A landmark report, “When Silences Speak,” has been launched in Ankorondrano, offering a transformative lens on conflict and peace in Madagascar. Funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), this study is not merely an analysis; it is an act of amplification. It systematically documents the distinct experiences, voices, and indispensable roles of women and girls amidst conflict, violence, and deep-seated inequality. The central, urgent question it poses is one of both justice and efficacy: How can a nation build a positive, sustainable, and equitable peace when it fails to fully integrate the perspectives and agency of more than half its population?
The report’s methodology is as significant as its findings. Moving beyond a standard desk review, it is built upon local consultations conducted across five diverse regions—Alaotra Mangoro, Analamanga, Atsimo-Andrefana, Atsimo-Atsinanana, and Menabe. This grassroots approach, executed by a team of 28 young Malagasy researchers, ensures the findings are rooted in lived reality. It reveals how women and girls navigate tensions differently from men, often bearing the brunt of socioeconomic collapse, gendered violence, and the burden of holding families and communities together in crisis. As the first gender-sensitive conflict analysis of its kind in Madagascar, it provides an evidence-based foundation to dismantle the assumption that conflict is gender-neutral.
The value of the report lies in its actionable insights. It moves from diagnosis to prescription, offering concrete programmatic and thematic recommendations. For policymakers and NGOs, this means guidance on designing interventions that address women’s specific security needs, leverage their roles as mediators and community leaders, and ensure their meaningful participation in formal peace and governance structures. It argues that sustainable peace is impossible without addressing the structural inequalities that silence women’s voices in the first place.
Courses
The launch event also heralded the introduction of two critical capacity-building courses, signaling a shift from theory to practice. The first is a Conflict Sensitivity course, developed by PBF and the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC). Available in both Malagasy and French, its five modules provide frontline workers and planners with the tools to ensure their humanitarian or development actions do not inadvertently exacerbate tensions—a vital skill in fragile contexts.
The second course, on Climate, Peace, and Security, is particularly salient. A collaboration between UNDP and UNSSC, it addresses a crucial nexus. For Madagascar—ranked among the five countries most vulnerable to climate change—the links between environmental stress and conflict are direct. Competition over dwindling resources like water and arable land can ignite local disputes, while climate-induced displacement strains social cohesion. This course equips participants to analyze these interconnected risks, design programs using an integrated approach, and craft interventions that build resilience against both climate shocks and conflict, thereby strengthening the social fabric.
Reported by Narindra Rakotobe