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TAn alert from the US Section of the
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
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Note: An earlier version of this email had an incorrect date for the end-of-year party. The correct date is December 17.
WILPF women mobilize
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Dear WILPF US members,
As we start to close this hard year, I feel a sense of cautious optimism. From the democrat wins in last month’s special elections. To the shift I’m seeing among peers from powerlessness to determination. And of course, the palpable energy from WILPF women turning out in communities across the nation. Thank you for the honor of leading WILPF US in these heady times. I am inspired by all that you do.
In Seattle, I recently met with WILPF members (pictured above left to right: Marcia Legro, Deb Goldman, Shadan Kapri, Linda, Jan Edwards, Joan Dinkelspiel, and Cindy Domingo) and heard that human rights, health equity and immigrant rights were some top issues for local members. Meanwhile, the Triangle branch celebrated its 90th anniversary! From participating in the Poor People’s campaign over the years to mobilizing to protect immigrant communities from ICE today, WILPF members in the Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Raleigh “Triangle” are leading the way. The Des Moines branch organized an Armistice Day event for Gaza. Fresno members distributed WILPF’s Peace is/Peace is Not campaign messages at local events. Judith Arnold is rebooting the WILPF New Jersey branch, Julie Leak is rebuilding our New York branch, and Gloria McMillan is nurturing a campus branch at the University of Arizona. Branches across the country are mobilizing!
With every member that comes back to WILPF, with every new person that joins us, I feel more hopeful. With 110 years of activism under our belt, we WILPF women know the arc is long. With perseverance, we are pushing back against the harmful tide. With allies, we will change the course of history. Because WILPF women mobilize.
| Join our end-of-year party and re-envisioned logo unveil! | |
It has been a long year. As wise WILPF women stated at our Voices of Resilience event: “To sustain our work we need determination, and we also need joy.” With that said, please join Shelby Young (WILPF’s wonderful field organizer) and me for a special end-of-year party we’re organizing for all WILPF US members on December 17 at 4 pm PT / 6 pm CT / 7 pm ET. RSVP here to save your spot!
Here’s what will be on our party platter:
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Highlights of WILPF successes in this 110th year
- Stories from members across the country on what has kept them motivated, including a special message from Young WILPF US
- Looking to the future as we unveil WILPF US’s re-envisioned culture of care, and verbal and visual identity, including our revitalized logo!
- A sneak peak at national mobilization plans and partnerships we’re developing
- And a collective discussion on what we want to do together in 2026 to stand for democracy
Prepare your favorite party beverage and RSVP for our end-of-year party!
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On a much more serious note, last month, I met with WILPF Palestine to discuss the National People’s Tribunal on Gaza that WILPF US is developing – to demand accountability from US actors complicit in the genocide in Gaza – in the absence of government and institutional accountability. One of the WILPF Palestine members I met was an extraordinary young woman named Dalia. I asked her: “What do you want people to know?”
She said: “I want to remind people: We are under occupation. We are not against peace. We want to live a normal life. To have a routine. Not checkpoints or hearing guns. Yesterday, I was walking down the street and there were military cars everywhere. We live in constant fear. We need resilience and strength to fight this. Because we were never against peace. We are just fighting for our land and defending our family. This is the truth.”
Dalia’s words were heavy on my mind when a UN resolution was approved in the Security Council last month which reinforces the US-Israeli plan to continue the occupation of Gaza and the Palestinian territories. WILPF condemns this decision and reaffirms our position in solidarity with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. We remain steadfast in supporting our partners, members, and activists, and will continue to advocate for a feminist definition of peace – one that includes Palestinians, guided by their understanding of justice and peace. Visit WILPF International’s dedicated webpage on Palestine for resources, tools, and research on Palestine and demilitarization. And stay tuned for more information in the new year about WILPF US’s National People’s Tribunal on Palestine and ways WILPF members can get involved.
| Building a more inclusive and accessible WILPF | | |
I have a 20-year-old stepson who is spectacular. He is a young, BIPOC, gay man, who has become a social justice warrior and launched his own non-profit. Many times, as he honed his voice and his power, I asked him: “Who are you bringing into decision making rooms with you? Who are you sharing your power with so they can lead with you, perhaps even instead of you?”
To enable justice for all, we need more diverse voices in WILPF. So that we can use our platforms and networks to lift other people’s voices – especially underrepresented and marginalized voices – to ensure they are at decision making tables with us, perhaps even instead of us.
Some of the greatest wisdom that bubbled to the surface from members during our re-envisioning process was the need to change the way we invite new people into WILPF in our communities. Not just asking: “Can you come to our meeting?” Instead, “Can I join your meeting to share a WILPF idea and seek your input,” or “Can we meet for coffee at a place that’s convenient for you?” In the same vein, at the national level, we are shifting the way we invite people into our national programs so that we are more inclusive and accessible. So that new people can join us anytime – with as little or as much time that they can afford.
Moving forward, we’re building a WILPF US movement where people can “step in” to mobilize with us in time-bound ways; “step out” when they need to take care of their lives, families, careers, etc.; and then “step back in” to mobilize with us when they have time again. We will continue to stand up for social justice informed by the deep, feminist policy analyses of our national issue committees and branches. At the same time, we will create new ways for new people to engage with us. Ways that are more flexible, accessible, and inclusive. For context on how we will do this, view this recording (passcode: c&%KS8EY) of my latest ED Open House where I shared some pathways we will create to welcome new people into WILPF, share power, and have greater impact together.
Also join our WILPF US end-of-year party on December 17 during which I will share more ideas – and ask you for your ideas – for our way forward together, for a stronger, inclusive and more resilient WILPF.
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🗓️ The next WILPF US board meeting is January 29, 2026. For more information, contact board secretary Dianne Blais at secretary@wilpfus.org.
🌳 Welcome WILPF Brazil! Led by a group of young peace activists (pictured above), this new WILPF section brought a powerful manifesto to COP30 in Belém, demanding climate justice that protects territories, uplifts Indigenous women, and rejects violence in all forms. Read WILPF Brazil’s manifesto. And view our Earth Democracy national issue committee analysis on COP30 outcomes.
📕 See the new WILPF International report: Feminist Voices of Resistance: Deconstructing the Backlash Against Women’s Activism and Women’s Rights in Middle East and North Africa. Grounded in first-hand testimonies, it shows how multiple forces shape activists’ lives and how, despite immense pressure, feminist movements continue to organize, care, resist, and imagine new possibilities.
| National Peace is / Peace is Not campaign | | |
Access the Peace is / Peace is Not graphics seen throughout this ED update at this special campaign webpage. Social media graphics, posters, videos, lawn signs, media release templates and more are available to you. Share them with your friends and allies too!
National allies who have joined our campaign include Peace Action, Move to Amend, World Beyond War, and An Economy of Our Own. Thank you to our allies and WILPF branches and members who are mobilizing with us to reclaim the currently distorted narrative on peace. Because peace is not a department of war.
Peace is meaningful dialogue. Peace is justice for Gaza and the people of Palestine. Peace is protecting peaceful protest and free speech. Peace is diversity and affirming all identities. Peace is honoring climate commitments for future generations. Peace is treating immigrants and migrants with dignity and respect. Peace is…you fill in the blank and let’s mobilize together.
| We’re fighting for democracy – please give generously to our end of year appeal | | |
We’re reclaiming the narrative on how the American people define “peace” in our national Peace Is / Peace is Not campaign. WILPF women are mobilizing against ICE. And we’re opposing all the ways war is being waged in our names against our wishes – through WILPF’s feminist analysis and alternative approaches to peace. Organizations that normally fund this work have been afraid to do so for fear of retribution from the Trump Administration. Please donate generously to WILPF US’s end-of-year fundraising appeal. We need to supercharge our work now more than ever, and we can only do this with your financial support.
In this 110th anniversary year of WILPF, we will continue marching in streets, writing to senators, uniting in communities, mobilizing local to global peace campaigns, and more. The moment we’re in demands nothing less. If you can, please send a check in the mail to WILPF US at PO Box 13075, Des Moines, IA, 50310 or donate online. Thank you for your generous support.
| | Wise words from WILPF members and allies | | |
“Can you look on the Google to find where I can go protest?” Mom asked me over the phone. I stopped multi-tasking and paid attention.
Today, I choose to close my end-of-year update with wise words from my greatest ally and shero: my mom. She immigrated from Hong Kong to Canada in the 1970s not knowing English, endured racism and domestic violence, all while running a small business (we had that one Chinese restaurant in our small town, pictured above) and raising me.
During the pandemic, I had been following Hong Kong’s headlines with concern, but fleetingly. In the face of COVID and chaos in the US, it was hard to see past local borders. Yet, now, I understand the Hong Kong conflict has parallels to the one boiling over in the US. In the US, the divide generally falls between Republican red and Democrat blue. In Hong Kong, yellow and blue are the colors at battle. The blue camp stands with the pro-government establishment, and yellow for democracy through protest.
My mom is a warrior, but a quiet one. Growing up during the time of the Cultural Revolution in China, conforming to model minority expectations in North America, she plants seeds of change with her head down, never drawing too much attention. Shouting and crowds can be overwhelming, triggers of another time.
Knowing all this, I asked her why she wanted to protest. She said: “When I lived in Hong Kong, you were free to do what you wanted, work how you wanted, talk about anything. If you went to court, if you went to vote, everything was open. People were not rich. But everyone was real. We worked hard. We were determined. We didn’t waste time. We knew we had to work before we would get our food. And we helped each other.” Ultimately, mom wants to fight for freedom. I could not be prouder.
Take care of yourselves, fearless WILPF women and WILPF allies, and let’s continue to take care of each other.
Linda Low
WILPF US Executive Director
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