by Christine Ahn

Whether in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Georgian territories, Mumbai, or Gaza, governments and non-governmental actors repeatedly justify the use of military force or the use of violence to resolve conflicts.

In the aftermath of the attacks on Gaza, we set up a Crisis Fund so that you, our donors, could give money when a crisis is happening – money that grantees can use for emergency relief or to further women’s engagement in the reconstruction and peace building efforts that take place after the bombs stop falling.

While we’re proud of our many years of grantmaking and support for women on the ground in the aftermath of war and conflict, we recognize that the growing global women’s movement can and must do more to resist the pervasiveness of war and militarism. We must challenge the ideology, which claims that our world will be made “safer” by erecting walls, building more weapons, launching more missiles, and creating more terrifying ways to annihilate our world. As long as defense spending prevails as the dominant budgetary priority, we will never have enough money to fund education, healthcare, or economic development.

Imagine this: In 2007, the world’s governments spent $1,339 billion – $4 billion per day – on the military (half was by the US). If governments redirected just $35 billion of that amount annually, we could provide basic education, clean water, and basic health and reproductive health services for the entire world’s population, according to the United Nations.

Unfortunately, President Obama has already increased the military surge in Afghanistan, backing with US tax dollars General Petraeus’ assertion that Afghanistan needs more military support, including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, military police officers, and attack helicopters. “Countries need some sort of national security,” says Sakena Yacoobi, gfw Board member and head of Afghan Institute of Learning, “but most foreign troops are not primarily focused on protecting women and children. Their focus is on beating the enemy, which is very different, and ordinary citizens become collateral damage in the process. If people have enough to eat, a job, money to support their family, then they would not resort to suicide bombing, blowing up themselves and innocent people.”

In addition to working harder to increase funding to women’s groups working at times of crisis, we decided that we needed to change the conversation around militarism. We took our first step toward realizing this ambitious goal by holding a forum among staff, board, and supporters to discuss how the subtle and not-so subtle effects that a society pervaded with military ideals has on us.

We realized at that spirited conversation that it was incumbent upon the world’s women to step up and challenge the forecasts made by heads of states and generals who are projecting a less secure and unstable world. Our message to them is: that is your narrative, and not the future we envision for our children, our planet, and our world. We invite you to join us in painting a brighter future and helping to shine some light on courageous women around the world who are resisting militarism and charting a just and peaceful world.