Wednesday 27 November 2013

Women and the Peace Process: Lessons from Northern Ireland

“I know it's not easy for you, living this life, but try to remember, always try to remember, you're not the only one with troubles.”  ― Laini TaylorDaughter of Smoke & Bone

I moved to England  in 2009 to study History and Politics at the University of York, there weren't that many Northern Irish/Irish people there so my presence was a  novelty for a lot of my fellows student and the local people. Most people would eventually state (after a few minutes of polite conversation) that  "it must have been hard for you growing up", to which I would answer "no" because I was born in 1990 and grew up during the tail end of the Troubles. I cannot speak for those who had to live during to the Troubles, nor can I speak for the thousands of Northern Irish women who had to pick up the pieces and carry on during and after the Troubles. 



What I can do is write about some of the lessons that should be learnt from the Northern Irish Peace Process. The most important being that experiences of conflict are gendered and this can and should shape the way in which a society moves forward after conflict. 

If you wish to know more about the conflict in Northern Ireland I suggest you Google it, unfortunately I do not have the time or the blog space to accommodate the long and confusing history of the pain of my country. However, I will be nice and give you a definition I found on Wikipedia.


"The Troubles: is the common name for the ethno-nationalist and sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland that spilled over at various times into the Republic of IrelandScotlandEngland and mainland Europe. The Troubles began in the late 1960s and is considered by many to have ended with the Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement of 1998. However, sporadic violence has continued since then."


Northern Ireland has been used as a modern day example of how a country can emerge from conflict due to well executed peace process. Involving the gradual decommissioning of paramilitary groups and the devolution of government to Stormont count the local political parties. My country has a long way to go but has been widely heralded as a success story, however, there are many lessons to be learnt. Especially when it comes to involving women in the rebuilding of society and the bringing about of peace. 


Women may not actively participate in conflict but they certainly have to experience it in one way or another. As I mentioned before, Northern Irish women had to look after their families and maintain some semblance of normality while their fathers, sons, brothers and husbands fought, died, or were innocent victims of the Troubles. Not only were many helpless bystanders they were also made examples of if they fraternised with the enemy (be that member of the opposite community or a British soldier). My Father used to tell me about women who would be and feather while tied to a lamp post in my local town, because of their relationship with the wrong man. 

Northern Irish women were the leaders of the peace process, they started it before the Troubles ended and it materialised in the form of women's groups and charities focusing on reconciliation and finding solutions to moving forward. Despite this women were all but excluded from the the official talks and meetings on the Peace Process, leaving the "hard  work" to the men and the ground work to the women. There is increasing recognition that a gender-blind approach to conflict resolution will not lead to sustainable peace in any country emerging from conflict or hoping to do so.  


Charities and organisations like Belfast Women's Aid have provided grass root support for women and families for several years, Their work has been vital in helping Northern Ireland heal and move on from 30 years of pain and conflict. If 50% of the population (women) are the main actors in creating peace and a sustainable future then it makes sense to include them in every level of decision making and discussion. How can 50% of the population of NI move on and heal if the Peace Process does not acknowledge women's efforts and experiences of The Troubles? 


When Syria emerges from conflict, which it will, the women must be given a safe space to share their experiences and a recognised platform from which these experiences can influence and help direct their peace building of their country. The same goes for Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan, all of which are still experiencing conflict or are at war. 


What can we learn from Northern Ireland?


That women can be the key to long lasting and sustainable peace and that society is the lock and chain.


One final question; Will you help give them a voice or settle in as another link in the chain?




Margaret Ward's article on Gender, Citizenship and the Future of the Northern Ireland Peace Processhttp://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/women/docs/ward05peaceprocess.pdf


Definition of The Troubleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles



Wednesday 20 November 2013

The Silent Abuse of Girls in Sierra Leone

'Who Won the World, Girls'

It’s not what you call me, but what I answer to.” ~African proverb 
Whenever I think about writing a new blog I will usually have an idea of what form and focus it will take. I'll write down a few ideas on my notepad then stare at my screen for a good half an hour before anything happens. I am sure you have already guessed that this piece will focus on women in Sierra Leone.
Initially I thought of finding some relevant statistics to start it off, but my internet is bandwidth-challenged and loading a big website like the WHO for example can take up to 5 to 10 minutes. So I have decided that instead of throwing statistics at you, I will do what most of my other blogs end up doing; telling you a few wee stories.
All names have been changed to protect the identity of the individual.
The women and girls I met in Sierra Leone were beautiful, passionate, strong, and fierce (when they needed to be and they certainly needed to be). Abuse was common and in many cases accepted as part of life, by the abuser, victim, and society. I have described the system of abuse to many people as follows; men abuse womenmen and women abuse childrenmen, womenand children abuse animals. However, I would like to clarify that this is not the case for all Sierra Leoneans, this is a model of abuse I witnessed when abuse did occur. I became very good friends with a young woman around my age, she was attending the local university in Makeni city and was one of the most beautiful girls you have ever seen. We will call her Sally.

Abusive Relationships

One day Sally was helping me cook (I really struggled to cook on the stove and any help was appreciated by me and the people risking their taste buds); we got talking about relationships and she told me about her ex-boyfriend and that she had split up with him. When I asked why she told me that he beat her, very badly, that her face was swollen up and she had a busted lip. Firstly, I was shocked that she had been beaten so badly and secondly, I was shocked and impressed that she was the one to end it.
As much as I admire Sierra Leonean women, they are not the most assertive of females; in my IT and Career classes, they would be the smallest in number and would remain silent the whole time. This was not just a choice on their part but was sometimes reinforced by a few of the male students in the class. If I directed a question at one of the girls a man would answer for her or if I asked her to do something on the PC, a male student would take the mouse off her and do it. This was infuriating to say the least and I had little tolerance for it.
This is one of the reasons why I was so shocked at Sally's assertiveness, especially when she told me that she still had feelings for him; at that point my heart broke for her. Sally not only had to wrestle with her own conflicting feelings she also had to deal with pressure from her friends and her ex's family to get back together with him. Her friend Sarah told her that some women think that if their partner does not beat them then they don't truly love them, Sally countered this by saying that "you don't hurt someone you love".
I couldn't have agreed more with her. 

Female Genital Mutilation

Unfortunately, abuse of women and young girls does not begin or end there. You may have noticed the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been talked about a lot in the media recently.
I spoke to a few local women about FGM and they told me that it is very common, transcending tribe, religion, and region, and that for many women it is seen as a right of passage.
Sally watched Ellen and I get up off our mattresses and winced; we laughed and asked why she did that? She said that because of FGM, she would find it painful to get up they way we did. She proceeded to show us how she tucks her legs underneath her and gently rises off the mattress, we asked her if she agreed with FGM, she said no and regrets having it done. She made it sound like it was her choice, but something told me that she didn't have much choice in the matter. Despite it being a very secretive part of Sierra Leonean culture, they have festivals dedicated to it every year.
FGM is a brutal practice and is often carried out in unsanitary conditions and with blunt and unclean instruments, which can cause illness and death. 

Sexual Abuse in Schools

Physical abuse is not the only threat that many Sierra Leonean girls must face; sexual abuse is common and often an accepted fact of life for girls who reach puberty. We spent the summer months in Sierra Leone, therefore we worked mainly in summer schools, which were run by a lot of very young male teachers, some of whom were younger than me (I am 23).
Not only did I question their teaching ability, I also also questioned their motives with a lot of the girls. Ellen came bursting into our room one day after her school shift, she was shaking and on the verge of tears, when I asked her what was wrong she said that the teachers at her school should not be there. To be fair there were a lot more expletives used than that, but it would seriously disrupt the flow of this blog.
After a few cigarettes. she told me that she overheard all of the male teachers talking about how they loved summer school because the girls would were tight clothes, and as they said this they would make lewd gestures and point out particular girls. I didn't know what to say; you can't say everything will be alright because it won't – some of those teachers may be involved in the systematic abuse of their students. Ellen said that they spoke so openly about it that it was obviously an accepted thing to do, even when you were in a position of responsibility.
I thought to myself, "These girls don't have a chance, how can this be fair?"
This blog has been particularly bleak and has focused on a dark and dangerous part of Sierra Leone culture and society; however, time is a great changer. During my team's time in Makeni, we met a guy called Phillip – he was a social worker for Street Childand he told us that he was working on a case regarding a young girl who had been impregnated by her teacher; she was 15.
Phillip and I on Aberdeen beach in Freetown

The teacher refused to take responsibility and he was more than likely going to get away with it; however, Phillip was going through the courts to get this guy reprimanded and it was working. He told us that he was being threatened by the teacher's family as well as being bribed to drop the case, but that it was the right thing to do and he was not going to be swayed.
Sierra Leone's justice system leaves a lot to be desired and, more often than not, works against the victims of crimes, but it is people like Phillip who help keep the young women of Sierra Leone safe. 

Further Reading

Street Child - website - www.street-child.co.uk