Interfaith meeting of female leaders at UN held to promote peace
As war wages from Ukraine to the Middle East, one Iranian-American woman refuses to allow the inevitable strife of conflict stop her from building bridges of peace.
Shirin Taber, founder of Empower Women Media and the Abraham Women's Alliance, put on an event at the United Nations in New York, bringing together interfaith leaders of Arab, Jewish, Muslim and Christian backgrounds to dialogue with one another and find common ground for peace.
Taber is a longtime advocate for women led reconciliation.
"As we know, women are often the first responders to conflict, and we knew that if we could get women in the room together, mothers, sisters, daughters, that we could actually activate peace and re-ignite the Abraham Accords," Taber explained.
From the painful dialogue around the Israel-Gaza conflict, to the ongoing hate crimes affecting nearly every people group in the United States, the gathering included panels and experiential presentations.
One such presentation included a poem written and presented by CBS Bay Area reporter and poet Loureen Ayyoub, entitled "What If," a rhythmic reminder of the sacred value every human equally carries, regardless of one's cultural background.
One of the several films featured included a Jewish woman and a Palestinian woman openly sharing their pain from the conflict with one another. Taber believes having the uncomfortable conversations is the critical step needed for peace-building.
"I believe women have to keep contending for peace, because if women don't, who else will do it? As Michelle Obama said it could take 300 years to empower women. We think it could happen sooner. And we think where the world is at today, where there is so much division, that women could actually drive that change," she explained.
A study from the International Peace Institute found that peace agreements are 35% more likely to last at least 15 years when women are involved in the negotiation process.
"Unity is possible, it's getting people in the room together, who are maybe perhaps back to back, getting them face to face, having those conversations, building trust, and creating a path forward."
And forward is the only direction, Taber hopes, such efforts, will take the world.