Zainab Al-Lafi, a legal consultant and human rights activist with the Libyan Tolerance Organisation for Human Rights and Human Development, cautioned that the future involvement of Libyan women in peacebuilding processes could deteriorate if current “formalistic empowerment” policies persist. Al-Lafi’s statement was made during an initiative launched by the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace, marking the 25th anniversary of UN Resolution 1325, which aims to highlight the reality of women’s participation in peace and security issues.
Drawing on her experience in peacebuilding programmes in the South, Al-Lafi stressed that the effective involvement of women at all stages of the peace process—from official negotiation committees to reconstruction efforts—is a critical factor for ensuring its success and sustainability. She underscored that training women in negotiation and mediation skills significantly boosted their presence, urging for the expansion of peacebuilding to become inclusive of all segments of society.
In her assessment of the coming phase, Al-Lafi expressed pessimism, suggesting the situation “may head towards the worse” if the current approach remains unchanged. She explained that despite receiving widespread international support and ample opportunities for official positions, women’s inclusion has failed to translate into tangible achievements or real influence on the ground. She attributed this failure to the continuous “recycling of the same mechanisms and faces” in the public sphere.
Regarding security challenges, Al-Lafi noted that women continue to face multiple forms of violence, primarily cyber violence (such as bullying, defamation, extortion, and rumour-mongering), in addition to electoral violence, which has deterred many women from public life. She further asserted that armed conflict, displacement, and forced migration have heightened direct risks, including assault and kidnapping, alongside the persistent use of “social stigmatisation” as a tool, she claims, to exclude women from public participation.
Al-Lafi concluded by emphasising that improving the future for women in Libya requires a shift from mere symbolic participation to “qualitative” empowerment rooted in competence, integrity, and the actual capacity for achievement and influence, deeming it the only viable path forward.