World of Women for World Peace

I began A World of Women for World Peace to bring greater visibility to the women who are victims of war and aggression and the women who take peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace-building activities in their communities.

We must look at the human and economic costs of war to realize just how urgently we need to actively pursue peace. The costs if war cannot merely be measured with statistics or dollar cents. In fact, the real faces of war are torn and displaced communities, women suffering the ravages of rape and widowhood, children with missing limbs and orphans without the hope of education and healthcare.

It is worth remembering what General Dwight D. Eisenhower once said: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in a final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed.”

Women Ambassadors Conference

The 12th annual Women Ambassadors Conference was on April 5, 2007 from 2:30pm-5:30pm in the Rayburn House Office Building room 2253

The theme of this year’s conference was “The Challenges of Diplomacy in an Increasingly Volatile and Interdependent World.” Globalization, economic competition and the need for reduction of conflict has in the past years become increasingly apparent.  Attention to this growing tendency is necessary for the future and prosperity of every country.

 Members of Academia, the Department of State, the United Nations, Ambassadorships and Hollywood will discuss vital issues related to global conflict resolution, the world’s polarity dynamic, the sustainability of globalization and Hollywood’s participation in public diplomacy.

Jerusalem Women Speak

In conjunction with Partners for Peace, we invited you to attend the seminar featuring Jerusalem Women Speak. The seminar was scheduled for April 25th, 2007 from 2:00pm-4:00pm in room 1310 Longworth House Office Building.

Please join me in welcoming three women- Huda Abu Arqoub, Tal Dor and Amal Nassar, who are living the realities of the Israel-Palestinian conflict and have come to share their experiences and hopes for peace in the land they have lived all their life.

Peace Initiative Conference

I began A World of Women for World Peace to bring greater visibility to the women who are victims of war and aggression and the women who take peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace-building activities in their communities. I firmly believe that the burden of peacemaking and peace building cannot be left to one institution, gender or political party. It must be a shared responsibility that encompasses all, regardless of race, class, gender and religion.

Theme: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325
The Protection of Women and Girls after Conflicts
Date: Saturday, May 5th, 2007
Time: 9am-11am
Location: Dallas Public Library Auditorium with Dallas Community TV coverage
Speakers:
Ambassador Moushira Khattab, National Council for Motherhood and Childhood,
Cairo Egypt
Lucy Mashua, Kenyan Human Rights Activist
Jody Dodd, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
Gillian McCombs, Dean of the Central University Libraries Southern Methodist University and Chairwoman of the Women’s Foundation
Sofije Kusari, Mosaic Family Services, Human Trafficking Specialist

Youth Diversity Summit & Diversity Dialogue

In the face of rising conflict in the Middle East, disagreements between the United States and South America, and common prejudice and intolerance raised by the overwhelming lack knowledge and understanding in modern society, it has become a humanitarian imperative that concerned representatives of public office and the general community come together to combat this destructive pattern of ignorance.

I and the His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Northern Texas have devised a forum of dialogue, which motive will be purely educational between knowledgeable speakers and representatives of the local youth within District 30.

Theme: Building upon the idea of “inclusivism” and promoting the notion of common knowledge amongst youth and their peers.
Date: August 20th, 2007
Time: 9am-4pm
Location: Southern Methodist University
Speakers: Congresswoman Johnson and Under Secretary Karen Hughes

Importance of Women’s Involvement in Political Rhetoric

Date: October 2007
Time: TBD
Location: U.S. House of Representatives House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
Speakers: TBD

The Plight of Women in the Arab World

Date: November 2007
Time: TBD
Location: U.S. House of Representatives House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
Speakers: TBD

For more information please contact Ilhaam “Illy” Jaffer of my staff at: Ilhaam.Jaffer@mail.house.gov or by phone at 202-225-8885.