Guest: Binta Diop, Former Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, African Union

Host: Sumedha Tanwar, MPP Candidate, Harvard Kennedy School

This episode of the CID Voices Road to GEM podcast examines the role of women in conflict resolution and peacebuilding across Africa. The conversation traces how women from the Mano River region, Burundi, and the DRC pushed their way into peace processes and shaped outcomes, from influencing peace accords to entrenching gender parity in constitutions. It explores the root causes of conflict on the continent, including poor governance, inequality, and lack of accountability, and asks why women remain largely absent from formal negotiations despite evidence of their impact. The discussion also turns to economic empowerment, particularly in agriculture, and what it would mean to reimagine international development around human capital and sustainable growth.