BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 22. Women operate as the fundamental leaders of post-conflict reconstruction, grassroots peacebuilding, and long-term social resilience, meaning that metropolitan and regional recovery cannot finish with basic physical infrastructure, Member of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan Sevinj Fataliyeva said, Trend reports.
She the remarks during a high-level panel discussion titled "Women Rebuilding Hope: Housing, Inclusion, and Resilient Communities in Post-Conflict Territories," held within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku.
According to her, modern structural recovery in areas navigating the aftermath of armed conflicts and humanitarian crises must look far beyond building roads and residential blocks.
"True post-conflict recovery centers primarily on restoring normal daily life, mutual trust, a profound sense of physical safety, and collective hope. Very frequently, it is women who step forward as the first to activate this critical process," Fataliyeva pointed out.
The MP emphasized that within post-conflict societies, women absorb immense structural responsibilities, managing familial protection, safeguarding children and elderly citizens, and preserving core educational and cultural ties under exceptionally harsh field conditions.
"While formal state institutions are still undergoing rebuilding cycles, women are already reviving communities step by step, family by family. For this reason, women must never face classification exclusively as passive victims of conflict or mere recipients of humanitarian aid. Women stand as active leaders of systemic reconstruction and peacebuilding," she stated.
Fataliyeva reminded the panel that this paradigm anchors the international security agenda, noting that the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 explicitly mandates the full-scale, non-symbolic participation of women across all stages of peace processes and post-conflict governance decision-making loops.
The address directed specific analytical focus toward the deep intersection connecting UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality) and Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
"Metropolitan areas cannot achieve true resilience if women and girls do not feel secure in them, or if they undergo exclusion from municipal design processes. When we exclude women from urban master-planning, society wastes half of its available talent, ideas, and structural potential. Conversely, centering women as architects, urban planners, engineers, and municipal executive leaders creates safer, more inclusive environments for everyone," the parliamentarian underscored.
Turning to the comprehensive reconstruction of Azerbaijan’s liberated territories, Fataliyeva outlined how the country is engineering a brand-new model of regional development from scratch.
"For Azerbaijan, this macro-project bypasses the mere rebuilding of what was destroyed. We are deploying smart cities and smart villages equipped with advanced digital technologies, green energy solutions, and modern infrastructure," she noted, citing the targeted sustainable development models operating in Aghali (Zangilan district) and Fuzuli.
However, the MP re-emphasized that the absolute benchmark of successful recovery remains the sustainable return of formerly displaced populations to their ancestral lands.
"True recovery activates not when the physical roads are paved, but when families return, when children play safely in municipal spaces, and when women gain access to high-quality employment, digital education pipelines, and entrepreneurial capital. This human layer forms the baseline of long-term regional stability," Fataliyeva declared, adding that women simultaneously serve as vital drivers of the green energy transition and ecological responsibility at the community layer.
She also expanded on the global post-crisis concept of "Building Back Better."
"Building back better means engineering substantially more inclusive, humanistic, and resilient societies where every individual feels protected, heard, and valued. Inclusive urban recovery is fundamentally an exercise in peacebuilding. By rebuilding our cities, women do not just restore physical masonry; they restore trust, communities, and most importantly, hope," she concluded.
