the world, what young men need to do, because we need the allies, what the older women need to do. And the older men and all of us in between need to say, hold on. The Security Council said this is a resolution. How is my government standing up to this? How are you doing this? And ensure that our governments are holding themselves to what they said they were going to do. We ensure their accountability. We don’t meet with or support peace processes that didn’t have women at the table, that didn’t have young people engaged because the women peace and security agenda and the youth peace and security agenda intertwined. You can’t have one without the alert. It’s not feminist to have one without the alert. So we need to not reinvent the wheel. Look at what exists, look at the fact that it exists because it worked in the past and ensure that we are effectively coming together to ensure accountability around how we hold all of not only the countries and member states that are party to the UN, but also ourselves. Are we so comfortable or so into the scrolling which is enjoyable and we need at different times that we are allowing our sisters and brothers to feel forgotten because we don’t want to be uncomfortable in the moment to hold ourselves and our communities and our countries accountable to what they have already said they would. And it’s very clearly set out. I don’t need to go into the depths of women are supposed to be at the peacekeeping tables. Women are supposed to be at, in the rooms before that we get to the peacekeeping tables that when we’re developing recovery strategies, women are helping to develop them. All of these things are very clearly outlined. Everybody signs them and we shake hands. Now we need to make sure that we are holding ourselves accountable to upholding these particular standards we’ve set for ourselves.

Anoushka: Absolutely. I have to 100% agree. You know, we signed so many resolutions here, we talk endlessly for ours, but where’s accountability? Where do we follow up? So I think we need actors like you who can really ensure that these people are holding up to their promises. Thank you so much. And I know you have been a lifelong advocate for women’s rights, for investing in women for peace and for justice, security, equality. And so as the head of the WPHF secretariat and as someone who’s deeply committed to advancing peace and justice, I like to, you know, ask you personally, what does peace mean, mean to you and what do you think is the main idea behind People Centered justice?

Tonni: I have been thinking about that a lot. We have a new campaign called Peace Is. And you know, we keep talking about.

Anoushka: Which is right here.

Tonni: That’s true. Right here for those of you watching. We’re asking people to think about what is peace for them and what is your peace for peace. So for me, I’ve dedicated my career to peace, whether it be saying, well, no, we need economic empowerment, we need climate resilience, we need, need ending violence against women and girls in homes and communities. We need broader peace in our countries. Yes. But also peace is to me the security of knowing that you can rely on your state. I know it sounds very high level, but I’ve met some women this week from Afghanistan and from South Africa and many other places, many of whom are survivors of breast cancer. And can they survive on the security within their state and the services within their state to trust them at their most vulnerable when their health is at risk, to trust them with their children when their children’s education is at risk?

So it is peace for me is reliance on my state and the kind of fake that I know I can have within that because then I know I can have peace in my home. I can trust my peace, my state as well, to maintain my peace by being accountable if someone is violent towards me, even if it’s the person I love the most that speaks for me. And it is in that accountability of the state systems working for us. Because we spoke a lot yesterday about Amandla Wetu. You know, the power is with the people and we put our power in the states for peace. Not just community-level peace, but peace in our homes and peace in our hearts because it’s all interconnected.

Anoushka: Absolutely. I think I completely agree with how you said, you know, peace is interconnected even to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that we have put forth. If we don’t have peace and if we don’t have justice, none of the Sustainable Development goals can be achieved. So I think it is the bedrock of everything that we’re working towards, be it the 2030 Agenda or the SDGs. So I love you for saying that. Thank you so much.

Tonni: And you know, you used the word trust, and I think that’s where we’re losing young people. We’re losing men, boys who also are young people, some of them, and we’re losing our populations is that we’re losing trust in each other and we’re losing trust in our institutions, and that’s when we have insecurity, that’s when we have states of non-peace, when we can no longer trust our states. I admire the states. No one is perfect. No state is perfect. But I admire the states that are doing what they can to center feminist policies and to center young people in an understanding of how they’re going to maintain peace and security within their space.

Anoushka: Thank you so much, Tonni. Before a final word, I would love to ask you a piece of advice for all the young people that are watching us right now from all corners of the world, or our young justice leaders who are a part of Pathfinders and NYU. I want to ask you, what is your message for these young people who are going on the front lines, risking their lives, taking part in protests, you know, making sure that their leaders are being held accountable and doing everything in their power to make sure our future is just and equal. What piece of advice do you have for her?

Tonni: Gosh. Well, you’ve asked. I don’t like to give advice until I’m asked. I think the first, if you allow me, I would give three.

Anoushka: Yes, please. I would like 30.

Tonni: The first is, you are not alone. You are not alone. There are many who came before you, there are many who are with you, and there are many who will come after you. You are building on incredible work done before by women who came before us and male allies and everybody who is a human being, however they identify. Second is do not give in to the lure of this social media kind of reign where we expect people to respond immediately. We expect perfection immediately. We expect people not to be in any way flawed. There are some incredible advocates who still have more to learn, me included. If we just immediately attack each other, we’re not building. We have to see the thread within each of us that is the same in terms of what it is we want for ourselves and the world and build on that because it’s so easy to pull someone down online. The second piece of advice is to take a moment and reflect and to find grace and empathy. Not to excuse imperfect behavior, but to understand it and to see how we can get through it collaboratively because we have strength in numbers. But if we keep cutting each other off, we won’t have many of each other to stand together for all that we know is true and right. And then the third is take care of yourself and your families because this work is hard. Our bodies are incredible. However, they can take only so much. I’m seeing too many young people.

And it’s because we’re not taking care of ourselves and each other while we do this work. So those are My three pieces of advice. One, you’re not alone. Don’t forget it so you don’t have to give up. Two, take time. Don’t be quick to judge, reflect, and go to spaces of empathy and understanding and accountability. Accountability is always needed. But take a moment. Everybody wants to be the first to say something, so take a moment. And the third is take care of yourself.

Anoushka: I love that. And I think you shed light on so many unspoken rules and so many things that are not talked about, be it mental health or be it taking care of yourself, because I think everyone’s just running. Everyone wants change to happen. Everyone is somewhere angry in their hearts because of the injustice that’s happening around the world. And in all of that and all that commotion, we forget about ourselves, that we’re also human, and that we also need rest. So thank you for sharing that piece of advice. But what would a podcast be with young people if not for a rapid fire?

I really don’t want to put you on the spot, but maybe I want to.

Tonni: That’s alright. I can take it.

Anoushka: So, Tonni, before we wrap up, I want to give you a set of few words and you are going to tell me what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I say it.

Tonni: Okay.

Anoushka: Ready?

Tonni: Yes.

Anoushka: You have 10 seconds. First, justice.

Tonni: Peace.

Anoushka: Youth.

Tonni: Joy.

Anoushka: Power.

Tonni: The people.

Anoushka: Hope.

Tonni: Joy again. I don’t know why joy is just on my mind.

Anoushka: Solidarity.

Tonni: Women.

Anoushka: Future.

Tonni: Youth

Anoushka: Feminism.

Tonni: All of us.

Anoushka: Resilience.

Tonni: Climate, I don’t know why that’s the one that comes to mind, but climate, yeah.

Anoushka: And finally, change.

Tonni: All of us, again, because we can all do it.

Anoushka: I love those answers and I think they really encapsulated everything, in a word, of all that you said. So thank you so much for having such an inspiring and brighter conversation with me today and for joining us here in this very, very busy and mind you, crazy week that we’re having at the General Assembly. What you really shared with us today reminds us that peace is not distant or an abstract concept. It is very lived, it’s feminist, and it’s built every single day by women and young people in their communities. To our listeners, thank you so much for tuning in today for this UNGA edition of the Conversations on Young Justice Leaders podcast, brought to you by Pathfinders at NYU CIC. I hope he learned, got inspired, and I hope that you continue to be beacons of peace in your communities and societies and take every word of advice that Tony has given to heart. I am commanding you to be so. Thank you. And I’ll see you again sometime soon.

Tonni: Bye Bye.