The Bridge Builders: Reclaiming the Peace Table
In the city of Juba, South Sudan’s capital, the dust of war often covers the hopes of the people. Here, Rita Lopidia stands as a symbol of the strong will of African women.
Today, crises in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, and elsewhere are reshaping the continent, driving millions into displacement. But as conflicts escalate, a troubling trend persists: The official peace tables remain locked to the very women who understand the ground reality best.
Lopidia, a vital voice in the Women Building Peace Network (WBPN) Africa, argues that high-level negotiations do not include women’s lived experiences. For the WBPN, women aren’t just victims; They are the foundation of lasting stability.
“In South Sudan, DRC, and Sudan, women are the bridge,” Lopidia asserts. “We connect grassroots reality to high-level leaders. Our goal is to ensure peace deals are more than ink on paper, they must be felt in the safety of our homes.”
The UN Women 2025 report highlights a staggering gap: In 2024, nine out of 10 peace talks lacked women negotiators, and women made up 7 percent of negotiators and 14 percent of mediators globally. To bridge this gap, WBPN Africa empowers local experts to lead peace processes.
Led by chairperson Esther Omam from Cameroon, the network addresses root causes like mistrust and exclusion. Omam believes peace must be cultivated locally, not imported.
“We are moving from working alone to working as one team,” Omam explains. “Our transition to a collective institution is about ownership. We understand the whispers of the community that outsiders miss. We are shifting from outside fixes to local solutions.”
To ensure lasting harmony, Hamisa Zaja from the Kenya chapter of WBPN Africa advocates for intergenerational cooperation. This blend of veteran wisdom and youthful innovation, she says, cools the embers of conflict before they ignite, adding it is vital during tense elections, preventing communal violence.
“Our strength is in our unity between old and young,” says Zaja. “When we join the wisdom of experienced women with the energy of youth, we don’t just react to war, we prevent it.”
Lessons from Local Peacebuilding in Uganda’s 2026 Election
Ahead of Uganda’s 2026 general elections, peacebuilders in Northern Uganda took a stand. While election violence claimed over 30 lives elsewhere during the January cycle, these advocates from the post-war region focused on catching conflict while it was still whispering, and before it started shouting and burning.
As tensions mounted, a grassroots network of youth and veterans acted as an early-warning system to detect unrest. Elders and women then took to the radio airwaves, broadcasting messages of unity that drowned out calls for violence. This proactive strategy allowed most citizens here to vote in harmony, a typical example of what WBPN Africa is advocating for by acting before fires start.
WBPN-Africa: A Professional Pool of Certified Peace Experts
The network is a professional body of USIP Women Building Peace laureates and finalists. Gloria Laker Adiiki Aciro, a Ugandan-based peace journalist, emphasizes that the over 25 certified experts represent thousands from villages to cities, transforming local know-how into professional mediation. Their charter outlines strategic actions, including providing gender advisors for formal peace processes, tackling sexual violence, and promoting positive masculinity.
In 2025, WBPN-Africa demonstrated its first global influence through a virtual exchange with Ukrainian women peace advocates touring the continent. This woman-to-woman dialogue shared African peacebuilding expertise with those navigating European conflict. Such strategic exchanges prove that African women are not just local actors, but essential global mentors providing plans for stability that women worldwide need for lasting peace.
“To have peace that lasts, these successful African peacebuilders deserve a seat at the main table,” Laker appeals. Their proven experience is the missing link in continental and global efforts to stabilize nations and effectively end war.
Beyond Aid: The African Women Refusing to Wait for Rescue
The solution to Africa’s stability is already walking its streets. Rather than waiting for outsiders, the network proves that the most effective shields against conflict are local expertise, not foreign battalions.
For WBPN-Africa, global support has been reactive, arriving only after war spreads. They are shifting toward prevention, using certified African experts to quiet conflict while it is still a whisper. This professionalized reality maintains specialists ready to stabilize nations. These leaders now urge global bodies to integrate local mediators into formal peace boards, allowing the world to champion peace with women involvement
Africa’s Shield: Women Building Peace Against the Odds
Lopidia, Omam, Zaja, and Laker are redefining security through cross-national solidarity, proving that local expertise is the ultimate shield against conflict. However, the path ahead for WBPN Africa remains steep. Challenges such as severe resource gaps hinder the essential mapping and physical connection of grassroots peacebuilders across the continent.
Despite being recognized experts, these leaders still face exclusion from high-level decision-making boards. Lack of representation, coupled with escalating complexities in Sudan, DRC, and South Sudan, continues to devastate women and children. Furthermore, a widening digital divide threatens to silence local voices. To keep Africa safe, the network must now bridge these systemic gaps through continued advocacy and lobbying for inclusion.
Keywords: Africa, African, women, African women, global, peace, continent, continental, Uganda, Uganda election, Sudan, DRC, South Sudan, conflict, conflict resolution, guard, stability, Juba
Winnie Laker
Winnie Laker is an award-winning journalist. She is a dedicated youth peace advocate and champion for girls' rights, focusing on the intersection of youth leadership, gender equality, and social justice.
