No independence for women of the Congo

                                                                                                                                         WfWI

This entry is again on the Congo as the nation has just celebrated 50 years of independence from Belgium (my own country!) and I am trying to imagine the future of a state where 1200 women, men and children are dying every day because of the conflict and humanitarian crisis, which rage in the eastern provinces.

The scale of violence in DRC is well documented. More than 5.4 million have died since the conflict began in 1998. The death toll is equivalent to an Asian Tsunami every six months or so and a September 11th every 2.5 days. And yet, the world is still largely ignoring it.

Women have been specifically targeted: in the first 9 months of 2009 alone, there were 7,500 reported cases of rape in eastern DRC. Girls as young as two and women as old as 80 have been victims of rape and sexual violence (Human Rights Watch). In the eastern province of South Kivu, one woman is being raped every two hours. (OCHA, 2010)

 But despite this backdrop of war, poverty and sexual violence, women in DRC are holding families together and rebuilding their communities, according to a new report by Women for Women International, an international charity working with women in areas of conflict around the world. “Their resilience and strength shines through,” says Christine Karumba, WfWI Programme Director for the DRC. “One woman can change anything. Many women can change everything.”

 “DRC 2010 Stronger Women, Stronger Nations”, based on interviews with 1800 women and 200 men in rural and urban areas in the eastern provinces,  shows that:

Out of every 100 women in DRC:

40 have lost their home

80 do not own a mattresses

40 never attended school

50 eat only one meal a day

80 earn US $1 or less per day

80 are from villages that have been attacked

80 think their current village will be attacked

50 have spouses who left because of war

50 are afraid to work outside of their home

80 are unhappy with their lives today

70 think about hurting themselves

75 have lost family members due to the war

80 have lost family due to illness. 

Yet, 93% are working and continue to support their families

And 63 believe there can be peace in the DRC

The WfWI report founds that:

1.      Health and emotional well-being are severely degraded by violence. The war is taking its toll on family structures.  The constant atmosphere of violence and insecurity and the breakdown of the family due to war is leading to a near mental health epidemic in the eastern province of Kivu.  

2.      Health and wealth go hand in hand. Almost all (93%) of women are working. Despite the number of women working, 95% are living in absolute poverty, and women in our sample are well below accepted average income levels.

3.      Women with higher income levels have better physical health and well-being. They save more money to support their families and eat more meals per day. They are respected by their families and communities, think less about hurting themselves, and know where to seek help and information.

4.      The war burdens women with increased responsibilities. Only 2.4% of women reported that their husbands remain at home. This separation inflicted by the war leaves women to shoulder enormous burdens as they take over tasks formerly carried out by men in addition to those for which they are traditionally responsible. Lack of security makes these tasks even harder.

5.      Men suffer along with women. Men have been affected by sexual violence at a higher level than previously understood, with similar emotional effects as women. Male abuse victims suffer from extremely high rates of unemployment.

6.      Group participation offers enormous recovery benefits.

Overall 80% of women surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that being part of a group helps them make friends, express themselves, increase their incomes, and be part of their community.

Women for Women International is calling on the international community, the UK government and the UN to work with the Congolese government to:

• Improve the security situation

• Address mental health  

• Invest in women

•Involve men in solutions for women

• Channel local momentum for peace

Women for Women International is part of the Congo Now campaign (see previous entry). 

 Since 2004, WfWI has provided support to 31,195 women in the DRC. 11,811 women are currently in the DRC programme.  The year-long programme offers women rights awareness and life-skills training,  development of vocational and business skills and opportunities for micro-finance and help in identifying potential markets for self employment.

Watch WfWI video on women in the Congo and their work there (as seen on 60 minutes).

Congo Now! Celebrates 50 years of independence; demands end of conflict

                                                     

As the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)  celebrates 50 years of independence today  (June 30th), the Congo Now! campaign is launching a series of events to celebrate the rich creativity of the Congolese people and raise awareness of the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in the east of Congo.

Congo Now! is backed by over 30 NGOs working on Congo, including Christian Aid, Oxfam and Global Witness, as well as UK-based Congolese groups, and the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes Region of Africa.  The campaign is calling on the new UK Government to revitalise its commitment to end the violence and the suffering of civilians in DRC.

The campaign combines cultural events with campaign activities - from a cocktail party featuring award-winning photojournalist Susan Schulman to Parliamentary roundtables; from a run in support of Congo’s women in Regent’s Park to talks by activist Sam Roddick.   There is also a night of entertainment at the Southbank Centre with Sandi Toksvig, Eddie Kadi and Ronan Bennett  to name a few, as well a postcard petition aimed at Prime Minister David Cameron calling for the UK Government to do more to end violence in the DRC.

Eric Joyce MP, Congo Now! spokesperson said:

“The 30th June sees Congo marking 50 years of independence, but for many in the eastern parts of Congo, there is little to celebrate.  Some two million people are unable to go home as a result of the conflict, with rape and violence daily threats.  It is tragic that this conflict has been forgotten for so long. We are calling on our politicians to mark this anniversary by doing more to help build a Congo free of violence.”

The DRC has been described as the ‘heart of Africa’ and is home to enormous natural wealth and resources. However for the last 15 years, the country has been ravaged by the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II:

•       with an estimated 5.4 million dead  – more than 2.7 million of them children

•        over 9,000 people were raped in Kivu provinces of eastern Congo last year.

•      over 115,000 people were displaced in the first three months of 2010

The UK government is currently the largest bilateral donor to the DRC, with a commitment of £130 million for 2010.  Congo Now! is calling on the UK to maintain its funding and strengthen its political efforts on the DRC. 
In particular it is calling on the UK to:

•      Stop natural resources fuelling the conflict – by adopting legislation to ensure that materials purchased by UK companies neither finance armed groups nor contribute to human rights abuses.

•      Protect civilians from violence – by calling on the Congolese government to reform their armed forces, which too often prey on rather than protect civilians; and urging the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Congo to protect people and ensure guarantees for civilian safety are put in place before any significant reduction of peacekeepers takes place.

•       Promote non-military and regional solutions to the conflict.

•      Address the devastating causes and consequences of conflict and sexual violence particularly for women and children  by providing effective humanitarian and development assistance across the country, including for projects focused on the care for survivors of sexual violence and former child soldiers.  

For more information and a list of events, click here.

V-Day at Royal Albert Hall - Stop Sexual Violence in DRC

Today, 19th November 2009, hundreds of men and women – activists, politicians from all parties, journalists, celebrities and religious leaders – are gathering on the steps of the Royal Albert Hall in London to demonstrate against the use of sexual violence in the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The event is organized by V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.

Exactly one hundred years ago, the Great Congo Demonstration was held at the Royal Albert Hall, chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury and joined by artists and intellectuals, such as Arthur Conan Doyle and Mark Twain, to campaign against the exploitation, slavery and murder of the Congolese people.

One hundred years on, violence and exploitation of a different but equivalent devastation remains. Over the last 12 years, the ongoing conflict has claimed the lives of an estimated 6 million people and sexual violence in the DRC is being used to torture and humiliate women and girls and destroy families.

V-Day Founder/Playwright Eve Ensler, who has travelled to the Congo five times in the last two years stated: “What we are seeing in the DRC is a war being enacted on the bodies of women that is conscious and intentional - it is the systematic destruction of the female population of the Congo. Today, we are hearing reports from activists on the ground that the babies born of rape are NOW being raped. What this tells us is that this vicious cycle is continuing, that we are fighting for the same human rights today that the protesters at The Great Congo Demonstration fought for 100 years ago.”

Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped since the conflict began. In addition to the severe psychological impact, sexual violence leaves many survivors with genital lesions, traumatic fistulae, severed and broken limbs, unwanted pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Survivors are regularly ostracised and abandoned by their families and communities.

V-Day UK Committee calls upon the international community to champion:

*A political – not military – solution to end the devastating, incessant conflict in the Congo.
*For prosecutions to be taken against those who are living in impunity for the sexual crimes they inflict daily upon Congolese women and girls.
*Support for a larger women’s police force in the Congo that can bring reliable security and protection to the most vulnerable members of its society.

This event is the first in a series that make up Congo Now - an international campaign that unites a coalition of more than 20 of the UK’s biggest NGOs plus UK parliamentarians. The campaign combines British and Congolese voices to demand an end to the world's worst humanitarian crisis - and action to address its underlying causes and consequences. The campaign will reach a climax in June and July 2010, when the DRC celebrates 50 years of independence.