Summer has come to an end and Operation 1325 is preparing for the fall. Starting August 6th, Malin Pihlström is operating as our new director at Operation 1325. She has previously been engaged with Operation 1325, first as an intern and then as a trainee in our Board Trainee – Program. I am delighted that Malin is prepared to take on the responsibility for the office.
When the position was advertised, we received almost 40 applications, even though it was a limited part-time position. The applications showed both competence in the matter and commitment to the field. Hopefully, some of the applicants will be interested in continuing their connections with Operation 1325 as volunteers or as new board trainees. Malin is already working on developing a new Board Trainee- Program for the Autumn. Our vice-chairman, Aase Smedler, is responsible for the preparations of our participation in this year’s Book Fair, where we collaborate with some of our member organizations.
At Operation 1325’s latest board meeting before the Summer, we decided to engage in a new partnership with another Sudanese organization; Women for Peace and Development Organization (WPDO). The organization is active in Gedaref, located in eastern Sudan, assisting the UN aid organizations in distributing emergency aid to internally displaced persons seeking protection in Gedaref, while continuing its work to promote the situation of women and girls, e.g. through campaigns against child marriage and female genital mutilation.
Over the Summer, we also learned that the leader of the All-Girls Foundation (AGF), Operation 1325’s partner in Yemen, has been appointed to the advisory board of the Yemen Humanitarian Fund. Out of 38 nominees, Intisar Aladhi and AGF became, after the vote, one of three representatives of local organizations on the board. Intisar has already shown by initiating AGF that she is a woman who knows how to accomplish things. She has led, and acted in, our collaborative projects to draw up a declaration on what women want to see from the peace in Yemen, and she also participated in the seminar series on women, peace and security (peace agreement, monitoring, transitional justice, UN work, etc.) that we organized in 2022 for our partners in Sudan, Yemen and Iraq.
Our partner organizations in Palestine continues their work. Although they are mainly active in the West Bank, the situation, and the surroundings, have also become more difficult for them. Further, they are also forced to respond to voices that say that now is not the time to promote women’s participation in society, which only underlines the importance of their work. Those of you who follow Operation 1325’s work are surely aware of the difficult financial situation we are still in. During the Summer we were approved by the Swedish Collection Control, and from now on we have a “90-account” for our fundraising activities. We hope it will help us to be able to continue our work, not least when it comes to supporting our partner organizations.
You are very welcome to participate in our events in the coming year. You are also warmly welcome to become a supporting member. It is only 120 kr. As a support member, you help Operation 1325 and its work, you get information, you get to know difficult conflict situations from the inside and, if you want, you can also get involved as a volunteer.
Lena Sundh
Chair
