Inside Geneva: Women in Peace

Episode Date: March 31, 2026
Host: Imogen Foulkes (SWI swissinfo.ch)
Guests: Sarah Hellmuller (Research Professor, Geneva Graduate Institute) and Hiba Casas (Founding Executive Director, Principles for Peace Foundation)

Episode Overview

This episode of Inside Geneva explores the critical role—and frequent absence—of women in contemporary peace negotiations, particularly focusing on high-profile conflicts like Gaza, Iran, Russia, and Ukraine. Imogen Foulkes leads a nuanced conversation with two peace-building experts, Sarah Hellmuller and Hiba Casas, interrogating what meaningful peace really means, why women remain sidelined, and the consequences of their exclusion. The discussion advances beyond statistics to reflect on legitimacy, inclusivity, and the risk of peace turning into a mere transactional exercise.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Current Peace Process Landscape

• Global Context: Record-high number of armed conflicts, with 130 ongoing worldwide—double ten years ago ([03:59]).
• Recent High-Profile Mediation Efforts: Indirect Israel-Hamas talks and the involvement of US mediators (including Jared Kushner) noted, but women are absent from the negotiations' highest levels ([01:12], [01:28]).
• The Board of Peace: Donald Trump’s role as “chairman for life” spotlights new, exclusive peace initiatives that lack gender diversity ([07:12]).

Defining "Peace"

• Negative vs. Positive Peace:
  • Negative peace: Absence of physical violence.
  • Positive peace: Sustainable, long-term peace involving good governance and stable society-state relations ([05:11] - [05:34]).
• Quote:
  • “Negative peace would be the end of violence... Positive peace would mean longer term sustainable peace... some form of good governance in the long term and stable state society relationships.”
    — Sarah Hellmuller ([05:11])

Systemic Exclusion of Women

• By the Numbers:
  • Under 10% of negotiators and roughly 14% of mediators are women in 2023 ([11:50], [01:45]).
• Roots of Exclusion:
  • Peace talks focus on “elite actors,” those with proximity to “force and power,” often men ([11:50]).
  • Inclusion often becomes a “tick the box exercise” with little impact on actual outcomes ([12:37]).
• Quote:
  • “Is it about counting the women or making women voices and perspectives count?”
    — Hiba Casas ([12:37])
• Call for Change:
  • Need for inclusivity that is meaningful and influential, not just representative.

Transactional vs. Comprehensive Peace

• Shift in Approach:
  • Trend away from comprehensive, inclusive peacemaking (dominant in the 1990s) to bilateral, short-term deals focused on elite (primarily male) actors ([13:58] - [14:54]).
• Risks:
  • Exclusivity reduces legitimacy and sustainability of agreements.
• Quote:
  • “It’s very exclusive. It doesn’t necessarily aspire to also include broader societal actors in peace negotiations, peace building, but it's just focus on the main belligerents and mostly on male military actors.”
    — Sarah Hellmuller ([13:58])

Importance of Legitimacy and Implementation

• Evidence-based Insights:
  • Inclusion of women and civil society leads to longer-lasting peace agreements (e.g., Colombia) ([15:15]).
  • Thirty percent of peace agreements go unimplemented; ninety percent of conflicts reboot in countries with prior civil war ([16:45]).
• Beyond Ceasefires:
  • Achieving ceasefires is no longer the challenge; implementing and sustaining peace agreements is ([16:45]).
• Notable Example:
  • Gaza as a test case: moving from a ceasefire to meaningful reconstruction and dignity for people ([16:45]).

Women’s Ongoing Work for Peace—Beyond the Headlines

• Invisible Labor:
  • Women continue peacebuilding efforts “every day in different conflict contexts,” albeit away from performative, high-level negotiations ([20:20]).
• Quote:
  • “Women are still working for peace every day in different conflict contexts. They are still having peace processes, being involved... maybe not at this transactional, deal making level... but these activities have not just stopped.”
    — Sarah Hellmuller ([20:20])

Notable Quotes and Moments

• On the Dangers of Exclusion:
  “If a peace process is not inclusive, how legitimate is it? How can peace be sustained if the process is not inclusive?”
  — Imogen Foulkes ([13:33])

• On “Ticking the Box”:
  “It becomes a bit of a ticking the box exercise. Is it about counting the women or making women voices and perspectives count?”
  — Hiba Casas ([12:37])

• On the State of Global Peace:
  “We see a shift away from this kind of way to address conflicts towards a transactional peacemaking approach... focused on bilateral dealmaking, short-term, so more of the negative peace reduction of violence objective. Plus, as you mentioned, it’s very exclusive.”
  — Sarah Hellmuller ([13:58])

• On the Imperative of Inclusion:
  “The women of Gaza, Russia or Ukraine will have to live daily with the consequences of the decisions made by those men in suits or uniforms.”
  — Imogen Foulkes ([19:41])

• On Sustainable Peace:
  “At the heart of a sustainable peace, there needs to be two key anchors. One is legitimacy, trust in institutions, accountable governance, accountable security. And the second part is also [that] people experience peace in their daily life.”
  — Hiba Casas ([16:45])

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:58 – 01:50: Setting the context—current peacemaking efforts and women’s lack of presence.
• 04:50 – 05:34: Definitions: negative vs. positive peace.
• 07:12 – 11:28: Critique and reaction to the “Board of Peace” and Trump’s peacemaking leadership.
• 11:50 – 13:33: Systemic barriers to women’s participation and the pitfalls of tokenism.
• 13:58 – 14:54: The shift from inclusive to exclusive, transactional peace processes.
• 15:15 – 16:45: Examples of successful inclusive peace processes and challenges of implementation.
• 19:41 – 20:20: The argument for including women and the ongoing but invisible work they do for peacebuilding.
• 20:20 – 21:33: Final reflections—reclaiming comprehensive, value-rooted peacemaking.

Tone & Closing Reflections

The conversation on Inside Geneva is measured, analytical, and urgent—reflecting frustration with the slow progress and ongoing exclusion of women, but also offering hope through evidence of what works. Both guests stress the operational and moral necessity of including women and civil society in the peace process, not just for gender parity but for legitimacy, effectiveness, and sustainability of peace itself. The real test, listeners are told, is not brokering new deals but ensuring real, lived peace for all—especially those who too often don’t have a seat at the table.

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The series will next discuss the future of multilateralism and whether the United Nations can survive in its current form.