WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN PEACE BUILDING: CONFLICT, COMMUNITY AND CARE Edited by Mirjam van Reisen Women’s Leadership in Peace Building Women’s Leadership in Peace Building: Conflict, Community and Care International Colloquium on Women in Peace-building From Monrovia (2009) to Harare (2014) ======================== Copyright © 2015 Mirjam van Reisen All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. Book and cover design: Lemlem Taddese Front cover picture courtesy of Milly Buchanan Copy Editors: Simon Stocker and Catherine Schook In Acknowledgment of the generous support from Cordaid ISBN: 978-1-59221-994-0 (PB) TABLE OF CONTENTS ========================== FOREWORD .......................................................................................... XI Ellen Johnson Sirleaf INTRODUCTION................................................................................ XIII Mirjam van Reisen PART I – WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN COMMUNITY PEACE BUILDING IN AFRICA CHAPTER 1. TO OFFER A GLASS OF MILLET-MILK IS TO OFFER YOU MY PEACE: THE RELATIONAL RELEVANCE OF FOOD IN ORGANIZING COMMUNITY PEACE ............................. 3 Primrose Nakazibwe CHAPTER 2. WOMEN’S PROTECTION AND MECHANISMS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN ANKORE FAMILIES ...................... 17 Clementia Neema Murembe CHAPTER 3. UBUNTU AND PEACE: WITHOUT A MOTHER, THERE IS NO HOME ........................................................................... 37 Gertjan van Stam CHAPTER 4. WOMEN HAVE ALWAYS HAD THEIR SPECIAL PLACE IN HISTORY AS PEACE-MAKERS: WOMEN AND PEACE BUILDING IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION ................... 55 Pamela K. Mbabazi WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN PEACE BUILDING CHAPTER 5. THE POLITICS OF THE BODY IN CONFLICT: FOLLOWING WOMEN’S FOOTSTEPS: A HOLISTIC RESPONSE TO END SEXUAL VIOLENCE ............................................................ 65 Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng and Sandra Tumwesigye CHAPTER 6. AGEING AND CHANGING COMMUNITY DYNAMICS IN AFRICA ...................................................................... 83 Antony Ong‟ayo Otieno PART II – WOMEN’S POLITICAL LEADERSHIP CHAPTER 7. THE STRUGGLE OF THE SOUTH SUDANESE WOMEN ................................................................................................. 99 Betty Achan Ogwaro CHAPTER 8. REVOLVING REVOLUTIONS: THE INCLUSION OF WOMEN IN PEACE BUILDING IN NEPAL AFTER THE WAR ...................................................................................................... 113 Susan Sellars-Shrestha and Leena Rikkila Tamang CHAPTER 9. TOUGH CHOICES, LIMITED SPACES AND CONFLICTED LOYALTIES: WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP IN GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA TODAY: THE KENYAN EXPERIENCE ....................................................................................... 131 Stella Maranga PART III – GENDER IN THE CONTEXT OF SECURITY CHALLENGES CHAPTER 10. “BRING BACK OUR GIRLS”: CONFLICT AND INSURGENCY IN NIGERIA ............................................................. 147 Obadiah Mailafia CHAPTER 11. OF MULLAHS, RADIO AND RELIGION: THE TALIBAN AND TRIBAL SWAT’S WOMEN IN PAKISTAN ....... 181 Syed Manzar Abbas Zaidi CHAPTER 12. NATIONAL SECURITY: NAVIGATING THE COMING ROUGH SEAS BETWEEN THE USA AND CHINA ... 197 Andre Zaaiman vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PART IV – WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN RE-INVENTING A GLOBALIZED WORLD CHAPTER 13. TECHNOLOGY AND THE POWER TO CONNECT: PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES THROUGH INTERNET COMMUNITIES ....................................... 213 Gerard van Oortmerssen CHAPTER 14. WOMENLEADERS4PEACE: FINDING AN AUTHENTIC AND MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION IN A CONFLICTED AND SEXIST GLOBALIZING WORLD ............... 229 Ineke Buskens CHAPTER 15. A RELIGIOUS DEDICATION TO COMMUNITY: THE LASTING PROMISE OF THE CONCEPT OF CARITAS IN A PLURALIST WORLD ......................................................................... 249 Erik Borgman CHAPTER 16. DIGNITY AS A BASIS FOR THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA: THE RELEVANCE OF THE LEGACY OF MARGA KLOMPÉ FOR A UNIVERSAL POVERTY ERADICATION PROGRAMME ....................................................... 261 Mirjam van Reisen PART V – WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN GLOBALISED COMMUNITIES AS PEACE-BUILDERS CHAPTER 17. REDEMPTION IN SINAI: A STORY OF SLAVERY TODAY ................................................................................................. 279 Mirjam van Reisen CHAPTER 18. DESERTS, HIGH SEAS AND HOPE ...................... 289 Selame Kidane CHAPTER 19. A PLACE CALLED HOME: THE MARGINALISATION OF ZIMBABWEAN WOMEN ................... 301 Grace Kwinjeh vii WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN PEACE BUILDING CHAPTER 21. “GIRLS MAKE MUSIC, WOMEN CREATE CHANGE”: ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO FIGHTING FOR A LIVING WAGE IN LONDON ....................................................... 313 Robyn Stocker CHAPTER 22. HOME-BASED CARE: THE POWER OF WOMEN TO CONNECT VULNERABLE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ...................................................................................... 321 Catherine Schook PART VI – A REFLECTION ON THE CHALLENGES OF REBULDING POST-CONFLICT LIBERIA CHAPTER 23. INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY... 331 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf CHAPTER 24. LAUDATIO ................................................................ 337 Mirjam van Reisen CHAPTER 25. “SHOW ME YOUR FRIENDS, AND I WILL TELL YOU WHO YOU ARE”: THE ROLE OF REHABILITATION PROGRAMMES IN REDUCING RECIDIVISM AMONG PRISON INMATES .............................................................................................. 343 Vickie Wambura CHAPTER 26. THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE IS THE HAND THAT RULES THE WORLD: WOMEN´S ROLE IN IMPROVING COMMUNITY SECURITY ........................................ 353 Agnes Dinkelman CHAPTER 27. CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO AND UNLEASHING THE HIDDEN POWER OF WOMEN: THE ZIMBABWEAN EXPERIENCE .......................................................... 363 Chikomborero Mafuriranwa CHAPTER 28. ONE HAND CANNOT TIE A BUNDLE: PEACE BUILDING IN SECULAR AND FAITH-BASED COMMUNITIES IN UGANDA ........................................................................................ 371 Angeline Nguedjeu-Momekam viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 29. CONFLICT, CONTRADICTION AND CONSCIOUSNESS: AN ARTIST’S EVOLUTION .......................... 377 CHAPTER 30. COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY CARE IN RURAL REALITIES THROUGH THE LENS OF JANNEKE VAN DIJK ....................................................................................................... 379 Mirjam van Reisen ABOUT THE AUTHORS ................................................................... 389 ix FOREWORD ========================== Due to the magnificent vibrancy and positive spirit of Liberians, my country has been rebuilt since the civil war, which had destroyed it and in which many Liberians were killed or made destitute. The great country that Liberia is, has now been in peace for over a decade. It had just begun to pick up its economic recovery, with the enterprising spirit of my fellow countrymen. Sadly, we are now facing another magnificent challenge, which is rocking the fabric of our society: the ebola epidemic. This fast-spreading disease is ravaging the communities, not only of Liberia, but also of its neighbours, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. Our women, the natural care-takers within our families and communities are at the frontline of this mammoth battle. The danger that this health crisis poses to the peace in our communities is now recognized in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2177 (2014) ―Urging Immediate Action, End to Isolation of Affected States‖. I urge the international community to stand by my country, by our neighbours and by all countries equally challenged. As human beings, we are not fighting to die, but to live. We invoke the spirit of communities, of all men, women and children of Liberia, of Africa and of the world to stand together. If we care about our communities we can resolve conflict, overcome the hardest challenges and rebuild our peace. We know that when God brings us to it, he will help us through it. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf President of Liberia INTRODUCTION ========================== Mirjam van Reisen I. A war on a virus. The Ebola virus is taking its deathly toll, spreading along vulnerable communities and taking governments unprepared, killing health workers, mothers and wives, attending to dying patients, while they are trying to stop the spread of the virus. A virus, killing women, men, children, sparing no- one. A threat to one person is a threat to all. A virus, causing conflict between authorities, who are trying to define the measures to take to contain the spread of the disease. A people in fear, revolting, breaking through the military established closed quarantined areas, to collect their dying and loved ones. Statistics of inadequate numbers of body-bags. A Health Ministry weighing up the risks of large-scale use of certain medicines. Airlines closing their services. Neighbouring countries closing their borders. This is Liberia today, Liberia, which has led the way on women‘s leadership in peace-building in Africa and in the world. Once a country of freedom, a country that proudly built its independence on (the struggle to liberate itself) from slavery. Liberia, is now left in dire isolation. A deadly virus. This is the only certainty we have. Death can overtake our efforts at any time and destroy our vulnerable common world. II. The old