About
Bylines & Frontlines is a sharp, inclusive, and engaging podcast produced by WIIS-Canada in partnership with the Canadian Defence and Security Network. It explores the intersections of gender, policy, peace, and security through the voices of diverse experts and changemakers.
We aim to challenge dominant narratives and elevate voices from the frontlines—whether those are battlegrounds, boardrooms, classrooms, or communities. Through dynamic, rotating hosts and carefully themed episodes, we unpack how stories shape strategy and who gets to tell them
Whether you're on the frontlines of centering women in international security or reshaping security policy from within, we want to hear from you. Know someone we should feature? Reach out.
Season 1
Episode 3: From Tragedy to Accountability: Gender-Based Violence and State Responsibility
In this powerful episode of Bylines and Frontlines, hosts Frieda Castellanos and Dr. Colleen Bell take on one of the most urgent global issues of our time—gender-based violence in contexts where states are unresponsive or complicit. Recorded on the eve of Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the discussion bridges histories of harm and the ongoing struggle for justice.
Our guests bring deep expertise and lived commitment to this topic:
Murwarid Ziayee, Senior Director at Right to Learn Afghanistan, reflects on how women’s rights and safety have been systematically eroded under Taliban rule—and the quiet networks still keeping hope alive.
Sheila North, journalist, filmmaker, and former Grand Chief of MKO, shares hard-won insights from her work on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada, including her acclaimed documentary 1200+ and memoir My Privilege, My Responsibility.
Soma Bidarpour, Kurdish scholar and PhD researcher at the University of Ottawa, unpacks how authoritarian regimes in Iran and Afghanistan weaponize control over women’s bodies as a form of state violence.
Together, they examine how impunity is sustained, how journalism and advocacy can shift narratives, and how communities across Afghanistan, Iran, and Canada are resisting and reshaping their futures.
Listeners will come away with both structural insights and concrete actions—from survivor-centered reporting to data sovereignty, legal reform, and transnational solidarity.
Episode 2: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Action: Canada’s Approach to Women, Peace & Security
In this episode, we’re diving into what may be one of the most debated topics in security circles today: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. For some, it’s only a lightning rod. For us, and especially for our guests, it’s foundational to how Canada thinks about Women, Peace and Security.
Joining our WIIS-C co-hosts, Dr Colleen Bell and Frieda Garcia Castellanos, are two guests who bring both operational credibility and deep policy expertise to this conversation:
Dr. Sara Greco, a political scientist with experience across the Defence Team—from advising senior leaders, to teaching at the Canadian Forces College, to shaping policy within Chief Military Personnel. She is also a WIIS-Canada board member and a research collaborator with the Canadian Defence and Security Network.
And, LCol Riel “Guns” Erickson, one of Canada’s first five female fighter pilots. Over nearly three decades in uniform, she has flown the CF-18 Hornet, trained the next generation of pilots, and made history intercepting Russian bombers in Canadian airspace. Today, she serves as the CAF Liaison Officer to Canada’s Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security.
Together, we’ll explore what EDI and WPS look like when they move off the page and into practice what works, what resists change, and why Canada’s experience stands out at a time when some of our allies are moving in the opposite direction.
Episode 1: WIIS Canada - Past, Present and Future Vision
In this inaugural episode of Bylines and Frontlines, WIIS Canada Chair Erin Koenig and CDSN Director Dr. Steve Saideman sit down with Dr. Stefanie von Hlatky, founder of WIIS Canada to trace the organization’s roots, reflect on the current moment, and explore where it’s headed next.
Stéfanie von Hlatky is the Canada Research Chair on Gender, Security, and the Armed Forces, Full Professor of political studies at Queen’s University, and Fellow with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. Her latest books are Deploying Feminism: The Role of Gender in NATO Military Operations (2022) and Total Defence Forces in the 21st Century (2023). She is the founder of Women in International Security – Canada and the Honorary Colonel of the Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment.
This episode lays the groundwork for a podcast series that goes behind the headlines and into the stories of those changing the field.
