[Reader-list] Women principal war victims

[Inder Salim]

http://www.afrol.com/Categories/Women/wom006_drc_victims.htm

Women comprise some 80 per cent of internally displaced persons and
refugees when there is a war. Women and girls are also victims of
rape, domestic violence, sexual exploitation, trafficking, sexual
humiliation and mutilation. Until now, however, their voice is seldom
heard when "the important men" talk peace and war.

Women as victims of war and women's role in peace building has been an
important topic of discussion in several forums, most notably the
United Nations, lately. There has been a special focus on the war, its
victims and the peace process in the Great Lakes region.

Atoki Ileka, representing Congo Kinshasa (DRC), told the UN Security
Council that the recognition of women as equal partners in the
prevention of war "is an important step. Recognizing their
contribution to peace-building, however, is even more critical. Women
must be involved in conflict resolution so that they could use their
creativity to build consensus and find solutions for peace." He
emphasized that women and children "are the first victims" of the war
in his country, "which has a devastating impact on all aspects of life
in" the DRC.

Blaming Ugandan and Rwandan troops for horrible acts of violence
against women, particularly in Kisingani, he told the Council that
"those women have resisted rape and were subsequently bled dry and
their bodies rubbed with pepper and salt in every orifice. In other
incidents, women militants were arrested and raped, along with
schoolgirls. The barbaric practice of collective rape has also served
to spread the HIV/AIDS virus." Equal testimonies of acts of violence
against women are also reported from the other side in the conflict,
and attributed Government troops and its allies.

"The security of women is the best indicator of the security of a nation"
Women and girls are vulnerable both in times of peace and war, due to
profound gender inequalities that still characterize societies. They
comprise some 80 per cent of internally displaced persons and refugees
on a worldwide scale. Women and girls are also victims of rape,
domestic violence, sexual exploitation, trafficking, sexual
humiliation and mutilation. Reversing this situation requires
political will and determination to fulfil all commitments concerning
the protection and promotion of the women’s rights. In the words of
the President of the Security Council, "women are half of every
community, are they therefore not half of every solution?" How can we,
in good conscience, bring warlords to the negotiating table and not
women, the representative of the UN's agency for women, UNIFEM asked.

- No full-scale assessment of the impact of armed conflict on women
has yet taken place. Ironically, it has happened for children, but not
yet for women - their primary caretakers and among those most affected
by conflict, she went on. "International protection and assistance
systematically neglect women and girls. There are thousands of
children born of rape and forced impregnation."

After conflicts, resources are depleted, infrastructure is destroyed,
and social, economic and political relationships are strained.
Successful reconstruction depends upon the use of every available
resource. Women represent the most precious and underutilised of these
resources, as it was shown in the Burundi peace process. At the
beginning of the negotiation, the majority of proposals crafted by
Burundian women at a recent conference held in Arusha from 17 - 20
July were accepted by the nineteen conflict parties.

On this occasion, the key recommendations made by the women included:
the establishment of mechanisms to punish and put an end to war crimes
such as rape and sexual violence; guarantees for women's rights to
property, land and inheritance; measures to ensure women's security
and safe return; and guarantees that girls have the same rights as
boys to all levels of education.

In Burundi, women's voices were heard, but obviously not enough, as
the conflict is going on with renewed force, lead by male warlords.
Meanwhile, Burundian women are left fleeing the country to an
uncertain future in Tanzanian refugee camps, where their security
neither is provided for, according to new reports.



--