Our History

The Rural Women Peace Link (RWPL) was founded in 1992 by a group of local women peacebuilders with a vision and passion to sustain peace among diverse communities in the North Rift in Kenya. It was born out of the desire and will to provide a structure through which rural women’s groups and communities could articulate common needs and priorities, share experiences and petition policymaker

Started in 1999

The organization emerged to respond to the women-specific concerns and issues that were emerging during and after ethnic clashes. The initiative was started in June 1999 by a group of women peacemakers involved in peace work, who conceded that exclusion of women from the community decision-making processes is the main contributor to high female vulnerability in situations dominated by ethnic conflicts, economic hardships, socio-cultural exploitation, and political manipulation. 

Providing a structure for dialogue

RWPL recognizes the fact that women and children suffer most during conflicts. Rural Women Peace Link, therefore, provides a structure through which rural women groups and community women workers representing disadvantaged rural communities, can articulate their common needs and priorities, share their experiences, and present their cases to policymakers at the national level, county level, and at other levels.  Since its inception, RWPL has greatly contributed towards the strengthening of local women groups and their active participation in peace work and public life in general as a community-based organization (CBO), this led to its reach of 500 women networks with an average membership of 20 women.

The Voice of the Marginalized

RWPL exists to help raise the voice of the women, youths, Persons Living with Disability (PWDs) and other marginalized groups at the grassroots level. Today it boasts of a widely recognized success of its work in advocacy for the rights of women and peacebuilding initiatives, thus, RWPL today stands tall in its status.