Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to promoting women's rights, social justice, and the elimination of all forms of violence worldwide. Founded informally in 1915 by a group of female antiwar activists, including notable figures like Jane Addams, WILPF has expanded its influence to over forty countries by the 2010s. The organization arose from the Woman's Peace Party, which sought to advocate for peaceful resolution during World War I through international collaboration among women.
WILPF aims to establish a global society characterized by peace, justice, and equity, where cultural diversity is celebrated and sustainable resources are prioritized. It opposes violence in all forms and actively promotes democratic participation. The organization is also engaged in global initiatives, such as the PeaceWomen project, which empowers women to take active roles in conflict prevention and peacekeeping. Through its consultative relationship with the United Nations and various other organizations, WILPF works toward implementing resolutions that address the unique impacts of violent conflict on women and girls. The organization's centennial was celebrated in 2015, reflecting on its history and vision for future peace efforts.
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization whose mission is to achieve full rights for women, social justice throughout the world, and an end to all scopes of violence. The organization seeks to ensure peace, freedom, and justice for all by establishing the ethical and societal conditions necessary for these ideals. Informally established in 1915 by a group of international female antiwar activists, the organization expanded its activities to around fifty countries by the 2020s. The ultimate goal of each chapter is to inspire the human race to achieve global peace.
History
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom was borne out of the Woman's Peace Party (WPP), a female activist group that opposed World War I. In January 1915, Jane Addams and Carrie Chapman Catt called a meeting with more than three thousand women in Washington, DC, to discuss the role of women activists in antiwar efforts. This meeting established the WPP, with Addams serving as chairperson. The WPP eventually recruited a number of prominent women across the country to form the National Peace Federation (NPF). The NPF petitioned President Woodrow Wilson on multiple occasions, encouraging the president to hold peaceful mediation with members of the warring nations. Hearing of the NPF's efforts, a group of female antiwar activists from the Hague in the Netherlands invited Addams, Catt, and other delegates overseas to participate in an international conference discussing the promotion of mediation to end World War I.
The International Congress of Women took place at the Hague on April 28, 1915. Delegates from twelve countries attended the congress, which held forums urging peaceful mediation among international political officials to resolve the conflict. Free trade and sea travel were also discussed, as was the dissolution of secret treaties. Before the congress came to a close, the delegates formed the International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace (ICWPP). After returning to the United States, Addams, Catt, and several other WPP members met with President Wilson and discussed the possibility of ending the war peacefully. Although they failed to convince the president and his aides, the women continued to persuade the public to favor peace over conflict.
The group managed to gain the support of automobile magnate Henry Ford, who provided funding for their next congress in Sweden in 1916. Delegates from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States attended this gathering. Another ICWPP peace conference was held in Zurich in May 1919. The conference lasted six days and passed several resolutions calling for total disarmament, free trade, and several other pacifist endeavors. ICWPP then established itself as a permanent organization, renamed the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Addams was elected the WILPF's first president, and a US section was established in New York City in November 1919. In the decades after World War I, the WILPF continued to champion world peace efforts, establishing itself in dozens of countries around the globe.
WILPF Positions and Efforts
The WILPF's vision is a future society of global peace, where all humans know social, economic, and racial justice. The organization also aims for a world where people's needs are catered to fairly and equitably through all-inclusive democracy, cultural diversity is tolerated and celebrated, and society survives on sustainable resources. The organization opposes all forms of violence and objects to the use of firearms and other dangerous weaponry. The WILPF encourages the formation of international connections and provides educational resources to women around the world. The WILPF continued to hold congresses worldwide in the decades following its formation. Two WILPF presidents, including Addams, have earned Nobel Peace Prizes for their efforts.
PeaceWomen, a project sponsored by the WILPF, encourages females to take active roles in preventing conflict and maintaining peace. PeaceWomen monitors the implementation of certain United Nations (UN) resolutions focusing on the impact violent conflict can have on women and girls around the world. The WILPF initiated a consultative relationship with the UN in 1948, working with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The WILPF also had special relations with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and many other organizations.
The International Congress of Women celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary on April 28, 2015. The WILPF returned to the Hague on that day to honor the gathering that led to its creation. The 2015 congress paid tribute to a number of female peacemakers throughout the world and discussed its peace agenda for the next one hundred years. In 2022, the WILPF's thirty-third International Congress was held virtually for the first time. Following the meeting, the WILPF's campaigns focused on transforming mindsets, preventing violence, and a feminist movement, including the Campaign for Palestine advocating for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Bibliography
"About Us." Women's International League for Peace & Freedom, www.wilpf.org/about-us. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
Alonso, Harriet Hyman. Peace as a Women's Issue: A History of the U.S. Movement for World Peace and Women's Rights. Syracuse UP, 1993, pp. 80–119.
"Critical Issues." Peace Women, www.peacewomen.org/why-WPS/critical-issues. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
Ford, Liz. "Centenary Stand: Female Activists Head for The Hague to Set a New Peace Agenda." Guardian, 27 Apr. 2015, www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/apr/27/female-activists-hague-new-peace-agenda-1915-congress-of-women. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
"History." Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, www.wilpf.org/about-us/history. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
Rupp, Leila J. "Transnational Women's Movements." EGO/European History Online, 16 June 2011, www.ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/transnational-movements-and-organisations/international-social-movements/leila-j-rupp-transnational-womens-movements. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
"Vision and Mission." Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, wilpfus.org/story/vision-and-mission. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
"Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom." Philadelphia Encyclopedia, philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/womens-international-league-for-peace-and-freedom. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.