Luul Gebreab
Eritrea

Luul Gebreab is a founding member and President of the National Union of Eritrean Women. The Union, which grew out of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), has spent the last decade highlighting gender issues and charting the path for the political and economic empowerment of women in that country. The organization encourages Eritrean women to participate actively in political, economic, and social spheres; take part in local, regional, and national dialogues; and bring about consensus on the ways to address discriminatory social practices and shape the country's institutions in ways that are responsive to the needs of all citizens. It works to ensure that women are active in economic spheres as well, granting financial aid to women starting small businesses.

Ms. Gebreab's peace-building activities include:

• serving as President of the National Union of Eritrean Women from its inception in 1979;
  
• addressing the United Nations General Assembly at the Twenty-third Special Session "Women 2000: gender, equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century";
• participating in the preparations for the Beijing +5 Conference on Women;
• co-founding the Intergovernmental Authority on Development's (IGAD) Women's Affairs Network, which brings together women from IGAD member states to discuss conflict management, peace building, and political stability;
• organizing a peace march at the height of the war-50,000 women took part in this event, in which women went from embassy to embassy, calling for an end to the conflict;
• presenting a paper on the situation of Eritrean women and peace at a women's peace-building conference in Khartoum in 2001;
• organizing literacy, computer, business management, and job skills training sessions as Eritrea rebuilds after decades of war; and
• advocating for the rights of women and campaigning against traditional discriminatory practices.
  

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