Tag Archives: gender justice

Protecting women from gender-based violence in post-conflict situations

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It is that time of the year again when we observe the 16 days of activism against gender violence. This period gives us an opportunity to reflect as well as create awareness on gender based violence and the effect it continues to have in our communities. It is also an opportunity for us to ask ourselves the hard questions such as why after more than three decades since the adoption of the CEDAW, two decades after the declaration on elimination of violence against women and progression in both national and international arena on the rights of women, the problem of violence against women continues to persist.

This year I would like to share how circumstance of women who were formerly abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army during the over two decades conflict in northern Uganda makes them vulnerable to abuse and violence. These women experienced horrific violations under the hands of the rebels including forced marriages and forced impregnation. Upon escape or rescue, they came back with children they bore in captivity as well as health complications as a result of either giving birth while young under harsh conditions or gun wounds and other related injuries as a result of exposure to battles. They were met by an embittered community that was not willing to accept them and their children due to their past association with rebels, their clans were not ready to accept them or give them land because they had children whose clans were unknown. As a result many of these women have left their homes and settled in town centres where they find comfort in their anonymity. With no education or skills, they cannot get formal employment and have to most of the time survive on casual labour which is not always available and does not pay much.

There was no comprehensive system put in place to assist such women integrate back to the community apart from an amnesty package that never took into consideration that they came back with children. They lack social and economic safety nets to help them rebuild their lives making them live in abject poverty yet they have to take care of children whose fathers died, are still in the bush or are unwilling to take care of their children. As a result they will look for any opportunity that would seem to provide them with economic security without worrying about the detrimental effects. This has commonly been in form of entering into “clandestine relationships” in the hope of securing basic necessities for their children. In such relationships these women and their children become vulnerable to abuse and violence. A recent study by Watye Kigen, an organisation working with children born in captivity showed that such children often become targets of abuse and discrimination in such relationships. The women stay only because they lack alternatives and become easy targets of sexual exploitation all in the name of feeding their children.

The question then becomes could these women find themselves in such situations if there was a comprehensive reintegration package put in place to help them meet their immediate needs as well as help them rebuild their lives? The importance of social and economic safety nets for women affected by war cannot be gainsaid. It is an absolute necessity if we are going to mitigate vulnerability to gender based violence in post conflict situations. It is time we made sure that responses of post conflict situations take into consideration social economic empowerment for women. When women are empowered economically, they have choices and these choices remove the vulnerability they have to abusive circumstances.

Women’s Advocacy Network petitions the Government to take action to support war-affected women in northern Uganda

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On the 23rd of August 2013, 73 members of the Women’s Advocacy Network submitted a petition on behalf of war affected women to the Gulu District Local Government. In the petition, the members of the grass-roots organisation, supported by the Justice and Reconciliation Project, request the Local Government representatives to appeal to the Government of Uganda to initiate policies which will address the needs of war-affected women in the region, many of whom were abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army during its twenty year conflict with the Government of Uganda, and their children.

Specifically, the petition calls for action for the special needs of the children of war-affected women, some of whom were born in captivity, and who have continued to suffer the brunt of stigmatisation in their communities, despite the end of armed conflict. They are also often deprived of education and psycho-social support and, in some cases, do not know the identity of their paternal relatives.

The petition also requests that a reparations policy be adopted by the Government of Uganda to address the socio-economic needs of war-affected women, to help build their capacity to support themselves and to compensate them for the losses they suffered during the war. The women also request that accountability processes for the atrocities that took place during the war be effected in order to aid reconciliation and healing within communities and throughout the country.

The petition was put on the agenda to be tabled on Tuesday, September 10th 2013 at the Gulu District Local Government District Council Hall.

Read the petition below:

WAN Gulu District Local Govt Petition (pdf)

A circle of trust – Together we can! 2013 Women’s Exchange Visit

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On 27 July, JRP hosted the 2013 women's exchange visit where war-affected women to share their experiences and discuss a mutual way forward for reparations and reconciliation in Uganda
On 27 July, JRP hosted the 2013 women’s exchange visit where war-affected women shared their experiences and discussed the forward for reparations and reconciliation in Uganda

On Saturday 27 July, war-affected women from different parts of northern Uganda came together to share their experiences and highlight the way forward for transitional justice advocacy in the region.

Representatives of victims groups in Teso, Acholi, West Nile, Lango and Luweero spoke passionately about what challenges women face today. Guided by the theme ‘together we can’ (which was translated into Lugbara, Acholi, Iteso and Lango different languages), the meeting also served as an opportunity for war affected women to discuss ways in which they can work together to achieve their collective objectives towards justice and reconciliation.

Below are pictures of the event.

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Every Voice Counts: Women’s Advocacy Network celebrates anniversary and looks forward

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One year after the official launch of the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN), the Justice and Reconciliation Project hosted a stakeholders’ dialogue at Churchill Courts in Gulu to celebrate the first anniversary of the grassroots advocacy initiative and to further highlight the issues that continue to face war-affected women in northern Uganda. Invited guests included representatives of local government, civil society members, the media and members of WAN.

Six representatives of the Network held a panel discussion on their personal experiences as well as the challenges that form the basis of the advocacy points that WAN seeks to address. In particular, they emphasised the experiences of children born in captivity, education, health issues, land inheritance, inadequate amnesty packages, as well need for the creation of more income generating activities that will help to support women and children affected by the war were. They also made a call for more outreaches to be made at community level to sensitise community members on the acceptance of women and children that have returned from captivity.

One representative also discussed the importance of apology. For community members to reconcile and to come to terms with the past, a simple apology by political leaders and former rebel leaders would go a long way, she said, since after all, “we are Acholi and we are Ugandans.”

The event also served to launch Adyebo: The Wild Plant – a book which documents the experiences of war-affected women during and after the conflict in northern Uganda up the formation of the WAN. Download the book here (pdf).

About WAN

WAN brings together war affected women in a forum where they come together to advocate for justice, acknowledgement and accountability for gender based violations inflicted upon them during the war in northern Uganda.

Adyebo: The Wild Plant

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Adyebo Cover sm

Adyebo is a compilation of stories told at a ‘storytelling’ session organised by the Justice and Reconciliation Project, an NGO based in Gulu, northern Uganda. It is the story of women of different ages and backgrounds in northern Uganda that were abducted during the height of the Lord’s Resistance Army conflict in the region. Starting at the beginnning of their journey from Uganda to Sudan and back home, their stories illustrate the unique challenges faced by women during and after conflict.

Download here: Adyebo The Wild Plant (pdf)

Women 4 Peace Awards – Congratulations Nancy Apiyo!

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Last Friday, JRP’s Gender Justice Project Officer, Nancy Apiyo, was awarded with the Volunteer Action Network (VAC-NET) Women 4 Peace Awards for her contribution to peace and reconciliation and her work with women, particularly the Women’s Advocacy Network. Citing her mother as her greatest inspiration, Nancy promised to push on with the fight for equality and fair treatment to all, regardless of gender.

Nancy is known for her great passion for women’s issues.  “If you want to cross her path just mention something demeaning about formerly abducted women,” Gender Justice Team Leader, Kasiva Mulli remarked.

During the award ceremony, she humbly attributed the award to the women she worked with, many of  whom found themselves returning to a society that has not fully recovered but tirelessly set themselves to work in it to promote justice and reconciliation. The women, she said, were the real recipients of the Women 4 Peace Award.

See photos from the Award Ceremony below:

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WAN – Our Journey

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It is five months since the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) was officially launched.   Since then the Network has been involved in a number of advocacy activities which include community outreach meetings,  holding meetings with various stakeholders to advocate for our issues,  holding regular radio talk shows to create awareness on the challenges we face among other things.   We have also visited similar groups in other part of Northern Uganda to share our experiences and to learn from them.

I am proud of WAN and what we have set to achieve.   I am a victim of this war and I have experienced firsthand what war does to women.   War breaks our spirits, our hopes, our lives and aspirations. I have also seen the strength of the women as they work towards rebuilding their lives and that of their communities. We have realized that if we do not come together, speak out about our issues and seek solutions to our problems then no one will do it on our behalf. We have made a resolution to break our silence and become advocates of our own cause.

This is why WAN is important to us. It gives us a platform to advocate for our rights as victims as well as be agents of peace and post conflict reconstruction. As WAN, women who shared similar experiences during the conflict are able to come together, discuss issues central to us and work around solutions to these issues. We have realized the satisfaction that comes from pulling each other up, knocking a door of opportunity, sharing our joys and tears together. We feel that through this platform we are strengthened and we can achieve what we set ourselves to do.

The road has not been smooth sailing, we continue to face challenges.  Our members are still going through difficult times coping with re-integration challenges which include stigmatization, supporting our children born in captivity, land inheritance, health problems among others.  However, we have also received unlikely support from our communities and stakeholders due to our continued creation of awareness through community outreach and radio talk shows.   Other challenges that we continue to face is communication barriers since most of us can only speak in Acholi and social economic empowerment for most of our members.

But one wise man said, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.   Till we get there its aluta continua!

Evelyn Amony is the chairperson of the Women’s Advocacy Network.

Amnesty consultations Barlonyo

Policy brief on amnesty released

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Amnesty consultations Barlonyo

JRP is pleased to announce the release of its latest policy brief, Who forgives whom? Northern Uganda’s grassroots views on the Amnesty Act.

After more than twelve years in force, Uganda discontinued blanket amnesty for reporters on 25 May 2012 by allowing Part 2 of the Amnesty Act of 2000 to lapse. The continued relevance of Uganda’s Amnesty Act had been fiercely debated in recent months in high-level discussions between government and civil society, with many asking, “What should be the future of the Amnesty Act?”

Recognizing the absence of grassroots voices in many of these debates, especially from a gendered perspective, JRP carried out a series of consultations from 21-27 March 2012 in conflict-affected regions of northern Uganda — including West Nile, Lango, Acholi and Teso — to discern the views of those most directly impacted by and benefiting from the Act on its role, achievements and continued relevance. The consultations unveiled mixed views at the grassroots level on the past and present relevance and equity of the Act, yet reached overwhelming general consensus for the renewal of the Act with amendments. Following the government’s decision to abolish amnesty, this brief seeks to contribute to the ongoing consultative and policy-making process to integrate elements of conditional amnesty into a national TJ policy.

Please visit http://justiceandreconciliation.com/2012/06/who-forgives-whom-northern-ugandas-grassroots-views-on-the-amnesty-act/ to read the full briefing.

For comments or questions, please write to info@justiceandreconciliation.com.

Amnesty consultations Barlonyo

Who Forgives Whom? Northern Uganda’s Grassroots Views on the Amnesty Act

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JRP Amnesty Policy Brief CoverTo read the full briefing, click here.

Overview
After more than twelve years in force, Uganda discontinued ‘blanket’ amnesty for reporters on 25 May 2012 by allowing Part 2 of the Amnesty Act of 2000 to lapse. With positive developments in the creation of a transitional justice (TJ) framework and a shifting of the armed conflict to neighboring countries, the continued relevance of Uganda’s Amnesty Act of 2000 had been fiercely debated in recent months in high-level discussions between government and civil society, with many asking, “What should be the future of the Amnesty Act?”

Recognizing the absence of greater North grassroots voices in many of these debates, especially from a gendered perspective, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) carried out a series of consultations from 21-27 March 2012 in conflict-affected regions of northern Uganda—including West Nile, Lango, Acholi and Teso—to discern the views of those most directly impacted by and benefitting from the Act on its role, achievements and continued relevance. As subsequent sections of this paper reveal, the consultations unveiled mixed views at the grassroots level on the past and present relevance and equity of the Act, yet reached overwhelming general consensus for the renewal of the Act with amendments. Such amendments were seen to better address the justice needs of both victims and perpetrators, while ensuring the sustainability of an already fragile peace.

Draft versions of this brief were circulated prior to the Act’s expiration to inform the Justice, Law and Order Sector’s (JLOS) decision to abolish, renew or renew with amendments Uganda’s Amnesty Act. However, with the JLOS Leadership Committee’s subsequent decision to abolish amnesty, this brief seeks to contribute to the Government of Uganda’s ongoing consultative and policy-making process to integrate elements of conditional amnesty into a national TJ policy.

To read the full briefing, click here.

Published with financial support from UNWOMEN under the Women’s Access to Justice in Conflict and Post-Conflict in Uganda Programme.

Disclaimer: The views represented in this brief do not necessarily represent the views of UN Women.