March marks the U.S. Congress’s designation of Women’s History Month to recognize and celebrate the many contributions of women throughout history and today. Just recently, on March 8th, International Women’s Day was celebrated. Both events recognize the contribution of women and carried with them calls for action. Against this backdrop is the 24th Anniversary of the adoption of UNSCR 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace, and Security.

The Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies’ philosophy, in keeping with the spirit and intent of WPS, tailors our efforts to the realities of our region in a more holistic, long-term engagement approach in its execution. Our goal is to grow and develop a mature cadre of serious women security experts in the region who can focus on wide-reaching security and peace issues. The NESA Center is proud to celebrate the more than 1,800 women that have participated in our foundational courses, WPS workshops, and collaborative seminars since our founding in 2000. Our incredible alumnae remain active in all areas of military and government, academia, and non-governmental organizations in the countries they represent.

The NESA Center promotes the equal and meaningful inclusion of women across its programs and recognizes their critical role in achieving and sustaining international peace and security. However, the NESA Center still has much work to meet the DOD’s established goal of 20% women participants. Since 2000, women still only make up 12.6% of our total Alumni.

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Last year, on the 23rd Anniversary of UNSC Resolution 1325 and NESA’s 23rd Anniversary of its establishment, the NESA Center had a series of firsts in its WPS efforts. In April 2023, the NESA Center conducted its first-ever WPS Security Workshop focused on the “Changing Nature of Security” and “Transnational Threats.” There were 53 women from 24 countries from Latin America, Africa, the Levant, Central Asia, the Gulf and South Asia in attendance. The venue also allowed for the release of the NESA Center’s first-ever special edition Women, Peace, and Security e-book. The book brought together 33 women’s voices from 22 countries across the NESA region, many of whom also attended the security workshop.

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