The frequently heard feminist cry ‘the personal is political’, never rung truer than the afternoon we were all sitting together in a hotel conference room in Erbil, Iraq. The bright orange sun was setting over the desert-like colours of Ankawa. During the lunch break, music was played and the room was filled with dancing and […]
New Airbus high resolution satellite imagery from November 2021 now confirms the presence of Chinese Wing Loong drones in Ethiopia. These drones appear to have been delivered recently to the military airport of Harar Meda, south of Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa. Since the outbreak of the conflict between the Tigray Defence Force, a constellation […]
The suffering of rural communities across northeast Syria controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is being amplified by Turkish-backed armed groups. Already struggling with severe climate change-linked drought, these areas have experienced even more severe water shortages since May, when the Syrian National Army (SNA) built three earth dams in areas under their […]
“Our hearts, thoughts, feminist fists and fire are with you all” On October28th, during Women, Peace and Security week at the UN Security Council, influential local women activists from Sudan, Palestine, Myanmar and Iraq discussed how international actors can provide feminist support to non-violent women activists and movements. Gender inequality and the lack of women’s […]
This week marks ten years since the start of the Syrian revolution. Inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, Syrians dared to dream of change and took the streets to demand freedom and dignity after 40 years of dictatorship. It has also been ten years since my last visit to Damascus, the city I […]
The elections in Iraq that were originally planned for June 2021, were preceded by the negotiations and announcement of a new state budget for 2021. Following a year in which many frustrated Iraqis again took to the streets to demand better economic opportunities, the budget reflects an increase in the amount reserved for salaries of […]
Ihsan is a young girl who wants to play football. But her parents and everyone around her disapprove. This film, shot in southern Lebanon, depicts the challenges that young girls, and boys, across Lebanon face and the roles they are expected to fill. The film was made by the Tiro Association for Arts. Tiro and PAX […]
PAX in Lebanon: A year after the revolution On the 17th of October, anti-government protests in Lebanon marked a year since hundreds of thousands of people across Lebanon took the streets and demonstrated against the political elite, corruption and mismanagement of their country. A lot has happened since. The COVID-19 pandemic is hitting Lebanon hard, […]
The Trump administration will come to an end on the 20th of January when Joe Biden is sworn in as the new US President. When Trump took office, we here at PAX were as stunned as everyone else. A number of my colleagues shared their thoughts on what the Trump administration might mean for PAX´s […]