Cross-posted from UN Women
Saran Keïta Diakité is a lawyer in Mali and President of the Malian branch of the NGO Working Group on Women Peace and Security (Réseau Paix et Sécurité des Femmes de l’Espace CEDEAO). As the Donor Conference on Mali starts in Brussels, in her own words she speaks about the atrocities occurring in her country, which has been plagued by political instability and the proliferation of armed groups that have uprooted more than 415,000 people since a military coup d’état in March 2012. She also talks about the work of her NGO, supported by UN Women, to assist survivors of violence, provide access to justice, and to ensure women have a say in peace negotiations. She was one of four female mediators who took part in peace negotiations from 15-17 April 2012 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Saran also recently spoke in April 2013 at the UN Security Council’s Open Debate on conflict-related sexual violence in New York.
Saran Keïta Diakité (right), speaking on behalf of the Malian branch of the non-governmental Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, addresses the Security Council debate on sexual violence in conflict on 17 April 2013, in New York.
Photo credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
“It is true that there was genocide in Rwanda and there have been cases of rape in Congo, but what happened in Mali is unprecedented.
At the outbreak of the crisis, UN Women commissioned a study in the regions of Gao, Menaka and Ansongo, in April and May 2012 and in September 2012. The outcomes of that study revealed over 100 cases of rape, both individual and gang rape. When these women talk about what happened, it’s appalling. The victims’ ages range from 9 to 70. Imagine the horrors that these survivors have endured.
Throughout the occupied regions, girls are forced into marriage. When an Islamist marries you, you can be sure that, at night, you will be visited by at least four or five people, and that every night, you’ll receive a visit from a different man, a “new husband”. One girl told me: “it was by the smell that I knew that it was a different man coming to me every time. Every time, I was aware of a different smell than the last time.”
The Islamists perform religious marriages in order to escape the clutches of international criminal justice. They carry out a form of “marriage” so that, at night, you can be treated as a sexual slave. During the day, you are there to serve tea to the men and attend to their every need. This is why I always say that what’s happened in Mali is unprecedented.
It’s true to say that rape is being used as a weapon of war. Read More
With some electoral gains in Iraq, women candidates work towards change
Cross-posted from UN Women
To run as a political candidate in Iraq demands courage and determination – even more so for a woman. Fourteen candidates, including one woman, were murdered in the run-up to local elections held in April – the first elections to be run by the Iraqis themselves without any international help since 2003.
Maryam Abdulla, 31, was recently elected to the regional council in Kut, southern Iraq. She is proud of her success and pleased that training from UN Women helped her achieve more votes than predicted.
Women candidates and their election trainer following a recent training in Kut. Pictured from left to right: Sanaa Isaa, candidate from the Iraq of Wealth and Giving coalition; Radhiea Ali Salim, candidate of the Gathering of Loyal Hands party; Sanaa Al-Taai, trainer; and Sajida Nezer, Al-Ahraar coalition. Sajida Nezer won her seat with a total of 1,495 votes. Photo courtesy of the Iraq Foundation
“The training provided by UN Women to us as women candidates was a good and positive step to broaden the women’s culture. We as women need to work more, especially in the south of Iraq where we have to break through the tribal layer. We need more training to be able to change people’s attitudes,” said Maryam, sounding sprightly and positive despite the obstacles she faced.
Maryam is one of approximately 300 women candidates from five governorates who were trained by the Iraq Foundation and their local partners in the run-up to the local elections in Iraq on 20 April. Supported by UN Women, the three- to five-day sessions covered issues like dealing with the press, how to put together a campaign, presentation techniques and self-management. All political parties were asked to nominate their women candidates for training, but not all did.
“Today women face more challenges. I’m always asked by other women how did I break through the tribal layer, my answer to them is it was possible through dialogue and improving myself to convince them that I understand women issues and I can be a leader,” said Maryam.
According to the UN’s Women in Iraq factsheet, women “represent one of the most vulnerable segments of the population and are generally more exposed to poverty and food insecurity as a result of lower overall income levels.”
Despite the large peak in violence in the run up to the elections, election day itself passed off without incident; approximately 50 per cent of the population turned out to vote, of which 40 per cent were women.
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