Jamila-Aisha P. Sanguila is a local peacebuilder with more than twenty years of experience in gender advocacy, community engagement, and education on the history of Mindanao in areas affected by conflict, especially in Mindanao, Philippines. Raised amidst conflict and displacement, including the all-out war in March 2000 and the armed conflict in 2008 in her hometown, she was motivated to collaborate with other survivors and commit to peacebuilding and the empowerment of women. Her interreligious background further strengthens her dedication to culturally sensitive and community-focused peacebuilding efforts. 

Her work is dedicated to promoting the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda across academia, grassroots initiatives, and international platforms. As a former faculty member at Mindanao State University-Main campus and a project manager for the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, Jamila has woven Mindanao history, interreligious dialogue, peace education, and transitional justice into the fabric of academic discourse. In parallel, she has spearheaded grassroots movements to mitigate conflict and advance gender equality. 

In 2018, she founded the Women Empowered to Act for Dialogue and Peace (WE Act), an organisation committed to aiding communities affected by the 2017 Marawi siege. Her leadership has steered WE Act towards enhancing the involvement of women in peace initiatives, promoting dialogue, and facilitating trauma-informed sessions, showcasing her profound dedication to empowering women and local peacebuilders. She is committed to creating innovative approaches for gender-inclusive policies, encouraging women’s participation in peace processes, and strengthening community-led efforts in Mindanao and elsewhere. 

Jamila’s engagement with international platforms, such as the Salzburg Global Seminar’s Asia Peace Innovators Forum funded by The Nippon Foundation, has expanded her peacebuilding perspective. Consequently, she has spearheaded initiatives like the Kababaihan Kapit-bisig para sa Kapayapaan in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (K-BARMM) and “Peace to Peacebuilders (P2P): Strengthening Peacebuilders’ Resilience in Crisis Situations” throughout Asia. Additionally, she is a co-creator of the Peace Starts Here campaign, which supports and encourages locally-led peacebuilding efforts globally. 

Jamila has earned a master’s degree in Gender and Peace Building from the UN-Mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica, as well as a master’s degree in History (CAR) from Mindanao State University-Main campus in the Philippines.  

Participant in: October 2024 Fellowship: Peacebuilding and Women’s Meaningful Participation in Peacebuilding Processes