Part of demystifying peacebuilding is recognising the agency of young people, who are building and sustaining peace in their communities, and speaking up against injustices. In this episode, Shreya from UNOY Peacebuilders sat down with Ufra Mir, a peace psychologist from Kashmir, to discuss the nexus between mental health, decolonising peacebuilding, and Ufra’s experiences as a woman peacebuilder in Kashmir.

Kashmir has increasingly come to be a militarised and patriarchal conflict zone, where the word ‘peace’ has become a privilege given the context. In such situations, peacebuilding often needs to start from scratch, rebuilding communities socially, economically, as well as mentally and physically, and where a gender-inclusive mental health lens is crucial. Moreover, especially in the context of South Asia, it is important to understand that decolonising peacebuilding spaces is also equally important to consider when we talk about peace psychology. Peace is a process, not a product, and narratives should be centred around bringing to light the importance of doing psycho-social conflict resolution and peacebuilding work in places such as Kashmir.

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.