One group of women is striving to bring change to the Muncie community by promoting peace through conversation and activism.
The Women’s Peace Alliance of East Central Indiana is an organization of women committed to peace and nonviolence, according to the Facebook page. The idea of this alliance was created from female members of Reconciliation Achieved through Community Engagement Muncie.
“The Women’s Peace Alliance was initially a result of four women talking together about how we can deal with today’s issues, like Islamophobia,” administrator Kimberly Hamilton said. “We all wanted to do something about it as soon as possible to support those in the community that are vulnerable and may go unnoticed. … We wanted our voices as women to be heard.”
The group was founded in December 2015 when Hamilton created a Facebook group where women of all backgrounds can join to keep up to date on current issues and conversations within the country and community.
“This Facebook group has the potential to bring together the voices of women who are devoted to community advocacy, education and social activism,” Hamilton wrote in the group. “I hope that we will find that the Women’s Peace Alliance group is an effective way to communicate among ourselves about ways that we can bring women together to work for the common good.”
Co-founder and senior psychology major Mary Jo C. Reidy said the Facebook group was a natural progression for the group.
“I like exploring how we can amplify our collective voices to speak up for peace and human rights, equality and reconciliation and respect for all races and cultures,” Reidy said. “The alliance is a space to generate ideas, to educate ourselves about different cultures, to learn what values and experiences we share and to come together as women — wives, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sisters — in support of one another.”
Though the group is young, current members said they feel like support and change is already being made through conversation.
“The women [who are] a part of this group are very open-minded go-getters who are all working towards the same goal — peace,” said Bibi Bahrami, member and president at Afghan Women and Kids' Education and Necessities. “The conversations we are having about things such discrimination and oppression are so important to the community because we are taking something negative and creating something positive through our actions, words and education.
"We are all friends and humans. We want this community to be the best home and life for all of us. [To have that,] we have to reach out and give the right message of peace.”
Suha Issac, phlebotomist at IU Health, said learning from each other within the group will bring the greatest benefit to the community.
“I like to explore the idea of building a diverse and peaceful community in Muncie, Indiana, with an open mind to welcoming students and families of different nationalities and ethnicities. Interacting and learning from people of other cultures is important because I believe that America is the melting pot of the world,” Issac said. “I strongly believe that the Women’s Peace Alliance group will help us reach this goal locally, while we work together towards making a better community."
The group is hoping to continue to grow over time.
Hamilton said the group welcomes other organizations and groups that are “dedicated to peace, human rights, reconciliation, equality, and respect for all races and cultures.”
Hamilton emphasized this group is also aimed toward female college students.
“We would like to see more youth involved,” Hamiltion said. “These women can bring more to the table in terms of issues and ideas of change that we might not have known about. To unite together as women in the community and campus, we are bridging that gap between the campus and the city; this is important for action to get done.”
To get involved, visit the Women’s Peace Alliance of East Central Indiana’s Facebook page and ask to join the group.
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