After meeting with women’s groups in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Despina Namwembe, URI’s Coordinator for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, has a clearer sense of the deeply disturbing conditions affecting women in the area – as well as the steps URI’s Women’s Initiative and other organizations can take to address them.
In Burundi, a nation divided by ethnic violence and troubled by the difficulty in resettling former refugees, Despina met with women who were members of URI. To help them, Despina formed the URI Burundi Women’s Initiative, a group that will work to pass and enforce laws protecting women’s access to property and teach life skills to young girls. She also met with Burundi’s Ombudsman, the nation’s chief mediator, who expressed an interest in working more closely with URI.
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, a nation wracked both by conflicts within neighboring states and conflicts with militant groups within its borders, Despina visited members of the Fire Ministries Women’s Association (pictured above). The group provides counseling and clinical referrals to women who have experienced sexual violence on a horrific scale – women who have been left physically and psychologically scarred by the brutality of their attacks.
“These are women denied even their basic human rights to the highest degree and who deserve to live decent lives,” Despina said. “The URI Women’s Initiative needs to see how best it can contribute to the efforts of other actors in alleviating the suffering of these women.”
Despina noted the need for members of the volunteer organization to receive greater training and support, as well as a global forum in which to tell their story. She encouraged members of the mostly Christian group to include women from other religious backgrounds, and helped them to pursue their interest in becoming members of URI.
In Rwanda, a nation still scarred by the memories of the 1994 genocide that took the lives of more than half a million people, Despina met with members of Sangwa (“Approachable”). The group includes women from different religious backgrounds who are either survivors of the genocide themselves or have been affected by the slaughter.
The group works to provide counseling for women, particularly single mothers, who have been traumatized by the genocide. Many of those women were raped during the conflict, and both they and the children of those rapes have since been ostracized by their communities. The group advocates for women’s rights and offers training in life skills and entrepreneurship. Sangwa also provides women in rural areas with household items, since arguments over necessities is a source of conflict – and domestic violence – in many rural homes.
In addition, members of Sangwa have collaborated on music and drama projects that highlight the plight of women and promote the notion of Rwanda as one nation.
Despina joined Sangwa members in meeting with the President of the Rwanda Human Rights commission, who agreed to partner with the group and to connect URI to another group of religious leaders from diverse backgrounds. Despina also formed a URI Women’s Initiative Committee with volunteers from Sangwa, and encouraged Sangwa members to pursue their interests in becoming a URI Cooperation Circle.
Despina plans to meet with women’s groups in Kenya, Southern Sudan and Uganda later this year to continue her assessment of the challenges affecting women throughout Africa and ways URI’s Women’s Initiative can work with existing groups to help address those challenges.
