Women, Peace and Security Champion Profile: Kainat Kamal, Pakistan
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Individuals and organizations who are championing the Women, Peace and Security agenda in Asia and the Pacific are being profiled by UN Women – online and in our 2025 calendar – to mark this agenda’s 25th anniversary.
Kainat Kamal is a PhD scholar at the Centre for International Peace and Stability, National University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad, Pakistan, where she specializes in women, peace and security (WPS). Combining academia, art and activism, she identifies as a peace advocate who advances women’s voices and peacebuilding. She was among the young leaders who took part in Gen-Forum 2024, a regional platform for young WPS women leaders in Asia and the Pacific.
What is your message to government decision-makers as the world marks 25 years of the WPS agenda?
My message is simple: 25 years is too long to wait for women to be taken seriously in matters of peace and security.
Pakistan once made history by electing the first female Prime Minister in the Islamic world, yet today, when decisions are made about peace, security or the future of conflict-affected regions, women’s chairs remain empty. This silence is not only unjust, it is also a lost opportunity for the country. Women already act as mediators, providers, protectors, and leaders in their own right, but what is missing is recognition, trust and inclusion in the spaces where policies are written and futures are decided.
For peace in Pakistan to move from an aspiration to a lived reality, women from conflict-affected communities must be represented in decision-making. Without women’s voices and leadership, the canvas of peace will always remain unfinished.
What motivated you to get involved in peacebuilding and activism?
From a young age, I had the chance to travel. In many places, I saw women moving freely, studying, working, and leading; it all seemed so normal there. But every time I came back home to my Pashtun community in Pakistan, I noticed how absent women were from public life. At the same time, I saw the incredible responsibilities women carried: they held families together during crises; they helped resolve conflicts at home; they kept communities running. I admired that strength, but I also noticed how little recognition it received, and how rarely women’s voices were included in decisions shaping the future.
“Peace without women is incomplete. And in Pakistan, peace without Pashtun women is especially incomplete.”
Later, when I discovered the WPS agenda, it gave language to what I had been sensing: that peace without women is incomplete. And in Pakistan, peace without Pashtun women is especially incomplete. One image has stayed with me as my definition of WPS. During a youth initiative in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), more than 70 participants gathered, but only three of us were women.
What creative approaches do you use to advance peace and women’s voices?
I try to advance peace and women’s voices through what I call the ‘four A’s’: advocacy, activism, academics and artistry.
Advocacy allows me to highlight the voices of Pakistani and Pashtun women in spaces where they are often absent, from community dialogues to policy discussions.
Activism connects me directly with people on the ground, giving me a chance to work alongside communities and ensure that change is not just talked about but acted upon.
My academic work as a PhD scholar keeps me rooted in research and evidence, making sure my efforts are both credible and impactful.
Finally, artistry is how I bring all of this to life in ways that touch people more personally. For example, through origami, I create pieces that symbolize resilience, gaps and possibilities in peacebuilding. These artworks often spark conversations where abstract issues suddenly feel human and relatable.
Together, the four A’s help me make the invisible visible, because women who remain unseen cannot truly shape the peace, stability and future of the societies they sustain.
Under which pillar of the WPS agenda would you like to see more focus and progress?
All four pillars of the WPS agenda are important for Pakistan, especially for the Pashtun tribal belt of the former FATA, now known as the Newly Merged Districts (NMDs), which border Afghanistan. In Pashtun society, traditional jirga councils continue to settle disputes and influence local order, but women are excluded from these gatherings. The perspectives of conflict-affected women, especially those from intersectional and marginalized backgrounds, remain absent from decision-making spaces.
For me, the pillar of ‘participation’ is the prime focus. Participation is not about token representation. It is about ensuring that Pashtun women, have the power to shape decisions about peace and security. When their voices are present, peace becomes rooted in justice and shared responsibility. Pakistan contributes to international peace through UN peacekeeping missions. My own department at the National University of Sciences and Technology trains peacekeepers, including women, with a focus on gender-sensitive approaches. This shows the potential for progress.
Why should young people in Pakistan pay attention to the WPS agenda?
Pakistan has one of the largest youth populations in the world, with over 64 percent under the age of 30, which means their choices and voices hold immense power to shape the future. Young people should pay attention to WPS because it directly affects the communities they belong to. When they recognize women’s contributions and support their inclusion in decision-making, they are not only empowering women but also helping build safer, stronger and more resilient societies.
Every time a woman is included in decisions about security and peace, the entire community benefits. For young people, the WPS agenda is really a call to imagine a Pakistan where peace is not just an aspiration but a shared reality.
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