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Can Women Help Afghanistan Achieve Peace?

Peace News Staff
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Can Women Help Afghanistan Achieve Peace?

Being a woman in war-torn Afghanistan is difficult. Life expectancy is 52 years, the average woman has 6 live births, and 85% of women illiterate. But peace-builders say women are Afghanistan’s future.

Digital Citizen Fund provides IT training for women and girls in Afghanistan, and has trained over 10,000 women in their I.T. centers in Kabul and Herat. Co-founder Elaha Mahboob told Peace News that the difference technology is making in women’s roles in society is inspiring.

“Most importantly, day by day, Afghan women are relying economically on themselves – things that were completely prohibited during the Taliban regime,” Ms Mahboob said.

Advocacy organization War Child has worked in Afghanistan for 15 years, and founder Dr Samantha Nutt told Peace News that literacy and vocational training for women has been an important tool for empowering women in the region. War Child facilitates loans for women impacted by war to start businesses.

“The women in our program who come from very poor parts of the country and are the most vulnerable, have about a 99% repayment rate on those inputs to their businesses so it’s really impressive,” Dr Nutt said.

Strengthening women’s rights has been linked to building peace.

Najia Nasim, from Women for Afghan Women, said giving women confidence to advocate for themselves is a key component to peace-building.

“They are a citizen of the country, so they should be given that right – to talk about the peace,” Ms Nasim said.

“That gives them the confidence, that they are also a part of that peace-building, and they will also value that peace,” she said.

“I think women – even in their community – if their voices are heard, will often be a voice for peace, a voice for discussion, and negotiation,” said Kathleen Campbell, from Women for Women International.

“I mean, it’s true everywhere in the world, if we want to solve these issues, we can’t leave half the population out,” Ms Campbell said.

Experts say empowering women is a long-term peace strategy.

“In order to sustain these gains, that bring real long-lasting peace, women must play an active role in the peace and reconciliation process,” Ms Mahboob said.

“The more we are promoting and contributing to women in those leadership roles, strengthening civil society – I mean, that, to us – is really what lays the foundation for peace in many of those environments,” said Dr Nutt.

While women’s rights have improved in Afghanistan in the last 15 years, an increase in conflict in the last few years is delaying progress.

Ms Campbell and Ms Nasim both said security issues are limiting the advancements in women’s rights in the country.

“With the insecurity, it means people are more hesitant to bring, to let, to have women and children going out,” Ms Campbell said.

“There are times we have to cancel a trip because there’s insecurity on the road, there’s insecurity in the community, or the community themselves tells us ‘best to stay away right now’,” she said.

Cover Photo: DVIDSHUB

* Statistics supplied by UN Data,WHO, and CIA World Factbook

People Choosing Peace: Mawa Augustine (South Sudan)

Peace News Staff
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People Choosing Peace: Mawa Augustine (South Sudan)

My name is Mawa Augustine. I’m 31 years old. I’m musician and engineer. Yei is my home state, in South Sudan, but right now it lies in ruins.

I have always lived with my family members around me, but now they are all gone. They fled to Uganda’s district of Arua. I haven’t heard from them, but I hope they are okay.

The problems of this country are by far beyond my comprehension. Most times I ask myself, ‘who is the enemy?’. We are one people. I have come up with one conclusion, though: greed, as well as ignorance, is the enemy that is destroying this country.

I don’t have chance to access to international news regularly. Nonetheless, I wonder what the so-called international community is thinking; especially when they hear that the country is getting closer to disaster. I’m afraid when [the international community] finally get up from their slumber, the consequences of the conflict maybe irreversible.

I’m only a vocational school instructor here in Kapoeta state – and don’t have much influence to cause change in the affairs that are decided upon in the capital, Juba. Nevertheless, I will keep advocating through music. One of my songs I did, right after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement [Saint Slyvestre Accord] called Salaam Bada encourages everyone, especially our leaders, to be willing to initiate peace processes with their rivals. That is, if they put their guns down, and listen to it.

Occasionally I get stuck in one place indefinitely when security turns ugly, and this really concerns me. If I had authority I would want to see security for everyone, first and foremost. There is no safety for persons and property, nowadays.

When I live today, I can only hope to see better tomorrow. I believe the violent conflict we are seeing today in South Sudan happens in many other African countries right after gaining their independence. It is this realty therefore, that gives me optimism that the conflict of this country will be over, someday.

Is Reconciliation Working in Rwanda?

John Oryang
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Is Reconciliation Working in Rwanda?

The 1994 genocide in Rwanda claimed nearly 800,000 lives. Now, over 20 years later, the country is still healing. Peace News traveled to Rwanda to hear from the next generation about their views of the country’s violent past, and their dreams for Rwanda.

When the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front came to power, following the 1994 genocide, thousands of Hutus fled to neighboring countries, fearing retaliation. The government has encouraged them to return, and is promoting a “One Rwanda” policy. Many observers ask: Is it working?

Kigali resident Rose Murungi said she believes there is still a division between ethnic groups in Rwanda, but that it is a small one.

“When I was in school, I used to have people walk up to me and say ‘You do not look Rwandese’ or ‘You look like a certain tribe of the Rwandese’,” Ms Murungi said.

“I do not know much about it, so I never paid much attention to it,” she said.

“I think the divide is still there, but to a small extent.”

Benny*, also a resident in the nations’ capital, said Rwanda has made enormous strides towards reconciliation.

“For example, the programs the government itself has initiated, programs like Kwibuka – the month in April where people have to remember the loved ones, when people have to reconcile and forgive each other,” Benny said.

“That was a very big step for this nation, because it brought unity and it really cleaned out the differences of tribal instincts in the people – finding yourself differentiating yourself from the “other” because you are from this tribe and the other tribe,” he said.

“People have really ganged up together, they have really united. The main focus right now is to see a better Rwanda, and to see a Rwanda that no one believed was possible, right now.”

While Rwanda has made significant progress, observers hope for improvements in free speech and democracy, and less of a “top-down” approach to the reconciliation process.

Do Rwandan youth fear further violence?

“I do not think there will be any other genocide in future, it is all in the past, and with this current trend and the world we are living in and headed to, with this generation that is growing, I do not think they grow with such a mentality,” Benny said.

“The generation that is growing in Rwanda is a post-genocide generation, who have grown with education about unity, education about togetherness, education about development, education about seeing each other as one.,” he said.

“I do not see, neither do I even think, there can be any other genocide.”

Benny’s* named changed for security reasons

People Choosing Peace: Ali Fadel (Iraq)

Peace News Staff
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People Choosing Peace: Ali Fadel (Iraq)

I am Ali Fadel. I work as a taxi driver in Baghdad. My two brothers (Muhammad and Yahya) were killed in the explosion of Karada, inside Al-Layth complex building. They went out to buy a wedding suit but they never returned.

I was sleeping at the time, and woke up to my mother crying and mumbling. The house was tented with sadness and all our neighbors were standing at the door. I knew at this moment I had lost my brothers.

Every day my Mother dies slowly from her grief over them, she is 60 years old, and her hair turned white in the few days after she received the shock.

I work day and night in this taxi to forget, and at the same time to make a living for my family. I hope what happened to me would never happen to any human being.

If there is anyone who holds the responsibility for my brothers’ deaths, it is racism and sectarianism.

Can Peace Succeed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

admin
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Can Peace Succeed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

War in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has claimed 5 million lives since 1996, and despite including the deadliest conflict since WWII, has been under-reported. While war in the DRC officially ended in 2003, violence continues to this day, and the country has never known a peaceful transition of power.

Last year a breakthrough peace agreement was signed. The Saint Sylvestre agreement, between the government and opposition leaders, was brokered by Catholic bishops (CENCO) and saw President Kabila agree to elections in 2017.

Prominent peace-builder in the DRC, Flory Kazingufu, said the peace deal halted the renewal of civil war.

“If CENCO couldn’t come in, we were going to [ascend] to a total violence and conflict in Congo that would be…would even touch the neighboring country and go through many countries,” Mr Kazingufu told Peace News.

“That’s how to tell you how important it was that the signature that was reached,” he said.

But CENCO has withdrawn from talks, after violent attacks and calls for protests, and both Congolese and international observers are concerned for peace prospects in the country. Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa, from CENCO, has warned the United Nations that a “lack of genuine political will” is jeopardizing the implementation of the accord.

Goma resident Davin Kombi expressed his doubts about the peace deal succeeding.

“Our country has been signing agreements since independence and I am not sure that this agreement will be the solution to what is happening,” Mr Kombi said.

“They told us that elections will occur this year but seeing how things are going with the many deaths and challenges the agreement is facing, I feel the agreement is not the solution,” he said.

Others are more optimistic.

“For me personally, the results will be good because there is a will to talk without guns to get together and study the needs of the Congolese people,” said Goma resident Elie Kassib.

Still more are conflicted.

“I tell myself that the context is good because peace depends on negotiations,” said Goma resident Serge Sivya.

“But unfortunately the case in the DRC is that there is so much hypocrisy already from when we signed the agreement at the beginning of the year,” Mr Sivya said.

“These circumstances make me feel that it is going to be hard for elections to happen in 2017 and I am sure that this might create tension, the population has been very patient,” he said.

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