True Story of Women Peace Train

About the Book

The African women conceived the idea of the Women’s Peace Train from Kampala to Johannesburg during the Second Preparatory Committee of the United Nation’s World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD). The objective of the Women’s Peace Train (WPT) was to pass on a strong message to the continent leaders, war mongers, armies, guerrillas, arms traders, and dealers in the African continent that women wanted peace and stability for their children. In its ten-day journey across seven countries, the Peace Train called upon the ringleaders and perpetrators of wars in Africa to end them forthwith. Arguing that women in Africa bear the brunt of the war burden, African women saw the WSSD as a good opportunity to campaign for the end of these wars and used the peace train to pass on the peace message.

About the Author

Ms. Litha Musyimi-Ogana is the Director of Women, Gender and Development at the African Union Commission after serving for four years as the Advisor, Gender, Parliamentary Affairs, and Civil Society Organizations at the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Secretariat. Before joining NEPAD, she was the Regional Director of the African Center for Empowerment, Gender, and Advocacy (AC-EGA) and also served as a Senior Advisor for Gender and Governance for the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) in New York on attachment. In 1983–1993 she worked in key government ministries in Kenya, including the Ministry of Finance and Office of the Vice President and Ministry of Home Affairs. Ms. Musyimi-Ogana is currently pursuing a PhD in development aid at the Public and Management Development School of University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa and is an Economist from the University of Nairobi.