Sisters Against Violent Extremism

Sisters Against Violent Extremism (SAVE) is an international Women Without Borders initiative. SAVE is based at the Women without Borders headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Dr. Edit Schlaffer, chairperson of Women Without Borders, also heads the SAVE initiative. SAVE’s mission is to empower women to mobilize other women as well as the young generation against all forms of violent extremism. SAVE give women the ‘know-how’ knowledge and the practical tools to challenge extremist thinking and to provide tangible alternatives to extremist ideologies. The organisation has attractive influential women such as Sasha Havlicek who is the founding executive director of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD),
History
Women without Borders organized a conference in November 2008 to kick off the SAVE initiative. Held at the Palais Schönburg in Vienna, Austria, the three-day conference brought together survivors of terrorist attacks, women who have lost family members in terrorist attacks, relatives of terrorists, policy makers, and activists from Europe, the US, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. At the close of the conference, the women agreed on a SAVE Declaration and committed to continuing SAVE’s work in their home regions.
SAVE Declaration
Each participant of the first SAVE conference declares:
<ol>
<li>I, as a woman, will use the local and global networks of women to stop the killing.</li>
<li>I will inspire a new response to prevent terror, violence, and discrimination.</li>
<li>I will create awareness for not stigmatizing the families of the extremists/terrorists.</li>
<li>I will support the young generation with non-violent alternatives in their search for a better life.</li>
<li>I will engage all forms of media for spreading the message of non-violence.</li>
<li>I will insist on peaceful resolutions to prevent escalation of conflict and violence.</li>
<li>I will promote a global dialogue for a future without fear.</li>
<li>I will raise my voice against all hostile states and politics that cause suffering.</li>
<li>I recognise the urgency of creating ‘SAVE’ spaces for a peaceful coexistence.</li>
<li>I will always remember those affected by violent extremism.</li>
</ol>
Regional Chapters
Women without Borders partners with women around the world to promote their message. Women without Borders has initiated regional SAVE chapters in the UK, Northern Ireland, Spain, and India. In the UK, Women without Borders works with local partners to conduct Students Against Violent Extremism campaigns with local university students. Local SAVE Ambassadors show the 13-minute documentary “Journeys Through Darkness” to groups of students and mothers to prompt dialogue their experiences with and thoughts on violent extremism. Women without Borders also conducts Students Against Violent Extremism and Schools Against Violent Extremism campaigns in India with local partners. Women without Borders will soon expand these campaigns in Northern Ireland and Spain, and will shortly open regional SAVE chapters in Israel and Palestine, Yemen and Pakistan.
Films
Women without Borders / SAVE has produced a number of films documenting the work of SAVE Activists.
SAVE UK-Female Muslim Leadership in Action features three women as they work to overcome prejudice and hate in the UK.
Journeys Through Darkness features three women who were affected by terrorism: one is a former member of the Islamist group Hizb-ut Tahrir, another worked to end violence between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, and the third lost her brother in the 7/7 train bombings in Madrid.
SAVE-Schools Against Violent Extremism highlights how this campaign works in India.
Surviving Terror profiles survivors and relatives of victims of the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November 2008.

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