On March 12, Maria Stephan, a Senior Policy Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, spoke on the second floor of the Campus Center. Stephan presented her lecture, “Why Civil Resistance Works and Women’s Catalytic Role: The Case of Syria and Beyond.”
This event was hosted by the Center of Gender, Security and Human Rights of the University of Massachusetts Boston. It was part of the center’s Consortium International Speakers Series.
Stephan highlighted the peaceful and non-violent work that the women in Syria have been doing behind the scenes to help stop the bloodshed. She also invited women all across the globe to become more active in their respective communities.
Dr. Carol Cohn, Director of the Center of Gender, Security and Human Rights at UMass Boston, explained that the International Speakers Series help bring awareness and insight on current issues that newspapers, social media and the mainstream media might not be able to provide.
“We have speakers coming here who present information that you will find almost nowhere else, ” said Dr. Cohn. She said that the kind of speakers that the center brings in are people  that are at the front lines working in these conflicts.
“There are women who are currently leading survival activism inside Syria,” Stephan said. She explained their activism varies from community service, dealing with the dramatic aspects of the violence that is happening and participating in Geneva talks in a way that will bring peace to Syria.
Stephan went on to mention that there are groups of women in Syria that are starting to chase Al Qaeda out of their community.
“They denounce them and whenever they see new faces that are doing suspicious activities, they protest against them,” explained Stephan. “So some women stand up against violence or infiltration of Al Qaeda.” 
March of 2014 marks the third year of the conflict in Syria. Over these past few years, there has been widespread sexual abuse on women and alarming health and nutritional concerns for the children. According to Anthony Lake, the Executive Director of UNICEF, an estimated 2.3 million children last year were in need of shelter, food, health care, education, and/or psychological help for the trauma they suffered. The women, too, are also hurt by their children’s suffering.
“Of course women will always be affected whenever there is murder and child abuse,” said Stephan. She explained that the children are their sons and the men are their husbands.
Both Dr. Cohn and Stephan invite UMass Boston community members, especially women, to join the conversation relating to gender, security and human rights, and to try to have an active voice in their community. “Participating and staying involved are the keys that lead to integration,” stated Stephan.
“Anyone who is part of the world where we are living should have an interest in deepening their understanding of the social and political factors that drive certain conflicts,” Dr. Cohn added.
The next International Speakers Series will be on Thursday, April 24, from four to six p.m. in the Campus Center, Room 3545, at UMass Boston. The topic will be “Humanitarianism and the Political Economy of Sexual Violence in War.” The featured guest speaker will be  Alejandra Azuero-Quijano, who is a writer and researcher on the Politics of Humanitarianism at Harvard Law School.