Tag Archives: WAN

Women’s Advocacy Network petition

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24th February 2014

The Chairperson,

Uganda Women Parliamentarians’ Association (UWOPA)

Cc

1.       The Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga

Speaker of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda

Kampala -Uganda.

 2.       The Acholi Parliamentarians’ Association

 

PETITION BY WOMEN’S ADVOCACY NETWORK TO THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA SEEKING ITS INTERVENTION IN ADDRESSING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACED BY WAR AFFECTED WOMEN IN THE ACHOLI SUB REGION. 

 

Madam Chairperson,

 

This humble petition is submitted pursuant to rule 29 of the rules of procedure of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

 

Women’s Advocacy Network on behalf of war affected women in the Acholi sub region presents this petition to you. We are seeking your support to lobby for the intervention of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda to address issues and challenges faced by war affected women in the Acholi sub region.

 

Madam Chairperson, we acknowledge and are appreciative of the efforts and input of this August House in articulating and bringing to the fore the issues and concerns of the people of Northern Uganda who have been greatly affected in all spheres of life by the conflict that spanned over  twenty (20) years.  We are especially appreciative of the role UWOPA continues to play to ensure women issues are taken into consideration and their rights are upheld in Uganda.

 

Madam Chairperson, we were adversely affected by the conflict between the LRA and Government in Northern Uganda.  Some of us were abducted, tortured, raped, mutilated, forced to become wives of rebel commanders, provided forced labor in rebel camps and were also forcefully conscripted to engage in combat. We were forced to bear children under harsh and deplorable conditions. As a result we developed health complications such as gynecological problems, chronic back problems, gunshot wounds and were exposed to traumatic experiences.  We also gave birth to children in captivity who are being ostracized by the communities we live in.

 

Madam Chairperson, those of us who escaped abduction were forced to live in deplorable conditions in the Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP’s) camps where we were often targeted for rape and sexual exploitation. We contracted HIV/AIDS as a result and also bore children out of rape. We continue to bear the burden of looking after our immediate and extended families in absence of our husbands who were killed in the conflict or are still missing and are unaccounted for.

 

 

Our current status

 

Madam Chairperson, majority of us do not know the identity of the fathers of our children since the LRA commanders who sexually enslaved and abused us in captivity used pseudonyms, while the few whose identities are known, have refused to pay maintenance for the children they forced us to bear. We continue to face rejection and stigmatization from an embittered community and families that are not ready to accept children fathered by rebels.

 

Madam Chairperson, while most of the male combatants were integrated in the army and receive a monthly stipend, there was no such mechanism for the support and reintegration of the female victims apart from the amnesty package which did not take into consideration the children we came back with from captivity.We find ourselves re-victimized and forced to live in deplorable conditions.

 

Madam Chairperson, we are also vulnerable economically, socially, physically and psychologically. We missed out on opportunities of going to school and wasted a lot of our productive years in captivity. This hinders us from accessing formal employment, yet we live in a society where it is difficult for women to access land. This has relegated us to casual jobs that do not pay very well in spite of our everyday burdens and challenges inclusive of the cardinal responsibility of looking after our children that were born in captivity.

 

Madam Chairperson, we as Women’s Advocacy Network are not sitting down and wallowing in our pain and misery but rather doing our part in our small ways to alleviate the challenges we are facing.  We continue to hold dialogues in our communities aimed at reconciliation, fighting stigma and reintegration.

 

Prayers sought

 

Madam Chairperson, we are confident of the role that the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda plays in addressing issues that affect the citizens of Uganda and are assured that our concerns will be discussed by the August house. Therefore, as the Women’s Advocacy Network on behalf of war affected women in the Acholi sub-region, we request you to lobby the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda to;

 

  • Adopt a comprehensive reparations policy that will help us alleviate most of our problems related to our social economic status thus reducing our vulnerability.   The proposed reparations policy should offer individual and collective reparations to female survivors of this conflict as well as acknowledge, repair the harms suffered, restore our dignity and recognise our rights as citizens of this country.  The proposed reparations policy should offer free accessible health care tailored to address women’s health issues, livelihood skills to help us recover lost education opportunities and compensation for lost time.
  • Prioritize the creation of an urgent gender reparations fund to cater for the immediate needs of war-affected women.
  • Recommend for increased budgetary provisions for health services in war-affected areas, to ensure accessibility to reproductive and mental health services especially for children and women affected by the war.
  •  Recommend for increased budgetary allocation to the education sector to cater for war affected children in the Acholi sub region and particularly children born in captivity.  This allocation should also be used to train teachers on how to handle such children that may be experiencing trauma and other conditions related to their past.
  • Call for an accelerated finalization of the National Transitional Justice Policy and the establishment of a sound legal framework with comprehensive, adequate and sustainable mechanisms which are key in addressing the concerns of war affected women.
  • Ensure that the National Transitional Justice Policy that will be adopted is holistic and will include mechanisms to ensure full participation of war affected women.
  • Recognize the special and unique needs of the children born in captivity whose fathers and patrilineal heritage is unknown and request for a review of the laws that require information and documentation on paternity to be amended.
  • Call for strengthening of the Acholi cultural institution because it was also affected by the conflict yet it is a trusted body that can play a big role in addressing the reconciliation needs of its people.

 

Madam Chairperson, we are available whenever called upon to shade more light on issues encompassed in this petition.

 

We remain yours the undersigned;

 

Download: Women’s Advocacy Network petition (pdf)

Women’s Advocacy Network petition to be presented!

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A woman speaks during the first anniversary of the formation of the Women's Advocacy Network, 5 May 2013.
A woman speaks during the first anniversary of the formation of the Women’s Advocacy Network, 5 May 2013.

The time is finally here! On the 12th of March 2014, the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) will present a petition to the Uganda Women Parliamentarian’s Association (UWOPA) at Parliament in Kampala to call for national policies which will address the needs of war-affected women in the region.

This is the first time the challenges facing war-affected women will be presented at national level.

We’ll be updating our blog with details about the petition.

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.

[AFG_gallery id=’50’]

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)

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.

Ex-LRA women demand apology, Observer, 31 May 2012

In the News,

Ex-LRA women demand apology, Observer, 31 May 2012

http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19034:ex-lra-women-demand-apology&catid=34:news&Itemid=114

By Alex Otto

Gulu – Former LRA fighters who have since returned from the bush should apologise to the women whose rights they violated during the insurgency in northern Uganda, a meeting here has heard.

During the launch of the Women Advocacy Network (WAN) at Gulu’s Churchill Courts hotel, Evelyn Amony, who was in LRA captivity between 1994 and 2005, spoke of the pain of seeing her former tormentors moving freely yet they have never sought forgiveness.

“These men gave us children, raped and forcefully abducted us and they also made us experience pain at a very young age. Some of us are here struggling with life because of them but they don’t care about us,” Amony said.

WAN has membership of over 200 women from the Acholi sub-region, many of them carrying traumatic and physical scars of an LRA insurgency that has since migrated to DR Congo and Central African Republic. The issue of reconciliation between perpetrator and victim of war is a thorny one, complicated by the paradox that many of the former were themselves abducted by the LRA and brutalised into violent combatants.

Amony feels that formerly abducted women should also be educated or – just like many men – allowed to join the army, so that they can earn a living and support their children.

“There is unfairness between men and women; how comes the men are being integrated into the army and educated but the women are just left to suffer?” Amony said.

Lily Grace Anena, who spent seven years with the LRA, revealed that people like her found it difficult to get husbands because many parents would not allow their sons to marry a formerly abducted girl. Retired Bishop Macleod Baker Ochola urged the government to comprehensively address the challenges of formerly abducted women.