Changing the World Before Anyone Says You Can
I recently attended Forward Into Light, a three day Master Class investigating the historical roots of the Peace movement inside the illustrious Peace Palace. This class was one of several events being held this year in an effort to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the International Congress of Women. Part of this commemoration was paying homage to the life and legacy of Bertha von Suttner, and I am once again reminded of the power within individuals to change the course of human history. Despite having no official political voice, Suttner she was available to personally redirect the course of human history. As the author of Lay Down Your Arms in 1889, Suttner pierced into the hearts and minds of millions of people worldwide and presented rational arguments against war in a fashion that did not require decades of education to understand. This novel also played a major role in motivating Tzar Nicholas II to request that leaders of nations convene to discuss peace, resulting in the 1899 Hague Peace Conference. Suttner was the only woman invited to attend. But Suttner was not alone; she was not the lone voice advocating for peace and arbitration. She was at the tip of the spearhead, but what of the spear?
This is a picture from the 1915 International Congress of Women. Otherwise known as The Women’s Peace Congress, women from around the world came to The Hague demanding an end to World War 1. This is part of the spear Suttner heads. None of these women had equal civil and political rights (i.e. the right to vote, to hold public office, etc). On May 1, they formally proposed a set of resolutions demanding a non-violent form of continuous mediation, which would be substituted for war until a peace treaty could be negotiated.
Since the mass of the people in each of the countries now at war believe themselves to be fighting, not as aggressors but in self-defence and for their national existence, there can be no irreconcilable differences between them, and their common ideals afford a basis upon which a magnanimous and honourable peace might be established. The Congress therefore urges the Governments of the world to put an end to this bloodshed, and to begin peace negotiations. - Resolution II.3 International Congress of Women, 1915
Proposing a set of resolutions is a monumental task, and given what they sought to accomplish, demanded a high level of precision and eloquence. To get 1200 people to agree on anything is exceedingly difficult, let alone a set of resolutions aimed at ending the bloodiest conflict that humanity had ever witnessed. They had to overcome language barriers, personal vendettas, and all other ‘very human’ problems that show up inconveniently during meetings like this. And so they did. Their hastily completion of this self-appointed task is a powerful lesson in ambition, efficiency and cooperation.
Creating this set of resolutions was not all that they did, though. Using a technique now labelled ‘informal diplomacy’, they were involved in activities like writing letters to world leaders, knocking on office doors of ambassadors, or having lunch with diplomats; all of which was an effort to simply begin discussions. These individual conversations combine to become a way for politically disenfranchised peoples to insert their voice (in this case, the voice of women) into the broader conversation. This congress spawned the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), an active non-governmental organization devoted to making the voice of women heard.
WILPF’s mission is to further by non-violent means the social transformation that enables the inauguration of systems under which social and political equality and economic justice for all can be attained to ensure real and lasting peace and true freedom.
The International Congress of Women was not invited to The Hague. There was no government begging this organized group of women to come at all, nor prompting them to attempt to stop the bloodshed. The only voice was the one inside their heads, demanding that they stand up and do something. Their impact on the hearts and minds of the ambassadors, delegations, diplomats, and others must not be overlooked nor underestimated. This kind of influence is not easily measured, because the conversations and meetings are rarely recorded, certainly not in the same way as treaties or covenants are. But these stories, the lives of politically disenfranchised people, do play a monumental role in the shaping of human history. It is our duty to remember them, learn from them, and act on what comes from them.
