Prospects and challenges for women’s roles in conflict prevention and reconciliation in Lebanon

Lessons from leading women peacebuilders in Tripoli and Baalbek.

In 2021, International Alert, with the support of UN Women, conducted a gender-sensitive conflict analysis, focusing on Tripoli and Bekaa, as part of the Creating Space for Women Peacebuilders project.

The analysis showed how unresolved issues from the past, particularly the civil war, compromise peace and reconciliation processes and limit women’s central role in these processes.

Additional research by International Alert revealed a distinct disenfranchisement of women and young women and men from lower socio-economic classes and peripheral areas from meaningful participation in peace and security.

Gender, class, age and nationality continue to be points of division and tension among communities in Lebanon, often triggered by memories from the civil war. These issues hinder cross-community and intergenerational dialogue exchanges and the capacity of women to lead community groups to build bridges across divides and work towards a collective peace memory.

The policy brief includes findings from the analysis carried out within the framework of the project, lessons learned from its implementation, and the perspectives and experiences of the women’s networks that took part. It also lays out lessons learned on advancing the women, peace and security agenda, dealing with the gendered impacts of the civil war and developing spaces for women-led conflict prevention in Lebanon.