The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make known the causes of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

and work for a permanent peace" and to unite women worldwide who oppose

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination w ...

and

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour ** Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery ** Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploi ...

. WILPF has national sections in 37 countries. The WILPF is headquartered in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and maintains a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

office in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Organizational history

WILPF developed out of the International Women's Congress against

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

that took place in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, in 1915 and the formation of the International Women's Committee of Permanent Peace;Paull, John (2018
The Women Who Tried to Stop the Great War: The International Congress of Women at The Hague 1915
In A. H. Campbell (Ed.), Global Leadership Initiatives for Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding (pp. 249-266). (Ch.12) Hershey, PA: IGI Global. the name WILPF was not chosen until 1919. The first WILPF president,

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage ...

, had previously founded the Woman's Peace Party in the United States, in January 1915, this group later became the US section of WILPF. Along with Jane Addams, Marian Cripps and

Margaret E. Dungan Margaret E. Dungan (c. 1884–1982) was one of the founders of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She was a suffragette, a vegetarian, and a war tax resister. She began refusing to pay war taxes in 1940, making her one of th ...

were also founding members. The British

Maude Royden Agnes Maude Royden (23 November 1876 – 30 July 1956), later known as Maude Royden-Shaw, was an English preacher, suffragist and campaigner for the ordination of women. Early life and education Royden was born in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, the ...

remained vice president of the international WILPF. As of 1920 the US section of WILPF was headquartered in New York City.

Marian Cripps, Baroness Parmoor Marian Emily Cripps, Baroness Parmoor (née Ellis; 6 January 1878 – 6 July 1952) was a British anti-war activist. Early life and wartime activities Marian Ellis was born in Nottingham, one of twin daughters of Quaker and radical parents, th ...

, who later served as president of its British branch.

Richard J. Evans Sir Richard John Evans (born 29 September 1947) is a British historian of 19th- and 20th-century Europe with a focus on Germany. He is the author of eighteen books, including his three-volume ''The Third Reich Trilogy'' (2003–2008). Evans was ...

described the founders of WILPF as "a tiny band of courageous and principled women on the far-left fringes of bourgeois-liberal feminism". Furthermore, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom is opposed to wars and international conflicts. The major movements of the league have been: open letter to UN secretary general to formally end the Korean War, a statement on weapons and an international day for the total elimination of nuclear weapons,

gender-based violence Gender-related violence or gender-based violence includes any kind of violence directed against people due to their gender or gender identification. Types of gender-related violence include: * Violence against women (sometimes referred to simply as ...

and women

human rights defender A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

Woman's Peace Party (USA)

A forerunner to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the Woman's Peace Party (WPP) was formed in January, 1915 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, at a meeting called by

and

Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt (; January 9, 1859 Fowler, p. 3 – March 9, 1947) was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920. Catt ...

. The approximately 3,000 women attendees approved a platform calling for the extension of suffrage to women and for a conference of

neutral countries A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type of ...

to offer continuous

mediation Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...

as a way of ending war. WPP sent representatives, among them the hounralist and novelist Mary Heaton Vorse, to a subsequent International Women's Congress for Peace and Freedom, held in The Hague from April 28–30, 1915.

International Congress of Women, The Hague, 1915

The 1915 International Congress of Women was organized by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

Anita Augspurg Anita Theodora Johanna Sophie Augspurg (22 September 1857 – 20 December 1943) was a German jurist, actress, writer, activist of the radical feminist movement and a pacifist. Biography Augspurg was born the youngest daughter of the lawyer ...

, Germany's first female

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

, and

Lida Gustava Heymann Lida Gustava Heymann (15 March 1868 – 31 July 1943) was a German feminist, pacifist and women's rights activist. Together with her partner Anita Augspurg she was one of the most prominent figures in the bourgeois women's movement. She wa ...

(1868–1943) at the invitation of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

, feminist and

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

Aletta Jacobs Aletta Henriëtte Jacobs (; 9 February 1854 – 10 August 1929) was a Dutch physician and women's suffrage activist. As the first woman officially to attend a Dutch university, she became one of the first female physicians in the Netherlands. I ...

to protest the

then raging in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and to suggest ways to prevent war in the future. The Congress opened on April 28, wound up on May 1, and was attended by 1,136 participants from both neutral and

belligerent A belligerent is an individual, group, country, or other entity that acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. The term comes from the Latin ''bellum gerere'' ("to wage war"). Unlike the use of ''belligerent'' as an adjective meaning ...

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

s. It adopted much of the platform of WPP and established an International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace (ICWPP) with

as president. WPP soon became the US Section of ICWPP.

Second International Women's Congress for Peace and Freedom, Zürich, 1919

met with President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

and is said to have worked out some common ground on

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

. However, at their second international congress, held in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

in 1919, ICWPP denounced the final terms of the

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

ending World War I as a scheme of

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

of the victors over the vanquished that would sow the seeds of another

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

. They decided to make their committee permanent and renamed it the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. WILPF moved its headquarters to

to be near the proposed site of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

, although WILPF did not endorse empowering that organization to conduct food

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...

s or to use military pressure to enforce its resolutions. The League called for international disarmament and an end to economic imperialism. The US branch of WILPF grew in recognition and membership during the post-WWI era, despite some attacks on the organisation as "unpatriotic" during the

First Red Scare The First Red Scare was a period during History of the United States (1918–1945), the early 20th-century history of the United States marked by a widespread fear of Far-left politics, far-left movements, including Bolshevik, Bolshevism and ...

. The WILPF supported treaties such as the

Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...

and the Kellogg-Briand Pact, regarding them as stepping stones to a peaceful world order. During the 1930s,

Vera Brittain Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir ''Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the First ...

was the WILPF's Vice-President. Prior to the outbreak of World War Two, the League also supported measures to provide relief for Europe's

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community. Although WIPLF membership is restricted to women, several male peace activists have contributed to WIPLF meetings and publications, including

Bart de Ligt Bartholomeus de Ligt (17 July 1883 – 3 September 1938) was a Dutch anarcho-pacifist and antimilitarist. He is chiefly known for his support of conscientious objectors. Life and work Born on 17 July 1883 in Schalkwijk, Utrecht, his father was ...

and

J. D. Bernal John Desmond Bernal (; 10 May 1901 – 15 September 1971) was an Irish scientist who pioneered the use of X-ray crystallography in molecular biology. He published extensively on the history of science. In addition, Bernal wrote popular boo ...

. Two WILPF leaders have received the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

for their peace efforts and international outlook and work with WILPF: Jane Addams, in 1931 and

Emily Greene Balch Emily Greene Balch (January 8, 1867 – January 9, 1961) was an American economist, sociologist and pacifist. Balch combined an academic career at Wellesley College with a long-standing interest in social issues such as poverty, child labor, a ...

in 1946.

WILPF and the United Nations

WILPF has had

Consultative Status The consultative status is a phrase whose use can be traced to the founding of the United Nations and is used within the UN community to refer to "Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Soc ...

(category B) with the

UN Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

(ECOSOC) since 1948 and has Special Consultative Relations with the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

(UNESCO) and the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...

(UNCTAD), as well as special relations with the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

(ILO),

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO),

United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

(UNICEF) and other organizations and agencies. WILPF has advocates and lobbies for the

democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a ful ...

of the UN, the

Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...

and all other UN organizations and agencies; monitors Security Council and

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

activities in order to promote reforms; opposes the

privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

and corporatisation of the UN, especially the global compact with corporations; and advocates for the abolition of the Security Council

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

WILPF today

Mission and vision

Work areas *Building the movement *Redefining security *Leveraging feminist perspectives on peace *Promoting socio-economic justice Broad areas of concern are: *Global programs *Human Rights Programme * Women, Peace and Security Programme *Disarmament Programme *Crisis Response Programme

PeaceWomen

The Women in Peace and Security Programme (WIPSEN or "PeaceWomen") was founded in 2000. It monitors the UN's work in field of women, peace and security, taken part in advocacy and outreach. WIPSEN-Africa was founded in 2006 by Liberian activist

Leymah Gbowee Leymah Roberta Gbowee (born 1 February 1972) is a Liberian peace activist responsible for leading a women's nonviolent peace movement, Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace that helped bring an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. Her ef ...

, Nigerian activist Thelma Ekiyor, and Ecoma Bassey Alaga, and is based in Ghana.

Famous Members

WILPF's list of members include

Gertrud Woker Gertrud Johanna Woker (16 December 1878 – 13 September 1968) was a Swiss suffragette, biochemist and toxicologist, and peace activist. She wrote for over twenty years itemizing the dangers of chemical substances on the human body. She campaigne ...

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was aw ...

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...

Madeleine Rees Madeleine Selina Rees, OBE is a British lawyer and current Secretary General of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She has spoken out against human rights abuses in Bosnia by peacekeepers and others working for the United ...

Madeleine Zabriskie Doty Madeleine Zabriskie Doty, JD, PhD (August 24, 1877 – October 14, 1963) was an American journalist, pacifist, civil libertarian, and advocate for the rights of prisoners, as well as the International Secretary for the Women's International League ...

, Cornelia Ramondt-Hirschmann,

Selma Meyer Sara Cato (Selma) Meyer (also Meijer) (Amsterdam, 6 July 1890 – Berlin, 11 February 1941) was a Dutch pacifist, feminist and resistance fighter. Early years and working life She was born into a Jewish family in Amsterdam. Her father was Mori ...

, Brandy G. Robinson,

Margaret Hills Margaret Hills (née Robertson 1882 – 1967) was a British teacher, suffragist organiser, feminist and socialist. She was first female councillor on Stroud Urban District Council and later served as a Councillor on Gloucestershire County Counci ...

(née Robertson),

Sheyene Gerardi Sheyene Gerardi (Born April 13) is an Italo-Venezuelan former actress, producer, media proprietor, and mining executive. She is the Lead of Robotics Outreach at NASA (CLASS), where she co-founded the NASA´s Planetary Landing Team in 2018. Gerard ...

, Shina Inoue Kan,

Harriet Connor Brown Harriet Connor Brown (September 11, 1872 – July 9, 1962) was an American women's rights activist and an author. She was the first woman to win the Woodford Prize from Cornell University. Brown wrote for multiple newspapers and the United S ...

, and

, Kathleen Innes.

Congresses and Congress Resolutions

WILPF's international records are held at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

. They contain the reports of the congresses.

Notes

External links

*
WILPF Australia Section official websiteJane Addams Peace AssociationPeace WomenReaching Critical WillWomen's International League for Peace and Freedom, International Headquarters records
University of Colorado at Boulder

Collection DG 043, Swarthmore College
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, British Section records
London School of Economics, Archives Division *Women's International League for Peace and Freedom selected papers and photos included i
Peace and Internationalism Digitised Collection
LSE Digital Library
Records, 1915-1977.Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom Collection (ARS.0056), Stanford Archive of Recorded SoundArchives of the British section of WILPF
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Women's International League for Peace and Freedom Liberal feminist organizations Organizations established in 1915 1915 establishments in the United States Opposition to World War I Peace organizations