From Where I Stand: “I learned that women have a unique capability to build peace”

Interviewed by Inggita Notosusanto

Erita Ibrahim, 41, is a mother of three and a native of Dadibou village, Bima Regency, West Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia. She works as Bima’s social facilitator under the Ministry of Social Affairs. Recently, she has taken on another role: peace activist. Since joining the Kampo Mahawo (“Peace Village”) program—an initiative by La Rimpu and the Wahid Foundation supported by UN Women and the Government of the Netherlands —in early 2024, Erita has been motivated to bring an end to the violent conflicts involving her village and its neighbors. Her efforts began with the creation of a “peace video” aimed at engaging those in conflict and key stakeholders. She also initiated two social groups—one for women and one for youth—to strengthen peacebuilding efforts. Erita now serves as the Kampo Mahawo village coordinator of facilitators. 

For the longest time, violent conflicts have occurred between our village, Dadibou, and the neighboring village, Penapali. These conflicts worsened due to the involvement of youth under the influence of drugs. Imagine sitting in a classroom, learning about peacebuilding and women leadership, while a fight breaks out just outside between the two villages. 

I had sleepless nights thinking about it. I knew we had to act. The men involved in these fights share the same tribal roots, yet ego had consumed everybody, including the village leaders—and even their wives, who blamed one another rather than promoting peace. 

Then, I saw a video of young people singing a song about peace, and I felt a spark of hope. I asked our facilitator to help us produce a “peace video” in the local Bima language. This video was widely shared by villagers in the area, especially the youth. Beyond our expectations, it went viral. People started to talk about it, and the possibility of peace. Soon after, just before Idul Fitri (the Islamic holidays), the two villages agreed to a peace pact—an islah (truce). Thank God, the pact is still honored to this day, and there have been no more fights between our village and our neighbors. 

The video’s success encouraged village leaders, religious leaders, and youth leaders to reach out to me whenever conflicts started brewing. They would text me: “Women, it’s time to spread your peace messages.” I realized that what we did had a real impact on keeping peace in our community. 

Following the peace pact, I initiated two social groups: Matupa, a women’s group advocating for social causes and ensuring that women’s voices are heard in strategic village decision-making, and Majelis Shalawat, a youth group focused on harnessing creativity to produce content and music promoting peace. 

I learned through the program that women have a unique capability to build peace. However, many women in our village had grown apathetic due to a lifetime of witnessing violence in their community. Inviting them to participate in peace advocacy was not easy. Whenever I met women in Dadibou, I encouraged them to join Kampo Mahawo. “There will be training to improve our skills and opportunities to meet new people,” I told them. 

I’ve also learned effective communication skills, enabling me to voice our aspirations to village leaders. Now, people actively seek our input, waiting for us—the women—to share our opinions. 

Our village has the advantage of being at the center of the district government. I hope for its success—it would be a shame to let it slip into becoming a wasteland of conflict. This hope motivates me to keep going.