Women\u27s empowerment for peacebuilding

Some insight as to what factors empower women to work for peace building was gained. The factors that were shared by the majority of peace builders in the study were their inner sense of duty to humanity, a spiritual/ religious practice or belief, and their feeling of interconnectedness to their world. Women peace builders find others and themselves as a source of empowerment. On the other hand, however dependent women are on others for their empowerment, in the end, it is the individual’s commitment to herself and humanity that fuels her passion in working for peace. Through a study consisting of interviews with ten women peace builders of differing generations and questionnaires with twenty-three non-activist women, an understanding of what empowers peace builders and non-activist women is collected. This research is just the beginning of understanding the growing need for the inner transformation of each individual in replacing the dominant war culture with a culture of peace. With hope in the actions of each empowered individual, the likelihood for peace is positive