This inspiring announcement was received via email:
“Contact FM is launching a campaign to highlight and condemn the appalling violence against women in neighbouring DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), with the slogan,
Stand up for your sisters.
Rwandan women had first hand experience of rape as a weapon of war during the genocide, and thousands still live with the scars and the trauma…….
and yet, the same thing is happening next door, with hardly any media attention. In North Kivu alone, there are 250 cases of rape reported each month, the unofficial figure could be much higher. All factions involved in the fighting in Kivu are accused of brutality against women.
There is no “save Congo campaign and even feminist and womens’ groups in the region have by and large ignored the atrocities going on in DRC.
There has also been criticism that Rwandan feminist groups have failed to engage with the crisis next door, and it is hoped that this campaign will
kickstart some kind of action in Rwanda .
CFM will invite listeners to contribute in cash or in kind to help Congolese women living in refugee camps in Rwanda .
The CFM campaign will run for two weeks of spots with appeals/messages from women from across Africa and elsewhere(and some men too) to hammer home the message.
The campaign will culminate on November 25, the international day for elimination of violence against women, when all the regular shows will focus on the abuses against women in DRC and the region. The radio will also be airing a series of reportages on the subject, including sound from Kivu as well as from refugee camps here. Even if the women have escaped the horror of Congo, they are still vulnerable. There have been reports of young girls being coerced into sex for jobs and an alarming rate of teenage pregnancies in the camps.”
Such a campaign will be a first for the region, and it is hoped that it will contribute to not just raising awareness but also promote the need for
dialogue between DRC and Rwanda at a time of high tensions and fears that the fighting in Kivu could escalate and spread to the region.
One Response to “Rwandan Women Launch Radio Campaign to Stop Violence in the DRC”
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It is a good thing to see that women of the continent are standing for other women. I salute the initiative of CFM. However i was thinking that it was more appropriate to organise the event in conjonction with COngo women groups or feminists groups operating in DRC. I’m leading the Women Trauma healing and Care Centre in Bukavu, a project of the Fondation Chirezi, which is caring for women victims of violence in East DRC.
Among other activities we are providing trauma healing services to those women, organise literacy courses and train them into different economic activities aimed to help them stand on their feet again.See p://womenof.ourcongo.net/bukavu/0708amina.htm.
We are also planning a Women Campaign to stop violence again women in East DRC and we think if we could collaborate it could create a great impact in the Region.
Hope to hear from you again
Amina Gisèle
Women Trauma healing and care Center
FOCHI
BUKAVU
DRC