Ffion Devonald-Jones
‘The women of Wales and World Peace’ – Welsh Women’s activism on behalf
of peace and the League of Nations.
The late nineteenth and early twentieth century saw women’s emergence in the
field of international relations. Women were key figures in the development of new
discourses in this field, and the women of Wales were no exception. 1 The title of this essay
indicates the role that Welsh women had in these wider discussions of international
cooperation, as ‘The Women of Wales and World Peace’ was a topic on the agenda of the
Welsh League of Nations Union meeting in Aberystwyth on the 23 rd of May 1923. 2 This
essay will discuss how women played a part in international affairs and navigated their role
within the field, by looking at key women like Winifred Coombe Tennant. It will also
highlight the important role that women played in the Welsh League of Nations Union and
how they contributed to wider international discussions. It will also address the link that
many women made between femininity and peace, which in many ways allowed them
access to these international discussions.
The First World War’s greater impact on civilians and the home front meant that
women were impacted by war in a way that they had not been previously. This therefore
allowed women to use their experiences of war to strive for peace. 3 Carrie Chapman Catt
stated, ‘The combined services of the women of the world have been sufficient to warrant
1 Patricia Owens and Katharina Rietzler eds, Women’s International Thought: a new History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021), p. 2. 2 Academi Heddwch Cymru, ‘#OTD 23 May 1923: The Aberystwyth Conference of Women for World Peace’ on Welsh Centre for International Affairs (23 rd of May 2023) <https://www.wcia.org.uk/academi-heddwch- cymru/otd-23-may-1923-the-aberystwyth-conference-of-women-for-world-peace/> [accessed on 10/11/2023]. 3 Jan Stöckmann, ‘Women, Wars and World Affairs: Recovering Feminist International Relations, 1915 - 1939’, Review of International Studies , 42.2 (2018), 215-235 (p. 226).
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