A peace walk or peace march, sometimes referred to as a peace pilgrimage, is a form of

nonviolent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

action where a person or group marches a set distance to raise awareness for particular issues important to the walkers.

350 km Long Peace Walk
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Kharlzada Kasrat Rai, the

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for Peace Walks, has devoted his life for the cause of Peace, Education, Health and Cultural activities. He has achieved a widespread fame for the sake of his noble cause. He has conducted several walks with the flag of peace within and beyond the boundaries of Pakistan. He is doing a 350 km Long Peace Walk from Wellington to Christchurch in commemoration of the Christchurch Mosques Attack. He is doing this walk voluntarily for the sake of humanity and Peace. The Peace Walk will start from

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by hi ...

on 5 March.

India

Starting in 1951,

Vinoba Bhave Vinayak Narahari, also known as Vinoba Bhave (; 11 September 1895 – 15 November 1982), was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. Often called ''Acharya'' (Sanskrit teacher), he is best known for the Bhoodan Movement. He is con ...

undertook a peace walk with many of his followers throughout India for land reform. He walked for more than a decade, asking landowners to consider him a son and give him one-sixth of their land for him to distribute to the poor. A peace walk campaign called "Freedom Walk" was organized by the Free Software Community in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

in 2008. Four volunteers walked from one end of the state to the other to promote

free software Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, n ...

.Freedom Walk
Freedom Walk, FSF Blog, 14 January 2009

Europe

During the Second World War, peace pilgrimages took place across Europe with the aim of bringing an end to the conflict. In Italy, pilgrims prayed at Loreto and Assisi. In Wales they went on pilgrimage to St David's Cathedral, in France they went on pilgrimage to Our Lady of Pontmain who had saved the French in an earlier war. In Ireland and Switzerland, pilgrims prayed that the war would not spread across their borders.

Hungary and Italy

In 2014, a group launched the first permanent peace walk route, which runs from

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

along the former division between Eastern and Western Europe, and ends in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

, Italy. Donol Corcoran of Ireland had completed the "European Peace Walk" six times by July 2019. A peace walk for the Unity of Hungary occurred in March 2014.

United Kingdom

In 1984, members of a

peace camp Peace camps are a form of physical protest camp that is focused on anti-war and anti-nuclear activity. They are set up outside military bases by members of the peace movement who oppose either the existence of the military bases themselves, the ...

walked 26 miles from

RAF Daws Hill RAF Daws Hill was a Ministry of Defence site, located near High Wycombe and Flackwell Heath, in Buckinghamshire, England, close to the M40 motorway. The station was established in 1942 on land owned by Wycombe Abbey School, for use by the Uni ...

to Naphill through country roads to raise money for '' The Angry Pacifist'' magazine.

United States

Various peace organizations throughout the United States organized marches to protest wars, including the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, on a regular basis. Sometimes these marches are coordinated to take place on the same day across the nation. In San Diego, the greatest number of anti-war protesters, an estimated 7,000, turned out for a demonstration on 15 March 2003, five days before the beginning of the Iraq War. Native Americans have organized numerous cross-country peace walks, including the "Longest Walk" in 1978 and the "Long Walk for Survival" in 1980. The projects raised awareness not only for peace, but environmental issues and protection of native sites. In 1984, several walks crossed the nation, including "On the Line," which traced the route of trains carrying nuclear weapons from

Bangor Base, Washington Bangor Base is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kitsap County, Washington, within U.S. Naval Base Kitsap on the Kitsap Peninsula. Its population was 6,054 at the 2010 census. Geography Bangor is located north of the center of Kitsap County ...

, to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, and the "Peace Pilgrimage of Europeans." The Carter-King Peace Walk at Freedom Park in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

opened in 2003. The 1.5-mile stretch connects the landmarks that commemorate the only two Georgia winners of 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 Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

and

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

International

From India across the world

From 1963 to 1965, two members of Gandhi's Sarvodaya movement,

Satish Kumar Satish Kumar (born 9 August 1936) is an Indian British activist and speaker. He has been a Jain monk, nuclear disarmament advocate and pacifist.'' ''Now living in England, Kumar is founder and Director of Programmes of the Schumacher College ...

and

Prabhakar Menon Prabhakar is an Indian given name and surname. Prabhakars are Indian Brahmins mostly limited to North Indian states like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. They belong to sage Vatsa. People with the name include: * Prabhakar, an Indi ...

, walked an estimated 8,000 miles from New Delhi to Washington, D.C., via Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Poland, Germany, France, and Belgium. They crossed the channel and Atlantic Ocean via ships. Bhave gave two gifts to Kumar and Menon: pennilessness, i.e.

voluntary poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

, and

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianis ...

. From 1982 through 1986, Prem Kumar walked more than 17,000 kilometers (about 10,500 miles) around the world for international peace and disarmament. He organized walks in India involving participants from all over the world and founded social service organizations.

Interfaith Pilgrimage for Peace and Life

The "Interfaith Pilgrimage for Peace and Life" started in

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

, Poland, on 8 December 1994, and ended in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

on the 50th anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing on 9 August 1995. It was led by

Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga , often referred to as just Nipponzan Myohoji or the Japan Buddha Sangha, is a Japanese new religious movement and activist group founded in 1917 by Nichidatsu Fujii, emerging from Nichiren Buddhism. "Nipponzan Myōhōji is a small Nichiren Buddh ...

Japanese Buddhist monks. The monks, however, were dwarfed in number by American, European, South American, and Japanese lay people. The trip was organized to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II as well as to be a witness to suffering in contemporary war zones. From Auschwitz, the group walked to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, then traveled through

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

. They crossed the front lines of the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

in Mostar and held a day of vigil, fasting and prayer there. The next leg took them through

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

, the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. The group traveled across the front lines in Cambodia, where they joined the Dhammayietra, an annual Cambodian peace walk led by Maha Ghosananda, known by some as the "Gandhi of Cambodia." They then visited war sites in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

before going to

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui ...

and Nagasaki. This walk was one of many peace pilgrimages organized by the

monks, but this one was among the largest and longest. More than 1,000 people participated in at least part of the pilgrimage, including Buddhists,

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s and

Jew 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""T ...

A Walk to Moscow

"A Walk to Moscow" was one of many walks for peace in the 20th century. They were specially organized by groups of

pacifists 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 campaigne ...

and peace activists who wanted to protest against the politics of war and the use of chemical, biological and

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

. In 1960–61, the

Committee for Non-Violent Action The Committee for Non-Violent Action (CNVA) was an American anti-war group, formed in 1957 to resist the US government's program of nuclear weapons testing. It was one of the first organizations to employ nonviolent direct action to protest again ...

organized the "San Francisco to Moscow Walk for Peace." The group covered some 6,000 miles in ten months and was able to walk through Russia. Walk organizer

Bradford Lyttle Bradford Lyttle (born November 20, 1927) is an American pacifist and peace activist. He was an organizer with the Committee for Non-Violent Action of several major campaigns against militarism, including "Omaha Action", against land-based nuclea ...

wrote a book on the project called ''You Come with Naked Hands.'' In 1981–83, a group walked across the United States and Europe to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to show solidarity with all people and to demonstrate in a grassroots way that all people are linked by their right to live on the earth in peace and safety. This walk was conceived by organizers while on another peace walk called "A Walk for Survival", which went from

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a po ...

, to

, in 1980. While at a requested meeting with the Russian Consulate in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, co-organizer Jack Chalmers asked if the group continued to walk eastward across the U.S. and then to Europe, would it be allowed to walk to Moscow? The Consulate official answered, "Of course." So when "A Walk for Survival" ended at the site of a Trident nuclear submarine base in Bangor, organizers immediately started planning "A Walk to Moscow." The project began in Bangor on 1 March 1981, and reached the East Coast in time to stay for the winter in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Members flew to Europe in March 1982 and walked across the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. Members took some side trips to Ireland and

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

by bus, returning to the starting point so the walking route could continue uninterrupted. Advance teams were sent a few weeks ahead to cities and towns along a prospective route to organize media opportunities, speaking engagements and accommodations. Decisions were made by complete consensus, which often led to long and stormy meetings. The

German Democratic Republic 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 **G ...

had refused entry to the group, so members walked south to

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

and stayed there for the winter while negotiating for visas to enter

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and the USSR. "A Walk to Moscow" (the indefinite article, rather than the definite "The Walk," was important to many original walkers, as it implied that it was only one initiative and others would hopefully follow. The distinction was, however, lost on people in the Eastern countries as Slavonic languages do not have words for "an" or "the.") spent nearly a year in Europe working from an old mill house in

Regnitzlosau Regnitzlosau is a municipality in Upper Franconia in the district of Hof in Bavaria in Germany, on the border with the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically kn ...

, Germany. It was difficult to get the governments then in the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

Bloc to allow the group to walk through their territory. While some group members negotiated, other walkers visited places on foot in Germany and gave talks to local peace groups. Some members got involved in

passive resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, c ...

, chaining themselves to railings over

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

in Germany, and others fasted for peace in the world. Some went to Denmark to meet with peace groups and talk about the walk. In 1983, visas were obtained for Czechoslovakia and Poland, and a continuous walking route was planned and successfully carried out as far as the border between Poland and the USSR. Relations with official peace groups in those countries were tricky; the Czech government tried to incorporate the initiative into its showpiece pro-

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...

1983 conference in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. However, the group did not participate, although a few members lobbied delegates outside and were invited in for one discussion. Walking across the USSR was not permitted, however. The group entered and transited to

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

, then

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

, hoping for some compromise in negotiations. But that did not happen. At this point, many members chose to return and not go to Moscow; some tried to walk to Moscow anyway but were immediately apprehended and sent to rejoin the others in Minsk. When the walk finished, some people from the group talked at a CND rally about their work and the passive resistance movement. The group membership was international, as people came from all over the world to join and make a difference. Some Walk to Moscow participants later met with other walks that crossed the U.S. and Europe, including

Walk of the People - A Pilgrimage for Life Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...

, which occurred from 1984 to 1985. That project was also not allowed to walk in Russia, but some members rode a train to Moscow to meet with officials and ordinary people.

Women Cross DMZ

The Women Cross DMZ (

Korean demilitarized zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone ( Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ...

) group, which included noted American feminist and activist

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Steinem was a c ...

laureate

Mairead Maguire Mairead MaguireFairmichael, p. 28: "Mairead Corrigan, now Mairead Maguire, married her former brother-in-law, Jackie Maguire, and they have two children of their own as well as three by Jackie's previous marriage to Ann Maguire." (born 27 Januar ...

, and organizer Christine Ahn, conducted a peace symposium in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

in May 2015. The all-women group was allowed to cross the DMZ, separating North and South Korea, for peace a few days after the symposium. On 24 May 2015, International Women's Day for Disarmament, thirty women— including feminist leader

, two Nobel Peace laureates and retired Colonel Ann Wright— from 15 different countries linked arms with 10,000 Korean women, stationing themselves on both sides of the DMZ to urge a formal end to the Korean War (1950-1953), the reunification of families divided during the war, and a peace building process with women in leadership positions to resolve decades of hostility. It was unusual for South Korea and North Korea to reach consensus on allowing peace activists to enter the tense border area, one of the world's most dangerous places, where hundreds of thousands of troops are stationed in a heavily mined zone that divides South Korea from nuclear North Korea. In the weeks leading up to the walk, feminist Gloria Steinem told the press, "It’s hard to imagine any more physical symbol of the insanity of dividing human beings." On the day of the crossing, South Korea refused to give the women permission to walk through Panmunjom, a border town where the 1953 truce was signed, so the women had to eventually cross the border by bus. Nevertheless, Steinem labeled the crossing a success. "We have accomplished what no one said can be done, which is to be a trip for peace, for reconciliation, for human rights and a trip to which both governments agreed." In addition to Steinem, participants in the crossing included organizer Christine Ahn from Hawaii; feminist Suzuyo Takazato from Okinawa; Amnesty International human rights lawyer Erika Guevara of Mexico; Liberian peace and reconciliation advocate

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 ...

; Philippines lawmaker

Liza Maza Liza Maza (born 8 September 1957) is a Filipina activist who was the lead convenor of the National Anti-Poverty Commission under the Duterte administration from August 2016 until her resignation in August 2018. She was a member of the Philippine ...

; Northern Ireland peace activist

and Colonel Ann Wright, a retired officer who resigned from the U.S. military to protest the US invasion of Iraq. Supporters of the crossing met criticism with insistence that war, which divides and destroys families, impacts women, as well as men; therefore, if governments led by men cannot or will not lead the peace process, grassroots women have every right to take to the streets—and even the DMZ. Participants said the crossing focused global attention on the unnecessarily protracted Korean War, with support from world leaders, including UN Secretary General

Ban Ki-Moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Ministe ...

, Archbishop

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbish ...

, the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

, former US President

and South Korean lawmakers. For Ahn and the others, the crossing symbolized a reaffirmation of peace through dialogue, as opposed to an escalating arms race. Crossing participant Kozue Akibayashi, International President, Women's League for Peace and Freedom, wrote, "Addressing the division and bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula is not only the task for North and South Korea, but a responsibility of the international community." Akibayashi said Women Cross DMZ strongly condemns the North Korean government's human rights violations while recognizing that such violations must be viewed through the lens of a "society where the priorities of the military outweigh the basic needs of its people." Akibayashi also featured as a keynote speaker at the first annual Peace Education Conference, held virtually in September 2021.

References

External links

European Peace Walk

Blog on Peace Walks and related issues
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peace Walk Anti-war movement Anti–nuclear weapons movement Nonviolence Articles containing video clips

350 km Long Peace Walk New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

India

Europe

Hungary and Italy

United Kingdom

United States

International

From India across the world

Interfaith Pilgrimage for Peace and Life

A Walk to Moscow

Women Cross DMZ

See also

References

External links

350 km Long Peace Walk
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...