“Unseen Is to Unexist”: The Crucial Importance of Young Women’s Peacebuilding Approaches in Northern Ethiopia

Peacebuilding is a complex endeavor that requires an all-hands-on-deck effort to deliver multi-faceted approaches which engage all members of society, including women and, in particular, young women, who have been traditionally excluded. The argument of this paper is that despite significant barriers to participation in formal peacebuilding arenas, through their resiliency, young women often find unique ways to overcome these barriers and influence change directly or indirectly. This study focuses on Northern Ethiopia. Currently, African perspectives are underrepresented in the peace and conflict studies literature, creating persistent gaps in our knowledge regarding peacebuilding approaches in this region. Further gaps exist regarding the exploration of Indigenous peacebuilding practices in Eastern and Northern African societies.