Meeting in Uganda examines gender and peace issues

Mennonite Central Committee
Wednesday, 20 December 2000

Peace-building is not simply about men in suits sitting down with heads of state. Peace is also about maintaining land, family and community during times of war. Peace is the kind of work women do simply by producing children and keeping them alive so there is a next generation.

These were the findings of a unique workshop on the relationship between gender and peace, held at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) office in Kampala, Uganda recently. It brought together eight men and women representing national and international organizations within Kampala.

Uganda serves well as a place to begin talking about gender and peace because of the countryís long history of war and violence. As well, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveniís commitment to gender equality has gained Uganda international recognition and has made gender a household term within the country.

MCC and Mennonites in general have a long history of involvement in peace issues. But in speaking of peace in the context of gender, MCC was breaking new ground.

The participants admitted when they first heard the term, "gender and peace" they were baffled. When they heard of the workshop, some women in northern Uganda, where the Lord's Resistance Army remains active, said that as yet the country has only known gender and violence. (These women were unable to attend the workshop).

An international agency, Isis-WICCE, based in Kampala has spent the last several years documenting womenís specific experiences of armed conflict. Director Ruth Ochieng explains: ìWomen's experience of armed conflict all goes under the single word ërape.' But the prevalence, the actual experience, the effects...none are documented."

When workshop participants spent time considering the ways in which women are already involved in peace-building efforts, they noted that networking, lobbying, counseling victims of war, fostering cross-cultural understanding, negotiating and making decisions, raising gender equality issues in their homes, churches, and communities, and researching gender and conflict issues all count as peace-building efforts.

At the end of the two-day workshop one participant noted: ìMy understanding of the extent of violence against women has been broadened." Another commented, ìViolence against women is actually a human rights issue."

Women have a unique and essential role to play in peace-building. And there are high hopes that MCC will continue to play a role in raising awareness around this critical issue.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org