Cllr. Yvette Chesson-Wureh who has been a Member of the International Board since 2011 brings in new experience in a dynamic organisation like Isis-WICCE. A Counsellor-at-law and a member of several bars and professional associations including the United States Supreme Court Bar and Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia, Cllr. Chesson-Wureh is expected to used her renowned experience as a champion of women’s rights, gender equality and advocacy to lead Isis-WICCE to a new phase of proactive engagement at international, regional and national spheres.

Cllr. Chesson-Wureh who is currently the Establishment Coordinator of the Angie Brooks International Centre (ABIC) for Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security, situated in Liberia has been known to lead major advocacy initiatives, the most current ones being maintenance of peace in Liberia and Senegal during their recent  national elections.

With these attributes, Isis-WICCE feels greatly that Cllr. Chesson-Wureh will be a great asset in the major strategic policy shifts and engagements as it implements the 2013-2017 strategic plan and planned reorganisation to remain more effective in responding to concerns of women and girls in conflict and post conflict situations.

North and North Eastern Uganda have been affected by armed conflicts for a period of over 20 years. This came with the break down and neglect of social, economic and political structures.   In response to the enormous challenges faced by these regions, the government of Uganda developed a comprehensive development plan which established the guiding principles and interventions for peace building, recovery and development. These plans were phased along a three years timeline with the PRDP1 running from 2009-2012 and PRDP2 that will now run from 2012-2015.

However the PRDP 1 plan on initiation failed to recognize that women and men experience armed conflicts differently and hence missed out on addressing the critical issues for women in post conflict settings.

To counteract this, a group of 21 women organizations led by Isis-WICCE came together and formed a Women’s Task Force (WTF) for gender responsiveness PDRP. The taskforce is composed of both national and grassroots groups, with an aim of ensuring that women’s concerns remain visible in the peace, recovery and development processes.

Since 2009, the WTF has been working tirelessly to ensure that women benefit and participate in PRDP implementation process.   Through their advocacy efforts, the women taskforce were able   to gain access  to key government committees that support  the PRDP. On each of the six PRDP structures, there has been a taskforce representative to ensure that  gender equality and  women’s rights concerns are included  in post conflict reconstruction.

As the government of Uganda prepares to launch the PRDP phase two, Isis-WICCE organized a reflection meeting from 11-13 April 2011 in Kampala. The meeting brought together women taskforce members to reflect on the achievements and challenges encountered in implementation of the PRDP. The meeting was also to enable the WTF members strategize on how to effectively engage  in implementation of the second phase of PRDP, while ensuring that women’s needs are reflected. The meeting was also attend by women members of parliament for Lira, Pader, and Lamwo districts.

In her opening remarks, Isis-WICCE Executive Director, Ruth Ochieng appreciated  the efforts of the WTF,  which she said greatly influenced the course and implementation of the first phase of PRDP. “It is for this reason that the UN Women recognized your work, saying that your participation made great impact on the lives of women at grassroots level, and linked the grassroots women’s aspirations to the national efforts” she declared.  Ms Ochieng urged WTF members to understand the second phase of PRDP and proposed that the reports of the taskforce members should then be put together in a joint proposal to boost fundraising initiatives.

The WTF members shared the strategies they have using to influence and monitor the implementation of PRDP. These included organizing community sensitization meetings, attending budgetary and council meetings at district and sub-county levels, engaging with district administration and technical committees. The members also participated in annual PRDP review meetings and identified the gaps that would hinder effective implementation. Some of the challenges that were highlighted include gender based violence, high levels of trauma, alcoholism, low participation of women, insecurity, limited funding and poor communication.

The taskforce members reviewed the PRDP phase two and identified the gaps and opportunities for engagement in each strategic objective which are;- consolidation of state  authority; rebuilding and empowering communities; revitalization of the economy ;peace building and reconciliation.

 “I would never have known PRDP II, If it wasn’t for this meeting and Isis-WICCE.  Thank you for organizing such meeting”. Judy Adoko, Land and Equity Movement, Uganda.

The meeting also observed that, there was lack of statistical data on the prevailing situation on the ground. The taskforce members were urged to collect statistical data  to back up their arguments such as how many women have benefited, number of hospitals built and number of  women  accessing services, number of schools building and number of girls enrolled and retained in order to make the government accountable. One participant shared that in the recent monitoring in Lira district, there was a school which had only  one girl in primary seven out of 24 pupils.

WTF members agreed to begin creating awareness of PRDP phase two to key stakeholders at different levels such as the districts, sub-counties, parishes and the community.

The report which was launched on 21 March 2012 in Kathmandu, Nepal was officiated on by Hon. Balram KC, former Judge of the Nepalese Supreme Court. The function was also attended by the leaders from different political party affiliations in Nepal, members of civil society organizations, the media, bilateral agencies as well as survivors and human rights defenders from 75 districts in Nepal.

The report presented findings from 10 districts of Morang, Dhanusha, Kailali, Udayapur, Kavrepalanchowk,Kathmandu, Baglung, Dailekh, Dolakha and Darchula on the experiences and the extent to which  rape survivors have been constrained  in accessing justice. The research was carried out in 2010 by Isis-WICCE and WOREC teams as part of the 2010/11 International Exchange  Institute that was held in Nepal. The findings were presented by the lead researcher Ms Bindu Gautam who highlighted silent facts  and the response mechanism rape survivors use to bridge the gaps in the legal  framework and the environment.

The former Judge of the Nepalese  Supreme Court  expressed concern on the rate at which rape cases have increased and urged authorities to ensure that culprits are punished. He called upon women human rights defenders to sensitize survivors on the court procedures so that they do not lose their cases on technicalities. He further urged WOREC to profile the outcomes of the study so that policy makers are well informed to take appropriate actions.

Likewise, the first lady of Nepal Hisila Yami welcomed the report noting that women are not only raped physically but also economically and politically. She called for a holistic healing mechanism to address the plight of the victims and survivors.

She thanked Isis-WICCE and WOREC for producing a report that clearly documents and brings out facts about the experiences of women.

Other speakers like the Victomologist, Dr Shanker Kumar were concerned that  in spite of the legal framework in place, there has not been any effort to help survivors and punish perpetrators. He urged WOREC to keep voices of survivors in the limelight so that  their needs and concerns can be addressed.

Isis-WICCE Executive Director, Ruth Ochieng called upon the government of Nepal to enact a gender friendly constitution which will automatically guide different institutions in putting up laws and policies to address strategic  needs and concerns of survivors of rape.

The report mainly  recommended  a major review and reform  of the criminal justice system  to ensure  that  it complies  with the human rights standards, provision of immediate support  to survivors of rape and implementation  and enforcement  of laws that strengthen  social and community mechanisms  for protection of survivors of rape.

The purpose of the training was to   empower women economically and to enable them overcome trauma they have been living with as a result of the atrocities suffered during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict. The training was facilitated by Pastors Juliet and David Samolu from Christian Counseling Association and Helen Chandiru from National Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS (NACWOLA), Arua Chapter.

Pastor Juliet Samolu who took participants through the session on income generating activities covered the aspects of mash room and vegetable growing which are important supplements in nutrition for people living with HIV and AIDS. She also taught participants baking and soap making as part of bolstering up their income generating potential.

The session on Trauma Counseling and Healing was facilitated by Pastor David Samolu. It covered topics on good governance, leadership, trauma healing and reconciliation, power dynamics and basic life skills.

As part of peer learning, Helen Chandiru, a grassroots woman living with HIV and Aids took the participants through self care sessions which covered issues on how to maintain good personal hygiene and on how to keep the body physically fit by exercising and massage for body relaxation.

Participants expressed excitement and gratitude for the training and they promised to use the knowledge and skills acquired to improve their lives economically, socially, physically and emotionally.

Acuku Florence   had this to say “I have attained better gardening skills for improved quality and quantity of crops. I have also acquired baking skills which I will take up and begin a small business for income generation to be able to maintain my family.”

Likewise, Teddy (former abductee), confessed that “I was so stressed and traumatized but after the training, I feel so valued. I am now very ready to move on in life with a positive attitude.”

 Ann Nakasi, the founder member of Achuna Ogolai Post-Test Women’s Club noted the importance of the sessions: “The training has helped me realize how important personal hygiene is. I have also realized the importance of massage and exercise sessions and I will always put aside time for massage and exercise in order to keep my body healthy and physically fit”.

At the end of the training, Isis-WICCE provided the group with startup kits which included garden tools, seeds, baking cans and mats, among others to help kick start off some projects immediately. 

Little is known about the nodding disease, a mentally and physically disabling syndrome, which mainly affects children between the ages 5 to 15 years.  When a child is affected by it, his/her physical growth becomes completely and permanently stunted. In addition, the growth of the brain is also stunted, leading to mental retardation of the victim. In Uganda it has so far affected over 3000 children and 200 have already died.

Up to now science has failed to establish its causes. “The disease has no name and information about it is speculated. There is no scientific proof of what causes it and how it can be cured”; said Hon. Beatrice Anywar Woman Member of Parliament Kitgum District.

Beatrice further said that she first reported the case of nodding disease in 1998 and again in 2009 to the Ministry of Health. Even then, nothing was done about it until this month when she decided to bring 25 children suffering from the disease to Mulago Hospital in Kampala for medical attention.

On Monday, the members of the Women Movement in Uganda visited the children in Mulago and passed on a few items which included blankets among others.

On March 7, 2012, the women’s movement in solidarity and support of the mothers whose children are suffering from nodding disease called a press conference to call on the government of Uganda to act and put in place intensive health care programmes to address the nodding disease and support families and children affected by the disease.

The women’s movement is also concerned about the inhuman and rudimental way the parents are using to deal with the children by tying the  children  on trees to prevent them from harming themselves.  As such, the women symbolically tied themselves on the trees in solidarity and support to mothers that have been reduced to tying their children on trees which violates the rights of the affected children.

The current global debate on the right to represent and the appropriateness of the ‘Kony 2012’ campaign has received both praises and condemnation. The originator of the campaign has acknowledged that the over-simplification of the issues was a strategy to draw attention of a wider group to the campaign. These different positions and insensitivities have raised concerns about who has the right and is best positioned to represent Africa, particularly on issues that affect Africans the most. This requires that some facts are set straight from those living and working in the situation. The film seems to portray that the Kony war in northern Uganda is still raging and the world needs to come and help, otherwise all the children in Uganda will become “invisible”.

The LRA attacks in northern Uganda ended in 2006, we are aware that Kony and the LRA are currently in the Central African Republic and other countries bordering Uganda including South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo where abduction of children is taking place.

Uganda has moved forward since 2006 and has developed various post conflict reconstruction programmes for northern Uganda. Some of the structures have been reconstructed such as schools, hospitals and roads. While the women’s movement have concerns over the level of involvement of women and their needs in these processes, the government  must be commended for its openness receive inputs from other stakeholders to improve on the gender responsiveness of the programmes.

The current issues ravaging the north are the poor infrastructures and different ailments that have come up as a result of the long period of war that led to the neglect of health facilities. For example there is now the nodding syndrome that is affecting children; any person of good would intervene in this area to help these children. There are also social issues that have not been addressed that need immediate attention such as the thousands of women and young girls that were raped and have not received medical care. There are also the formerly abducted children who have returned from captivity and have not been fully reintegrated into the communities. These issues have not been profiled but they are the real issues on the ground.  The politics of representing others has caused more harm than good from the experiences around the globe. Therefore Kony 2012 is a misrepresentation of the concerns and needs of the people of northern Uganda at this material time. It does not only add to the trauma, it brings out issues that do not relate to their present lives. A campaign that includes the perspective of the people and is locally generated would be more useful.

Therefore, our perspective is clear; the children of northern Uganda are safe from Kony. Many stakeholders have contributed to the progress made thus far, no one individual or organization can claim to be the saviour of the north as the film seems to depict. The support that is needed is to maintain peace in the north and contribute towards the reconstruction. Therefore the campaign being suggested should be against Kony atrocities in Central African Republic and South Sudan.

 The scourge of early marriage is prevalent in most communities in Africa. In Kasese and Bundibugyo districts in Western Uganda, marrying off a girl early is not strange. It is part of the social and cultural setting of the community. Early marriage is deeply rooted in the Bakonjo/Bamba cultural well being, spread out over generations.  In this highly polygamous society, cultural propensities placed the young girl child, often as old as six years to the exigencies of this despicable tradition.

 “It was always the responsibility of the aging wife to identify a suitable co-wife for her husband….with the selection done from close family and friends…she would take on the girl often as young as six years and train her in all important house duties and chores. Whenever the girl attained her first menstruation cycle, she would be considered mature enough to start engaging in sexual intercourse with the man of the house and hence formally take on full duties as co-wife”; noted Enock Muhindo an executive in the Obusinga Bwa Rwunzururu.

The Mayor of Kasese municipality also agrees that early marriage was an issue in Kasese as culture dictates that girls marry as early as 12 years. “… in some areas, people booked pregnancies. “If the child is a girl, it will be married by my son or a boy will be for my daughter”.

As the world celebrates international women’s day, under the theme connecting girls, inspiring futures, it is important to reflect on the plight of these child mothers and the threat to their maternal health and social well being! This also rhymes with the national theme, “act now, promote maternal health”.

In a community that has experienced conflict for over fifty years, the latest being the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) war that ended in 2003, most of the population’s livelihood structures have been destroyed. The majority of the people were displaced including these young girls who were forced to live in IDP camps down the mountain, without any meaningful form of income.  It is noteworthy that early marriage in the geographical terrain that exists in Kasese district, where means of communication are difficult comes with serious health and social problems to the girl child.

The increased poverty levels due to conflict, displacement and abandonment of known means of livelihood as a result made parents begin to look at their girl children as a source of income in form of dowry if they became formally married. If they were on the other hand impregnated, the culprits were to give some gifts to the parents as a form of appeasement.

Says Enock Muhindo;  “Parents encourage their underage girls to be married in wealthier families…while fines are always paid to parents of young girls by the boy’s family if the boy who impregnates her is identified. Even some other families encourage their girls to engage in prostitution so that they can bring for the family something to eat”.

Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) which has been working in this area has condemned the practice which violates the rights of the young girls and continues to deny the district quality population.

“We were shocked at the level of early marriages here. Girl children are denied meaningful livelihoods as they abandon education and are generally defiled in the name of custom. As far as we are concerned, that’s violation of rights. If Kasese district is to have any quality population, the situation must be urgently reversed” noted Ruth Ojambo Ochieng, the Executive Director of Isis-WICCE.

The results of a research that was carried out in July 2011 by Isis-WICCE alumni in the two counties of Bukonzo East (Kisinga and Munkunyu sub counties)and Busongora North(Maliba and Bugoye sub counties), titled early marriage and its impact to development: the case of Kasese District, are damning. Most young girls marry at an average age of 15-17 years. The report notes that this is an age bracket when these young mothers are not yet ready to take responsibilities and marriage commitments.

Most worrying is a tendency of increasing incidences of young girls getting married at the age of 12-14. The report also indicates that the age group of the husbands of these child wives range from 15-80 years. In essence a young girl of 12 years is married off to another child husband or to an old octogenarian, fit to be her grandfather!

A more worrying scenario is that over 30% of the young girls get married because of early pregnancies, while over 26% get married due to peer pressure and 19% because their parents could not afford school fees for them. Although there are instances when the young girls go into it willingly, it is mostly to bend to the cultural needs or to an established norm. In other situations, their parents coerce them into it.

The Mayor of Kasese Municipality is more concerned that cultural systems and the greed of some parents have escalated the problem. “Some of the girls have always come to seek our help. There is this story of a young girl who sought my help. She was a Moslem girl who was to be married off at the age of 13; actually to be sold for one million shillings because her father wanted the money to treat her cancerous brother. Together with the police, we intervened and saved this girl”.

There is a high level of helplessness in a society that has taken on defilement as a norm in clear disregard of national laws on the protection of these young girls. The law on defilement is actually very clear. Uganda’s Penal Code Act defines defilement as the performance of a sexual act with someone who is younger than 18. The act regards defilement as a felony, punishable by up to life in prison, while the punishment for attempted defilement can’t exceed 18 years in jail.

The Isis-WICCE report actually notes that almost every home in Kasese district has a young girl who has been defiled, had an early pregnancy or married at an early age! What then is the future of the district and the region that practices and believes in the heinous custom? Isn’t necessary to synchronize it with national legislations to protect the young girls and boys that are immediate victims of the practice?

Let this commemoration of women’s day point a tall finger to those who still believe in the custom and those who do it with abandon.

The testimonies of these child mothers clearly show the gravity of the problem of sexual and gender based violence that pervades the community. The school lives of young girls is disrupted, parents have abandoned their responsibilities of caring for their children and defilement has, to say the least, been normalised.

Jovia who is now 18years old recounts a story that shows the mercenary nature of the institutional structures that the young girls face:

“I was impregnated while in P.6 by a young man dealing in purchase and sale of coffee. When he took me to his home, I found there two more girls (one who stopped in senior one and the other in P.7). My husband was fined shs. 60,000/= which was shared between my parents and the police. He also brought 4 goats as dowry.

When the parents of the two girls reported to police and he was imprisoned for 3 months. His parents sold ½ an acre of the family land they had given him to get him out of prison. As his three wives, we were taken care of by the father & mother in- law. The only thing the boy owned was one chicken. Two weeks after he was released from prison, another S.1 girl with a 7 months pregnancy was brought home. He decided to run away to Kampala”.

Degan’s story also talks of opportunities and hope lost in the future.

“I was in S.I when I got pregnant. I am now out of school, and living with my step-mother. I don’t know where the person who made me pregnant is. My father committed suicide three months ago. He hanged himself when he found out that I was pregnant.

My mother had already separated from my father then. Right now, I am living with my step-mother. I don’t have anyone to help me at home. Sometimes, it’s even hard to get a meal. I am now seven months pregnant. I want to go back to school after giving birth but I don’t know where the school fees will come from…”

The general reproductive health situation of child mothers is also precarious. They engage in early birth when their pelvic bones and birth canals are not fully formed. In this situation, their health as well as that of the children they bear is compromised. There are high maternal and infant mortality rates; all related to poor services and high incidences of poverty, poor record keeping practices by the community and government. This makes it difficult to determine birth rates and age of child mothers at the time they give birth.

One child mother clearly indicated this dilemma in her testimony. “I gave birth to two children from home and I have never registered them. This is because my husband was not at home and there was no one to take me to hospital. The pregnancies were not easy especially the last one given my young age and lack of professional help.  I was in so much pain until the elderly women came to help me.”

Due to their inability to afford the cost of the hospital, the children mothers only resort to the traditional birth attendants.

Katusabe Mildress, a midwife at Munkunyu Integrated Health Centre notes that the situation for child mothers is bad. “Child mothers are our biggest challenge…they do not attend antenatal and  reach here sometimes when it is too late when we have no delivery kits, no resuscitation machine for babies…”.

Her concern is clearly collaborated by Masika Sylivia, an enrolled nurse at Kagando mission hospital Fistula ward. “Because of the tender age, many get complications at birth. Since their first references are the traditional birth attendants, they usually report here with obstructed labour pains. The biggest cause of fistula in these areas is largely because of child mothers.”

Many are also exposed to HIV/AIDS. This has been the case of one, Masika from Kinyamaseke who got married to a man who had lost three wives. She had two children with him and later divorced. “When I divorced him, my parents rejected me and I now live with a sister. I have no clothing and I lack proper diet although I am HIV positive”.

On this women’s day, we need to refocus our attention on the plight of these child mothers who are a reality in Kasese district but also in other parts of the country. They need care, they need to be children, they must go to school, and they should be enabled to have better dreams in the future.

We cannot now afford to be spectators. The livelihoods of child mothers are our responsibility. Immediate action is the answer.

The Women’s Leadership for Peace and Security in the Greater Horn of Africa held a high level mission on ‘Women Building Peace’ in Hargeisa, Somaliland from 10 to 14^th February, 2012. The mission was led by P.M. Kjell Magne Bondevik, a Club of Madrid Member, and former Prime Minister of Norway. The project was launched in 2009 through a partnership of the Club de Madrid (CdM), Isis Women’s International Cross‐Cultural Exchange (Isis‐WICCE), the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Group of 40 Women Leaders (G40) in the region. The project seeks to maximise the participation and contribution of women in national and regional dialogue and decision making on peace and security issues in the greater Horn of Africa, under the UNSRC 1325 framework. The G40 is a community of teachers, humanitarian workers, lawyers, grassroots peace activists, researchers, political scientists, business professionals, historians, social workers, human rights defenders and journalists that bring fresh thinking to crisis prevention and recovery in the greater Horn of Africa. They also initiate new ideas and action through the communal forces of women’s networks and constituencies in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia (Puntland and South Central), Somaliland, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda.

The mission to Somaliland aimed at engaging with relevant decisionmakers on peace building and post conflict reconstruction issues pertinent to the women of Somaliland. The Vice President of Somaliland Abdirhman Abdallahi Ismail chaired the meeting which was attended by the chair of the Parliament, the First Lady Mrs. Amina Sheikh Mohamed, the Minister of Planning Dr. Sacad Cali Shire, the Minister of Social Welfare Lihaan Maxamed Jaamac, and the Director of Peace and Security at IGAD Honorable Netsannet Asfaw.

G40 members demanded that the government of Somaliland ensures that gender is mainstreamed in all government policies particularly the National Development Plan and the Joint Programme for Local Governments by applying gender sensitive budgeting; implement the 25% quota for women in decision making and peace and security structures and processes.

Members of the Women’s Leadership for peace and Security on the Greater Horn of Africa in a group photo with leaders of Somaliland during a high level mission on ‘Women Building Peace’. Photo by Helen Kezie-Nwoha, Programme Manager, Isis-WICCE

Women also called on government to recognize and use the United Nations Security Council Resolutions on gender, peace and Security (e.g 1325, 1880, 1888, 1960) to ensure; 1) the prevention of gender based violence, 2) the participation of women in peace and security structures and processes, and 3) the protection of women during conflict and post conflict situations.

The meeting recognized the valuable contribution of religious leaders and elders in facilitating peace, and demanded that they ensure the inclusion of women and their needs in all peace processes.  The meeting also called on the international community to respect the needs, interests and wishes of the people of Somaliland; and to particularly ensure that donor assistance for peace and security meaningfully involves women as planners, implementers and beneficiaries.

The recommendations were well received by government representatives who committed to ensuring that the needs and concerns of women are given priority in all peace and development processes.

Isis-WICCE in partnership with CARE Uganda, Uganda Women Parliamentary Forum (UWOPA) began a four-day peace exposition in Kasese town focusing on child marriages as a one of the most prominent forms of sexual violence against women in the district.

Kasese is a post-conflict community that has not received much attention in terms of national development plans and policies and the purpose of holding the expo here is to highlight needs of people of Kasese and call on government to do more to lift the Rwenzururu people out of poverty.

The first Peace Exposition was held last year in Soroti district and it highlighted the need for government to implement the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 to protect, prevent and promote women’s rights in conflict and post conflict areas. The Kasese Peace Expo was organized with Kasese War Widows Network, a local womens NGO working to bring about dignity of women who have taken long to recover from war.

Women from different countries at the peace exposition in Kasese on Monday Nov 28.

The Chief guest, His Majesty the king of Rwenzururu Kigdom Charles Wesley Mumbere acknowledged that violence is a global problem and quoted Koffi Annan, the former Secretary General of the UN that domestic violence knows no bounds and that it is the most pervasive and shameful human rights violation.

The Omusinga pointed out the lack of interest by law enforcement offices particularly the Police Force was exacerbating the problem.

“They are not interested in a domestic violence case.”

He highlighted major causes of domestic violence in the region where his kingdom lies as unemployment, substance abuse, poverty, landlessness, lack of family planning, property inheritance as well as forced and early marriages and unequal opportunities.

“The people of Rwenzururu have faced conflict for a long time from 1962 to 2002. The veterans have never been compensated, and unfortunately the post Rwenzururu conflict was overshadowed by the LRA conflict in northern Uganda.”

 He said that the women of Rwenzururu have endured poverty and have become victims of the frustrations of the men since the disillusioned men turn their dissatisfaction onto the women in turn.

The King of Rwenzururu puts his support behind the PEAR Campaign to end rape.

Isis-WICCE launched a PEAR  (Peace, Empowerment, Accountability and Reclaiming) Campaign to end rape of women in armed conflict.

The campaign was timely and tied in the 16 days of activism and theme “Challenging militarism and violence against women.”

The goal of the campaign is to advocate for rehabilitation of survivors of sexual violence in six countries in Africa by 2014.

The campaign, which is on the African continent level, aims to build a movement of anti-rape campaigners and also urge countries to increase the number of countries ratifying and domesticating the African Union Protocol on Women’s Rights in three years.

The Peace Exposition will go on until December 1 and local women and their leaders in a move to find ways to end sexual will discuss different issues and gender-based violence. Over 200 grassroots women from different parts of Uganda are taking part in the Peace Exposition.

Magdalena Ehisa Tito, an elegant and extremely polite woman welcomed us into her home. The 52 year- old, the only traditional chief in the whole of South Sudan has become a role model for the women of Torit, Eastern Equatoria State. Chief Magdalena was born on November 25, 1959 in Torit and she went primary school at the age of 10 years. She started to work in 1977 as a veterinary assistant to the present Minister of Agriculture, Betty Ogwaro. At eh age of 19, Tito got married, much later than most of her peers. At the time most girls were married off by the age of 12.

Her marriage was not one many people would relate to today. Magdalena was first abducted and the abduction led into a marriage as was the practice at that time. “In our tradition when a man likes a woman, she will steal her either on her way to school or while going to fetch firewood. Once this is done, the family of the girl is informed and the marriage is arranged,” Magdalena explained.

Even today early marriage remains a challenge for girls in post conflict South Sudan, preventing their enrolment, retention and completion of their education.

Magdalena had two sons but later divorced when her husband failed to pay bride price just one cattle to her family. The divorce was solely on basis of non-payment of dowry and Tito received her divorce papers in 1983.

Chief Magdalena at her home in Torit, Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan. Photo by Helen Kezie-Nwoha.

Her desire to serve her community moved Chief Magdalena to join the police in 1992 where she graduated in 1996. Thereafter the police authorities sent her to train as a midwife. She said she was motivated to join the force because she wanted to contribute to keeping law and order in the South of Sudan. Though the training in the police college was tough, Magdalena was fit enough to carry out all the training schemes. It was during her time as at the police training that the Khartoum government of Sudan changed the education curriculum from English to Arabic.

Chief Magdalena says this move came together with a series of other policies that made life difficult for the people of Southern Sudan, including the children, who had to automatically convert to learning in a new language.  Chief Magdalena took part in the struggle for South Sudanese independence. She narrates stories of how she worked alongside other members of the Southern Sudan liberation movement to smuggle children to East Africa countries where they could study in english in defiance of the ‘Arabisation’ of South Sudanese people.

Her contribution led to Sudan Peoples liberation Movement (SPLM) to recognise her as a leader for her community. True to their promise, when time came to nominate a Traditional Chief in Torit, she was nominated with other men who she beat in elections held in 2004 to become the first female traditional Chief in South Sudan.  This position not following a certain lineage would pause challenges to Magdalena as a woman leader. The Traditional Chiefdoms are male dominated and Magdalena wasn’t sure she would be accepted. But many recognised her community service and in 2008, Magdalena was elected the Paramount Chief, leading 396 male chiefs in Eastern Equatoria State.

Chief Magdalena explained that culture and tradition is not favourable to women. “Traditionally, men and boys provide security for the animals (mostly cattle) while women perform domestic work such as providing food, cultivating, building houses and taking care of the children,” she says. “ Despite the huge responsibility the women have no say at home, including making a choice of a husband.”

Chief Magdalena says this has led to many failed marriages and most times men abandon their wives and take on several other women, leaving a huge burden for women in terms of raising children. Chief Magdalena notes that this abandonment has led to some women resorting to alcoholism. She also says many women suffer domestic violence where their husbands and in-laws beat them.

For instance a woman caught committing adultery is arrested and sent to prison and she notes that some men take advantage of this to accuse their wives falsely to earn them punishment by the Customary court.

War and changed gender roles

After the war, Chief Magdalena says, men returned and found the women had taken up some of their roles.  “the men became lazy, most times they go out drinking and only return at night,” she narrated, “ Those men who are employed are not very different from the unemployed; most of them don’t bring their salaries home for their families.”

The inability of men to take up their responsibilities has increased gender-based violence in the communities. Women in polygamous relationships suffer a lot of neglect from their spouse, and sometimes they seek for solace in the hands of other men, most times this results in arrest of such women.

Such cases are some of that make it to the chiefs in the area. Magdalena explains that most local Chiefs don’t understand or they do but fail to question the underlining cause and continue to sentence the women to spend six months in prison, while the men are left free.

The trauma from the long civil conflict resulted has been reflected in high levels of  in high alcohol consumption among both women and men, leading to couples abandoning household care unattended. Also men here can easily divorce their wives for irresponsible behaviour with support from the traditional institutions.

As a woman, Chief Magdalena counsels women to avoid drinking and be role models for their children and the youths. She believes the woman has the responsibility of keeping the family together and imparting good morals to the children and the community at large.

In the cases where men have abandoned their wives, Magdalena advocates for such women to be compensated instead of being left to suffer alone to take care of the children and the household needs. Even though the war is gone, most women of South Sudan still face the culture war that limits the engagement of women in public spaces as well the culture that doesn’t question and address violence against women.

For many women they war trauma and continued marginalisation and violence make it difficult for recovery even in the new independent state. The absence of central government and state programs means most of delivery of justice is shouldered by traditional leaders who most of the time support men. In Torit there is no single counselling centre for women and others who require psychosocial support. Magdalena calls on the Government of the Republic of South Sudan to ensure trauma healing is a component of the post conflict reconstruction process and also ensure rule of law and justice is brought to the ordinary citizens especially women

By Helen Kezie-Nwoha – Isis-WICCE Program Manager