Women as a Peace Agent

Issues on ethnicity, religion, race and inter-group relation, and religious conflicts are often blown up for a specific purpose in social life to damage society's life order. Moreover, religious issues are very sensitive that can divide this nation. Social media is often involved in such problem and bringing the issues hotter and hotter. Considering this condition many parties know how important the tolerance is and try hard how to grow tolerant attitude in daily life.

"Srikandi Lintas Iman Yogyakarta (SRILI Jogja) as it is called, is so encouraged to join efforts done to combat various intolerant issues and to contribute for conflict reconciliation to maintain harmony in our surrounding life," said Fata Hanifa, one member of SRILI in her opening speech of “The Role of Interfaith Women in Peace building” (11/10/2017) discussion in a cooperation with PSPP UKDW.

Maria Ida L. Giguiento, commonly called Bu Deng, the training coordinator for The Peace and Reconciliation Program of Catholic Relief Services Philippines, stated, “One of the goals that SRILI is trying to build is giving contribution to conflict reconciliation and giving information how important of tolerance education". According to Bu Deng, people who want to be active peacebuilders should know exactly what conflicts they are facing about. To gain this capability requires analysis ability. For example, when someone enters university, actually he or she is going to Universal-City. So he/she has to understand the reason why he/she enters university, why he/she studies a specific subject, what he/she looks for in campus, in other word, everything should be considered. Besides, he/she also should know what is going on around him/her, what benefits he/she will get in campus and be familiar with problems that happen in Universal-City. The presentation of her material was so simple to build women awareness to be involved in peace building. Building peace is an effort to transform issues, relationships and institution/structure; reducing possibility of increasing conflict that lead to violence. "If we want to build peace, first we should establish positive relationship with others", Bu Deng emphasized.

As time goes by, the role of women in peace-building continues to evolve, starting from just being an observer outside the window when men have meeting, next serving as waiter in the kitchen to take care the meal for men's meeting, then interest is growing to be involved by attending meeting held in church, village and social groups. When women are involved and communicate with men, there are spaces that can be used to increase women's capacity so they can claim the space controlled by men as their space as well, although it is admitted that women still have limitation in peace building.

To be active peace builder is not easy, but women are expected to do it. The presence of women are expected to reduce conflict so that conflict will not end with violence. It starts from women’s space where they are alive. (SAP).