In the DRC, in terms of respect for Human Rights, thousands of women continue to be the victims of unbelievable violence perpetrated both by armed groups and the Congolese army, especially in the east of the country. For the time being, the government has not yet shown a real political will to bring an end to these atrocities which not only physically and morally destroy women, but also entire communities. At a political level, equality between men and women is far from being a reality. During the last legislative elections, only 47 women (out of 500 candidates) were elected to the National Assembly, a mere 9.4%. In Burundi, participation by women in political bodies has made a great deal of progress. In fact, 32% of those sitting in the National Assembly are women, 46% in the Senate and 43% in the Government. Nevertheless, the situation remains worrying from a Human Rights point of view. Even though Burundi ’s criminal code has been revised in order to include condemnation of domestic violence, many Burundian women are still the victims of sexual violence. Since January 2010, the Association pour la Défense des Droits de la Femme (ADDF – Association for the Defence of Women’s Rights) has documented 3,148 cases of women being raped. According to some sources, sexual violence affects all ages, including children and elderly women. In the last few days, the Iwacu newspaper has even reported that young Burundian girls are being trafficked to Uganda where they are exploited sexually. In Rwanda, the introduction of a quotas system has propelled the country to the position of world leader in terms of the number of women in Parliament, which stands at 56.3%. However, despite the strengthening of legislation against gender-based violence, the challenge remains for a higher number of women in power to lead to a real advancement in the defence of women’s rights. The same applies to the law passed by parliament for decreasing maternity leave from 12 to 6 weeks and the recent proposal contested by women’s NGOs for the legal age for marriage to be reduced from 21 to 18 – a proposal which was not accepted. As the Pro-femme NGO pointed out, “Rwandan women’s organisations need to improve the status of women by promoting their social-economic position, and health, political and legal status”.
We feel that the statement by Mathilde Muhindo, Director of the OLAME Centre in Bukavu, that “International Women’s day is not a day of celebration, but rather one for making demands and reflecting on the strategies that need to be put in place for the complete integrity of women” applies perfectly to the condition of women in the three countries of the Great Lakes region.
Donatella Rostagno
EurAc Policy Officer