Embarrassing Failure of 25-Year Feminist ‘Peacekeeping’ Campaign

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Henry Herrera: +1-301-801-0608

Embarrassing Failure of 25-Year Feminist ‘Peacekeeping’ Campaign

October 20, 2025 – On October 6, the UN Security Council convened a briefing on “Women and Peace and Security.” The event was inspired by the Security Council’s Resolution 1325, first passed in 2000, that called for the increased participation of women in the resolution of conflicts (1). During the October 6 event, UN Women director Sima Bahous issued a fervent plea for increased participation of women in peacekeeping efforts.

Exactly one week later, more than 20 nations gathered in Egypt to witness the signing of the “Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity.” Notably, the historic treaty had been negotiated only by men. The delegations for the United States, Israel, Hamas, Qatar, and Egypt were all-male. (2)

The omission of women from the negotiating table is an embarrassing setback for the 25-year feminist campaign to expand female involvement in peace-making efforts. This rebuke was driven by five considerations:

‘Peace Through Strength’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently observed, “The truth is that the war ended because Israel and the United States exercised power – political, diplomatic, and military.” (3)

Feminists do not understand this bedrock principle.

Exclusion of Women

Men represent the vast majority of wartime casualties (4). But inexplicably, UN Women’s “National Action Plan” (5) makes no mention of helping the mothers and wives who now serve as caretakers for their debilitated sons and husbands.

False Claims

The feminist peacekeeping campaign has been discredited by misguided statements, such as this claim made by Hillary Clinton in 1998: “Women have always been the primary victims of war. Women lose their husbands, their fathers, their sons in combat.” (6)

Clinton made no mention of the fact that 90-98% of military casualties affect men (7).

Vilification

Former South African president Nelson Mandela, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, once warned, “When we dehumanize and demonize our opponents, we abandon the possibility of peacefully resolving our differences.” (8)

But feminist peacemaking proponents often resort to negative stereotyping of persons with different views. During her October 6 address, Bahous alluded to the “rise and normalization of misogyny currently poisoning our politics.” But she made no mention of the rise of anti-male misandry, which is more widespread than anti-female misogyny (9).

No Evidence of Effectiveness

At the October 6 meeting, Bahous cited several examples how women “continue to build peace.” For example, “In Ukraine, women have achieved the codification into law of gender-responsive budgeting, including across national relief efforts,” she argued (10). But Bahous made no attempt to explain how “gender-responsive budgeting” has helped to end the decade-long conflict between Russia and the Ukraine.

For these five reasons, the feminist-driven 25-year campaign to increase female involvement in peacekeeping negotiations has been a failure, a misguided effort that threatens to discredit legitimate efforts at fostering peace among nations.

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 207 member organizations from 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse policies are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/davia/

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