Peace agreements are a common practice in the resolution and regulation of modern conflict, with over 2000 peace agreements reached in more than 150 peace processes worldwide since 1990. However, only 21% of peace agreements contain provisions addressing women, gender, and/or sexual violence. In this project, we examine the extent to which women and gender are explicitly acknowledged or addressed in peace agreements, drawing on data from the PA-X Peace Agreement Database. Using debossing, we physicalize the mentions of women and gender in these agreements as a means to provoke reflection and discussion of these often-overlooked constituencies and issues.

We chose to explore women and gender references in peace agreements through the lens of peace agreements from the 2000s post-intervention process in Afghanistan, as – unusually – a majority of the agreements in this peace process contain references to women, girls and gender equality. However, the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 has stripped women of their fundamental rights, dignity, and freedoms, leaving the promise of these agreements in a state of regression. Through the context of Afghanistan, we see that even in peace processes which do incorporate the differential needs of women and girls, these hard won gains can be quickly lost, and difficult to regain.