Ali Cottally first got involved in women’s peace activism when she joined the Sellafield Women’s Peace Camp in 1993. The camp aimed to draw attention to the link between nuclear power and the military use of nuclear. After Sellafield, Ali attended the Menwith Hill and Faslane Peace Camps. She also became involved in organising ‘Women Speak Out’, a series of conferences for women in peace activism to meet, train and plan strategy.
In 2005 Ali attended the G8 protests in Scotland where she first experienced large-scale consensus decision-making and met activists from many different countries. These experiences helped Ali when, in 2006, she went to Palestine as part of the International Women’s Peace Service. There she became part of the international presence in a rural area affected by settlement building and the construction of the Wall. Ali supported people in various ways including accompanying them to their land and taking part in demonstrations. Here Ali talks about why she is drawn to women’s peace activism and what she learnt from the Greenham Women.