Conference on the implementation of resolutions 1325 and 1820 Security Council missions of the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP)
Intervention de Mme Rama Yade,
Conférence sur la mise en œuvre des résolutions 1325 et 1820 du Conseil de sécurité dans les missions de la Politique européenne de sécurité et de défense (PESD)
Bruxelles le vendredi 10 octobre 2008.
Juste quelques mots pour dire que cette conférence est très importante parce qu’elle va permettre de faire un point, d’évaluer, de mesurer les conséquences des deux résolutions dont vous venez de parler à savoir sur la situation des femmes en situation de guerre ou de post-conflit. C’est très important de faire périodiquement une évaluation parce qu’il faut mettre fin à cette tradition qui consiste à voter des résolutions sans savoir ce qu’elles deviennent et parce qu’il faut aussi prendre en compte la responsabilité des acteurs. C’est-à-dire qu’il ne suffit pas de vouloir, il faut aussi que les acteurs sur le terrain mettent en œuvre ce qui a été décidé. Cette conférence a été organisée dans le cadre de la présidence française de l’Union européenne. C’est l’opportunité de faire un pas de plus vers le respect des engagements pris par la communauté internationale. C’est important parce qu’il y a urgence. Vous savez que la situation des femmes dans les conflits ou dans les sociétés post-conflit est encore dramatique. Je citerai juste quelques chiffres pour bien montrer que les femmes subissent de véritables crimes de guerre à travers les viols dans ces conflits. Rappelons-nous en Bosnie où il y a eut entre 10 et 64 mille cas de viols pendant la guerre, au Rwanda, 250 à 500 mille femmes avaient subi un viol individuel ou collectif pendant le génocide. Et parmi celles qui ont survécu, 70% ont été contaminées par le VIH. En RDC actuellement, que j’ai visité il y a quelques mois, il y a tout de même 48 000 victimes entre 2004 et 2006 dans les Kivus et une recrudescence des viols depuis avril. Donc face à cette situation, il ne suffit pas de voter des résolutions. Moi j’ai participé à beaucoup de conférences, beaucoup de réunions du Conseil de Sécurité des Nations Unies sur le thème du genre et je considère que la réunion d’aujourd’hui est aussi importante, sinon plus, que les réunions au Conseil de Sécurité parce que on est dans l’évaluation des textes, on est plus dans les déclarations d’intention, on interroge les acteurs civils, militaires de terrain sur l’impact des résolutions adoptées par les Nations Unies. Ce qu’il faut savoir c’est que, du point de vue de l’Union européenne, l’UE a déployé une dizaine de ses missions dans le monde, dans les pays comme l’Irak, la Bosnie, la RDC, le Tchad et bientôt le Kosovo. L’UE a aussi adopté des documents opérationnels qui détaillent les interventions nécessaires à la protection des femmes dans les conflits. Là encore, les responsables des missions ont été conviés, aujourd’hui, durant cette conférence, comme le chef de la mission en RDC par exemple, des responsables politiques de l’UE, comme Mme la Commissaire Ferrero-Waldner, et des experts. Ils sont venus aujourd’hui se rencontrer pour faire un premier bilan de l’action de l’UE et répertorier les bonnes pratiques d’un côté et les lacunes de l’autres à travers la rédaction de recommandations finales. Il est important que cette réunion ne soit pas une réunion de plus, ou juste une réunion pour encore se retrouver, dire des choses qui semblent importantes mais qu’il ne passe rien derrière. Ce qu’il faudrait c’est que, au terme de ces réunions, devant les militaires et les civils qui travaillent sur le terrain, nous fassions des recommandations concrètes et que ces recommandations concrètes fassent l’objet à leur tour d’une recommandation.
Intervention de Mme Inés Alberdi, Directrice exécutive de l’UNIFEM.
Question : Madame la Ministre, quel est le problème à votre avis, pourquoi « 1325 » n’a pas été appliquée comme nous l’avons entendu ce matin durant cette conférence ?
Quel est le problème ? Je prends un exemple. Je pense à la RDC, la République démocratique du Congo où j’avais été. C’était un déplacement qui était consacré principalement aux femmes et à leur situation dans le conflit puisque c’est peut être le foyer aujourd’hui où la situation des femmes est la plus dramatique. Au fond, quand vous entendez les femmes témoigner de leur situation, tout vous semble prioritaire. Vous ne savez pas par où commencer parce que tout vous semble prioritaire. Je m’explique par rapport aux militaires qu’on entendait tout à l’heure. J’ai rencontré des femmes à l’hôpital de Panzi qu’un docteur soigne. Il est le seul gynécologue à soigner ces femmes. D’ailleurs il était à Paris hier. On s’est revu avec Eve Ensler qui fait les monologues du vagin et qui est très impliquée sur les violences faites aux femmes au Congo. Des femmes sont enlevées par des groupes armés dans l’Est du pays et sont violées de manière collective, sont transformées en esclaves sexuelles et puis ensuite soit elles meurent, soit elles sont rejetées dans les villages. On se rend compte qu’elles sont enceintes, qu’elles ont le Sida, qu’elles ont des fistules, etc. et donc elles se retrouvent rejetées des communautés parce qu’elles dégagent une odeur un peu étrange. Eve Ensler parle de « fémicide » pour dire que le viol est une arme de guerre et qu’en détruisant la femme on détruit des communautés puisqu’on éloigne les femmes. Donc je suis allée voir ces femmes dans l’unique hôpital qui se trouvait dans l’est du pays avec l’unique docteur qui les soignait parce que ces viols s’accompagnent de tortures. Et comme cela dure pendant des mois dans les forêts, il faut faire des opérations pour reconstituer physiquement ces femmes. C’est terrible car on ne peut pas les garder. Il faut après les faire repartir et elles se font enlever à nouveau et… bref et ça recommence. Et alors, elles m’ont raconté leurs histoires et elles m’ont dit, de manière très directe : « qu’est-ce que fait la communauté internationale pour nous ? ». Je réponds naïvement : « il y a la Monuc ici, la plus grande force des Nations Unies, 20 000 hommes ». Je suis allée voir la Monuc d’ailleurs. Et elles m’ont dit : « Qu’est-ce qu’elle fait, la Monuc ? ». Alors je leur réponds : « elle est là pour vous protéger ». Et elles me disent : « mais elles n’ont pas le droit de combattre les bandes armées ». Effectivement, cela n’est pas dans leur mandat. C’est terrible car, je suis allée voir la Monuc. Je leur ai demandé : « Eh bien alors, qu’est-ce que vous faites pour les femmes parce que cela augmente depuis que vous êtes là ». Ils disent : « écoutez, dans notre mandat, on ne peut pas faire plus que ce que l’on fait déjà ». Donc je considère que c’est un problème. Je me suis sentie un peu stupide à invoquer qu’il y a la Monuc ici et elles, elles m’ont expliqué qu’elles ne la voient pas la Monuc. Alors, la Monuc fait sans doute un travail excellent mais je pense que, concernant les violences faites aux femmes, il y a quelque chose à penser là, d’un peu plus important. Parce que derrière cette présence militaire, il y a beaucoup de choses à régler. Il faut se débarrasser de ces bandes armées. C’est ce que disent les femmes au Congo. Vous pouvez créer tous les hôpitaux que vous voulez pour les soigner, vous pouvez envoyer une force militaire de 50 000 hommes, si les bandes armées sont toujours dans la forêt, ça ne change rien pour les femmes puisqu’ils font des descentes pour venir les enlever. Il faut donc les désarmer physiquement. Et puis, il y a en a qui viennent des pays voisins, notamment le Rwanda qui ne veut pas forcément récupérer les bandes. Alors que fait-on, on les éloigne du Kivu ? Mais il faut peut être les punir. On se demande où est le système judiciaire. Au Congo, il n’y en a pas vraiment. Alors il faut les occuper par un emploi. Mais alors où est l’emploi ? Il n’y en a pas vraiment non plus. Donc on se retrouve avec le problème sur les bras depuis 10 ans et on a là le foyer le plus tragique du monde entier. Moi je n’ai jamais vu cela ailleurs. Et la mobilisation n’est pas suffisante sur le Congo, sur la RDC, sur la situation des femmes. Vraiment l’enjeu n’est pas un enjeu cantonné aux femmes. Pour reprendre l’expression d’Eve Ensler, c’est vraiment un « fémicide » parce qu’on détruit les communautés derrière. Je crois toute à l’heure, quand je parlais des réunions du Conseil de Sécurité etc. Les résolutions, c’est très bien, il en faut mais je pense qu’à un moment donné il faut se demander si le mandat donné à la Monuc est vraiment bien calibré ou s’il faut pas inventer quelque chose d’autres à côté si cela n’est pas le rôle de ces forces là d’intervenir. Quand vous voyez les militaires sur le terrain, ils sont très courageux. Le général Gaye qui commandait les troupes de la Monuc qui est un homme assez exceptionnel dans son engagement. Eux-même voudraient calibrer un peu mieux cette force présente. C’est quelque chose d’absolument indispensable. Nous, nous allons faire une réunion avec Eve Ensler. On essaie d’attirer des gens pour faire une grande conférence autour de documentaires, de témoignages de ces femmes à Paris d’ici la fin de l’année, en invitant des gens comme vous, comme les journalistes pour sensibiliser l’opinion au Congo car on en parle pas suffisamment, on ne parle pas suffisamment des violences faites aux femmes.
[Intervention du modérateur]
Il faut sensibiliser, il faut commencer par là. Vous lancez l’initiative: « Say no to violence against women”. C’est très intéressant mais vous voyez, ils sont obligés d’appeler Catherine Deneuve, Nadia Auermann, Madame Ban Ki Moon, Rania de Jordanie. Ils sont obligés de faire appel à des personnalités, des peoples, des stars parce que c’est le seul moyen qu’on a pour faire accélérer les femmes. C’est dans cet esprit d’ailleurs que s’inscrit notre réunion sur les femmes au Congo. Si vous voulez nous les prêter pour mobiliser les femmes au Congo, ce serait bien !
First thank you for your wonderful reactions to the last update. I feel you all here with me and that gives me hope and strength. It is Sunday morning. The birds are out and I am in the green green world of Bukavu. I am trying to find words to describe this week and the ongoing war and madness that is eastern Congo.
The morning after I arrived here, Panzi Hospital was attacked by a gang of bandits. The hospital staff were literally fighting off attackers with sticks. Ambulances and important transport vehicles were vandalized. Windows of the hospital were smashed. Many people were injured, patients and staff. I saw the bruised face of a woman who had made it to Panzi after being raped only to find the place that was meant to be secure, completely insecure. It is hard to tell what caused this outbreak of violence. There was a violent incident in the community which touched it off, but the province of South Kivu is essentially a state of violence. The entire population is traumatized from ten years of genocide and femicide. It is estimated that in this time over 5 million have died in the Congo and hundreds of thousands of women have been raped. In the first six months of this year there were 3500 reported cases of rape in North and South Kivu, What this has done to the psyche of the people is so vast and so deep. The attack on the hospital heightened how things can change here on a dime. How there is no real security and no real government. It took the police over 4 hours to react.
After the hospital was attacked, the whole staff marched spontaneously to the Governors office. We were able to march with them for a while, but then it turned violent. They were forced to turn back, some were beaten by the police. The hospital has been closed for almost a week. Dr. Mukwege said that it is impossible to work to try to save the lives of women who are raped and destroyed while they are fighting off violence. There were already at least 40 to 60 women waiting for surgery when the hospital reopened Monday. Unfortunately this terrible incident at Panzi is one of many terrible incidents going on here. There is so much fighting right now in Northern Kivu and so many people dying. It is almost impossible to know where to focus or who to help first.
But again, in spite of all the madness, I have so much faith in the campaign, in the women and men who long for peace, who are fighting day and night to nurture and support and protect each other. As always, I worked with some of the bravest, smartest and most generous women and men (there are quite a few in the movement here) who organized the event, who do ongoing daily work to provide services and skills to women in recovery. As in Goma, I spent the week working with survivors, preparing for the public declarations to Break The Silence. Their stories are below and you will see the level of madness and cruelty they have suffered. It was a very moving and difficult week and I am just now beginning even to process all that I have hear over these weeks because the mind can hardly take in this level of horror.
The event was in a very intimate hall. It was beautifully decorated by activists in pinks and mauves. There were banners and signs everywhere. There were hundreds of people. Every person from police officers to public officials seemed to be wearing our buttons. The activists and local groups had stands selling their goods and offering services and legal counseling to survivors. The Governor arrived with many local authorities. UNICEF staff did an excellent job with the local preparations. Christine Schuler Deschryver did a beautiful job of translating the stories. The women survivors were so brave and so expressive and so true. So much so that after the Governor spoke, while he presented them with the pink scarves, he cried. I think this breaking allowed everyone to cry and to feel that maybe even for a moment the government was in the struggle to stop the madness. This time after the testimonies, the women reported they felt joy. Joy and freedom from breaking the silence. There was a press conference after and hundreds stayed for it and asked questions. There was a great deal of press, local stations, BBC and the New York Times. Afterwards there was a wonderful meal and great sense of victory and solidarity.
This may all seem like a small thing in the face of such devastation. At times it feels like it is impossible here. But then I think of the women who came up to say that the day had empowered them, they were stronger and they were going to break the silence and then they started to tell their own stories. I trust in time and the process of movement building.
Ten years ago V-Day was in one city and no one could say the word vagina. Now it is in 120 countries and we have raised 60 million and it continues to grow. It was one woman saying the word, breaking the silence, another woman and another woman and this is how it will happen in the Congo. This movement to end sexual violence gets stronger and stronger. Each time I am here I see how many more woman and men are engaged and how much bolder they have become. Eventually there will be thousands. And they will have the power.
After the event there was a briefing with the activists. There is a three -step plan that is being enacted here and in North Kivu. First all the groups will come up with five demands that must be met within a reasonable time period that will be presented to provincial authorities. They will give the authorities six months to meet these demands. If they have been met, it will be cause for celebration. If not, women and men will occupy local parliaments. Then there will be another offering and timeline. If this is not met there will be national demonstrations. Then there will be one more offering. If this is not met there will be a national strike of women.
Our work goes on. We meet this week to begin building City of Joy. We have the plan and the budget. Next will be the bidding then the building. There will also be Joy Centers in the villages where women are being hardest hit. These will be centers for recovery and community building.
I am here another few weeks. I will get to really work on the ground plan for City of Joy and hopefully get out to the villages to see what is needed.
Below are the stories of the survivors. Warning–they are horrible. What is remarkable is to see how each woman rose to the occasion and each woman has become an activist leader as a result of breaking the silence.
With love,
Eve
Snapshots of the Stories of Survivors Who Broke the Silence
Following are snapshots of survivors stories from the Bukavu event on September 19, 2008.
Claudine
My aim is to denounce rape. I am 52 years old. I have nine children. We are suffering a lot even if they say we have peace. We do not. I will tell you what happened. I was selling beer in the market. We met some Interhamwe. They stopped us. They were talking Kinyarawnda. There were 12 of us. They said. “Today you will see. Today you will have other husbands.” They told us to lie down. They started beating us with sticks. They all started raping us. They took us into the forests. They beat us more. They raped us again. They walked us again to another camp until one in the morning. Then they tied us to trees. They tied us so tight. There were six women then and two husbands. They raped us in front of them. All the misery of the world was in our heads. We woke up so hungry. They said we had to wait for guests. New sex slaves. They came with a pregnant woman. They told me to cut her open with a knife. I couldn’t do it. My hands were trembling. They opened the belly of the woman and threw the baby on the ground. The woman died. Then they chopped up the baby and cooked it. Everyone peed on it with urine and put feces in it. Then they said we had to eat it. They bought bananas. They made us eat it. They said. “You fucking Congolese. You are eating your own sisters.” Then the husband of the woman who had been pregnant came looking for his wife. They took him to show where his wife gave birth. He gave them his small dollars. Then another soldier came and hit him and then they killed him. They kept us for two months. They said now soon you are going to die. Oh God, we said. They said, we don’t know God. In the morning we heard Congolese soldiers. They screamed for us to lie on the ground. There was lots of shooting. Then they told us to stand and we went to Panzi hospital. We were treated. We were not HIV. After a few days at home, the Interhamwe came again. They killed my uncle, my son, the wife of my brother. I could hear them cutting their heads.
Martah
I am 36. I was coming from the market. I was with an older woman. I came to a road block. They asked me for money. They put me on the side and told me to take off my clothes. I refused. One slapped me and hit my eyes. He smelled like alcohol. They started raping me. One was doing security on the road while the other raped me. Then they traded places. The older woman started screaming. They tested me. I was HIV positive and pregnant. My husband sent a note to push me out of the house. He left me with nothing and the children. Some Christians started helping me. An organization helped me to accept myself. I am here to testify. Even if we have been raped and are HIV positive, life goes on. I want to break the silence so that others who are HIV positive can get help.
Jeanette
I am 31. I have 4 children. I am standing here because I want to tell you, all the authorities, what happened to me. In the middle of the night, people knocked on our door. They woke us. I thought they were my husband’s friends. My husband said to go tell them he was tired, that he would see them tomorrow.” As we talked we saw flashlights in the house. One said. “Whose the one who says he will see us tomorrow.” I said, “I am alone. “ They searched with their flashlights and found my husband under the bed. They put my children in a sheet and rolled them under the bed. They made my husband and I take off our clothes. They asked my husband for a 100 dollars. He said he didn’t have that, but he had a pig. He said, you can take it. They said they wanted to 100 dollars. He said. What else can I give you? They told him to give them his wife. We will rape her. My husband told me to do it and then they would leave us alone. They started raping me. When the first one had sex with me he told the others I was good. He said it was the best he had ever had. All the other men wanted me then. I was pregnant and sick. My husband then got worried that I would have Aids. He begged them to stop and they shot him. I saw his insides and I screamed. They shot me in the leg and left me thinking I was dead. After the people came and took me to the hospital. Most of my leg was gone. I didn’t know where my children were. A doctor went to find them and they were begging on a street. He brought them to me.
Every time I see my leg I remember the misery. It is so hard to take care of my children and stay alive. All of you need to stop rape here in the Congo and end this war. A lot of women are hiding. There is nothing to hide. Break the silence.
Pasquazine
I’m 39. I thank God I have the opportunity to tell authorities what happened. We were in a home with my family at night. We heard people were forcing the gate. We saw a flashlight. We realized they had already gotten into the house. They spoke Kinyarawnda. Some were dressed as civilians, some military. They asked me to stand up. We were all trembling. They took my husband and started beating him. We looked at each other. What’s wrong? What did we do? There were many of them outside and inside. They took my mother-in-law, my husband, my brother. They asked me to lie on the floor. They asked my father in law who he was. Then they told him to sleep with me. He refused. They forced him. He said you can kill me, but I will not sleep with her. They killed him right there. I lost consciousness. They took my brother in law to sleep with me and his mother. He refused. They killed him. They started beating me and my children. They took my husband. There were seven military who stayed. The others left with my husband. One after the other started raping me. I was raped and raped. When I came back to myself I found my womb was out of my body. My insides were all outsides. They took me in a vehicle. They brought me to Panzi in Bukavu. They kept me there and they provided everything. I had counselors taking care of me. I stayed at Panzi three months. I got better. They decided to do a surgery. Afterwards, I went back to the village. No husband. No father. I went to find my children. After a year, there was an attack on our village. I heard them at the door. I went under our bed. Another flashlight. I said I already suffered. Why do you want to do this to me again? The three of them raped me again. I was bought to Panzi again.
What I can’t forget. Every time I am hurting inside with any handicap. It hurts when I lift things. When I walk. I’m here to tell authorities there are many suffering and others are not telling. We don’t want to stay silent. Come and break the silence.
Honorata
My name is Honorata. I choose to give my testimony in French as most people think it is only the villagers, only those who are uneducated who are exposed to rape and violence. Wherever you are, whoever you are, they can rape you. I am 56, a mother, married for years. I worked for 25 years as a teacher. Most teachers do not get paid so I looked for other jobs. I used to sell food, sugar, for the mining on the weekends. On Sunday night I was working at the mine and there was an attack. They took about 10 women and walked us around the forest and turned us around and around. They wanted to make us think we were far away. They walked us for a long time. Until one am. We were hungry. They said they wanted to share dinner. I was dinner. Five men were kicking and raping me. They spread me and were raping me. They smashed my eyes and now I have trouble reading without huge glasses. They broke my teeth. They cut my wedding ring off my finger. They said you are the wife of nobody now. You belong to all of us. They kept me the whole year of 2002. It was misery. I was the sexual slave of everyone and no one. They took us from one forest to another. I was leaving myself. I couldn’t stand it. They called me the Queen. At first I thought this was a good thing. Then I realized the Queen was the one they publicly raped. They would put me, the queen, on a cross, my head near the ground. They would rape me one after the other in this position. On the top of their rifles, they would put some kind of bacterial and they would put it inside me after each man raped me so I would be clean. Whenever I hear the word Food and Queen I become crazy.
One day there was fighting. They didn’t pay attention to us and I ran away. I walked 300 kilometers and got to Bukavu by January 2003. No one in my family wanted me. They said I was violated by Hutus. I had to leave. I found other women in the same situation. We lived together in a house. Few months later there was an attack of Tutsis. That day they came in our house. They all raped us again. It was two in the afternoon. I even wanted to kill myself then. I bled for two weeks. A nun was looking for survivors. She gave me clothes and money. I wasn’t doing well I took tests and had 6 STD’s. I worked at Women for Women for a year. Then I was sent by GTZ for training. I help women now. I empower then. My children study. One will graduate as an engineer.
I want to break the silence because many still think rape doesn’t exist. I want to give a message to the authorities and Internationals, when you don’t break the silence you become an accomplice. Authorities should stop treating rape as a simple ordinary thing. Rape and murder are the same. I want the Judiciary to stop being corrupt. I want all the rapists in prison and want them never seeing the light of day. Tomorrow it will be your mother, your daughter. That’s why I am breaking the silence.
One thing I can’t forget. I had a wedding ring. It was simple and gold. I was married since April 3 1977. My husband disappeared in 2001. I was a young teacher when I got married. I was a singer. It was a big joy. I was leading a choir during my wedding in a Catholic church. In that period, many men were taking 2 or 3 wives, My husband and I decided to do monogamy. We were Christians. Besides the man who raped me I never knew another man.
On August 18, in the village of Narosura in the Rift Valley, a 10 year-old girl died from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). At 5 that morning she was cut. By 10, she had bled to death.
Her family wrapped the body in a sheet and secretly buried it a few yards from their huts. By that afternoon, there was no evidence of the crime.
If it were not for the network of conscience that Agnes Pareyio has woven into the Maasai community, this child’s death would have gone unnoticed. But an anonymous “informer” called her on the morning of the ceremony, in time for her to send one of her collaborators and an officer of the law to the hasty funeral.
As a result, for the first time in Maasai history, a circumciser has been arrested.
I have known of Agnes’ work since the late nineties when Eve Ensler, founder of V-Day (www.vday.org), the worldwide movement to stop violence against women and girls, began collaborating with her. I remember hearing Ensler describe how she met Agnes in the Rift Valley, where the Maasai woman was traveling on foot from village to village, speaking out against her people’s practices of FGM and ECM (Early Childhood Marriage) and educating the community about alternatives. At that time, she walked the miles of treacherous roads and donkey paths alone, carrying the “model” which has now become well known among those who work to stop FGM. The “model” is a plastic sculpture of a woman’s pelvis with removable parts that fit into the pubic area. Each of seven or so exchangeable parts graphically represents a different form of FGM, as well as the medical complications that can ensue with time. The model, and the education Agnes brought with it, has had a huge impact in helping to eradicate this practice among the Maasai.
When Eve asked Agnes how V-Day could help her, she replied, “A Jeep would make it possible for me to get around more easily and save more girls.” So V-Day bought Agnes a Jeep, not only enabling her to reach farther than she could on foot, but attracting trust and respect as people came to know her and her mission. Soon there was more interest in her work than she could address alone, and now she has trained several others to travel to the villages to teach girls, boys, parents, elders and leaders.
As Agnes reached more and more girls, some gained the courage to take control of their own lives and run away when they were in danger of being cut or forced into marriage. It soon became clear that a Safe House was needed for those girls who remained in danger living with their parents. The V-Day Safe House for the Girls (also called the Tasaru Rescue Center) was the next collaboration between V-Day and Agnes.
What began as Agnes’ personal commitment to stopping FGM through education and sensitization has now become a multi-layered approach to community transformation. Through educational outreach into the villages, an invisible network of caring individuals has been put in place—women and men who are parents, teachers, church officials, and community leaders committed to informing the law of clandestine cutting ceremonies and aiding girls who need to seek refuge from them. The anonymous “informer” who called Agnes on August 18 was one of these.
I was visiting the Safe House when the call came in. I had come to work with the 40 or so girls who were living there during their vacation from boarding school. Girls at the Safe House are not only given refuge from FGM and ECM, each is placed in a primary or secondary school, and her school expenses are paid through graduation. This is revolutionary among the Maasai, where women and girls have been seen more as commodities than as contributing members of the community. In many villages, young girls are not permitted to go to school or are forced to drop out in order to be circumcised and sold into marriage. For a “bride price” of several cattle or sheep, a girl as young as 10 years old will become one of several wives belonging to a man many times her age.
August is a very busy month for the Tasaru Ntomonok Initiative. The Safe House is alive with girls home from school—studying, cooking, cleaning, playing soccer, or washing their clothes and laying them out to dry in colorful swatches strewn over the bushes and lawns. Between periods of study, the dining hall overflows with groups practicing line dances to “Bongo Flava” music (a kind of Kenyan hip hop), and singing in chorus in Swahili or Maa, the language of the Maasai. In the dorm, the girls engage in activities akin to teenagers all over the world—trying a new hat on one another, sharing jewelry, or watching the Olympics on a grainy-screened TV as they braid each other’s hair.
August is also the time of the “Alternative Rite of Passage,” a groundbreaking event that Agnes and her organization offer bi-annually. The ARP was created with the recognition that an alternative coming-of-age ritual was needed for girls to take the place of FGM. During the event, 60 – 80 girls from throughout the district gather for five days to learn about such things as sexuality, the dangers of FGM, and how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS, rape, and early pregnancy. Tasaru provides them with lodging and food in a local boarding school free of charge.
The girls attend lectures in the mornings and afternoons, and everyday they meet in small groups with “Godmothers,” older women from the Maasai community who are available to talk with them and answer their questions. The participants write songs and poems, take copious notes, and play games all focused on stopping FGM and empowering girls. At the end of the five days, they perform their creations at a joyful ceremony which many parents, district officials, religious leaders and activists attend.
August also has a darker side in Maasailand. Because schools in Kenya are on vacation, this is when many FGM and forced marriage ceremonies take place. It is a time when girls arrive at the Safe House, having fled a cutting ceremony or a wedding. Sometimes Agnes will be alerted by an informant before such an event, and will go with the police to rescue the girl.
The call on August 18 came too late to save the child in Narosura. However it was not too late to arrest those who circumcised her and make sure that justice prevailed. As soon as Agnes heard the news, she took action. Sending witnesses to the funeral and having the circumciser arrested was only the beginning. Even though FGM and ECM have been illegal in Kenya since 2001, many officers, as well as public officials and prosecutors, grew up in villages where these traditions are still practiced. It is not difficult to convince them to compromise. Agnes knew that the girl’s family and others, including the local elected Counselor, would probably attempt to buy off the police to keep the story hidden. She knew that if she did not personally mobilize the police, the local Medical Officer and the Children’s Officer to exhume the body and gain official proof of the cause of death, this girl would have died in vain.
It was only after hours of waiting at the police station, dozens of phone calls, and personally paying not only for the fuel for two vehicles to travel the treacherous road to Narosura, but also a stipend for the accompanying officers that the police agreed to the expedition.
When Agnes suggested that I accompany the men on the mission, I had no idea of the danger involved. I was unaware that the villagers, intent on keeping the exhumation from happening, had already planned to track our vehicle and set up an ambush.
So I was surprised when, arriving at the gas station in the center of town where we were to begin the journey, Agnes told me to leave the blue V-Day Jeep and get into one of the many battered, unmarked taxis that fill the streets of Narok. “We had to change the vehicle and travel undercover,” she explained to me later. “The day before, three different people had casually asked me whether we were planning to take the Jeep to the exhumation—the man at the petrol station, one of the policemen, and the elected counselor from Narosura. It was then that I realized they must have already paid off the police and were planning an ambush. This is why you had to travel in a car they could not recognize.”
I joined the Children’s Officer, the doctor and Chris, who is the treasurer of Agnes’ organization and her most active collaborator, in the taxi. After waiting for the police for half an hour at the agreed upon meeting point, we decided to go to look for them at the police station. There they were, unprepared, with no intention of making the journey. After another half hour of negotiations, three officers finally boarded the truck and were joined by were joined by the videographer that Agnes had hired to document the event.
Though this was usually the time of a short rainy season in Narok District, not a drop had been seen in months. As the taxi bounded and crashed over the rough terrain, the swirling clouds of dust were so thick that at times we were literally blinded and had to stop until visibility returned. Everything looked thirsty, the stunted brown bushes, the herds of wandering cows with their protruding ribs casting shadows on their skin, and even the herders, each wrapped in his bright red shuka (a Maasai blanket), the sudden stroke of color like an outcry against the relentless beige of the drought.
Suddenly the taxi stopped. All of us except the driver got out and began to walk across the barren savannah towards two huts about 10 minutes away. The taxi came too, leaving the road and bumping along behind us. “Stay close to the car,” Chris warned me. “In case we have to run.”
As we approached the huts, two Maasai men in western clothing and a woman in traditional Maasai dress of brightly colored material and many layers of beaded jewelry strode towards us. One of the men said he was the uncle of the girl. The other was the local elected Counselor.
An animated conversation ensued in whispered Maa between the uncle, the counselor and the doctor. Apparently the villagers were trying to “buy off” the officials. But in spite of the repeated offers, the doctor explained that there was no way to avoid the exhumation. Because of the presence of the witnesses from Tasaru, his reputation was at stake. He had to ascertain with his own eyes the cause of death.
After quite a while an agreement was reached. The doctor could exhume the body, but only the police could bear witness. One of the officers took my camera to document the exhumation. The police truck was maneuvered into a position that hid the proceedings.
I could certainly understand that the girl’s community did not want the grave to be disturbed. I imagined this was because of religious beliefs and fears of black magic or other superstitions. Even while we were there several groups of women carrying 20 liter plastic water kegs on their backs, started to run as they approached, as if to pass through this blighted zone as quickly as possible. Chris had told me the death and the exhumation would cause many of the villagers to believe the area to be cursed now. They would take their livestock and move away. The girl’s family, too, would probably burn their dung huts and evacuate, leaving the unmarked grave to disappear, anonymous in the dusty landscape.
It was not until I saw the photographs of the body of the 10 year old lying naked in the dirt that I realized what Agnes must have intuited all along. This was more complex than a simple case of FGM. The child’s body, wrapped only in a blanket, was obviously about seven months pregnant. Maasai people who practice FGM believe the blood of an uncircumcised woman is unclean and will curse whoever comes in contact with it. So unless the girl was hurriedly cut, no one could help with such a birth and the child will be marked for life.
I learned later that the girl had already been promised to a very old man in marriage. The “bride price” had been paid. Apparently the wedding was planned as soon as the girl was cut and the baby was born and out of the way. Another reason for rushed FGM ceremony.
As the taxi driver negotiated the potholes and dust of the long road back to Narok, there was silence in the car. Seeing the photographs of the girl’s body had thrown everyone into the heartbreak of the situation, not only putting a face on the child who had been victimized, but bringing home the reality that these violent practices are still being perpetrated upon Maasai girls in spite of years of activism against them.
“The fate of our girls is no longer a family issue,” Agnes Pareyio said to 63 girls, their parents and local political and religious leaders at the closing ceremony of Tasaru Ntomonok’s Alternative Rite of Passage the following Friday. “It is no longer even a tribal or national issue. It is an international necessity that these outdated practices be stopped. Though she may not die physically like the unfortunate young girl whose life was taken this week, each girl who is cut and forced into marriage undergoes a kind of death. Her future is changed forever. She cannot fulfill her potential and go on to give back to the community. And the world is denied a valuable participant in the evolution of Maasai life and culture.”
Were it not for Agnes’ work in the community, her insistence on justice, and the funds paid for the exhumation, this child’s death would have gone unnoticed. “My work is to raise consciousness, to let everybody know,” she said. “There is no way that I could ignore the cry of a girl who was killed by FGM then brutally buried. I must raise the alarm so she doesn’t disappear into the ground without bringing awareness.”
When I left the Safe House, Agnes’ work had only just begun. The legal system that will try the case is easily compromised. It is not only possible to buy off the authorities at myriad junctures in the process, it is expected. At the time of this writing, the Tasaru Ntonomok Initiative hopes to raise the money to hire a lawyer to insure the prosecution proceeds truthfully, otherwise the case will surely go underground and never be recognized as the historic event that it truly is.
At the closing ceremony of the Alternative Rite of Passage, the girls who live at the Safe House performed several poems and songs about the importance of stopping FGM and educating girls. While most poems were spoken in chorus, Reginah Renu Masiaine, a petite girl of 15, spoke hers alone. Her voice rang out over the crowd, surprisingly clear and strong. The last stanza has stayed with me, sounding a summons for change:
Without a cut I can build a nation.
I can bring unity, love and hope where there is despair.
Father and mother, I am a child like a boy child.
Love, care and protection I needed from you.
Father, let me be me.
Though the work of Agnes and many others has greatly decreased the incidence of FGM in the Rift Valley, the child’s death in Narosura is reminder that the work is not done. Please join V-Day and other anti-FGM initiatives to help put an end to these practices forever.
Donate online today at vday.org/donate. Please note NAROK in the memo line.
V-Day Founder/Artistic Director Eve Ensler is currently on her third visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). On September 12th in Goma, V-Day in partnership with UNICEF, organized a day-long event, “Women Breaking the Silence” as part of the joint campaign: “Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource: Power to Women and Girls in Democratic Republic of Congo.” The event featured for the first time women survivors telling their stories of rape and sexual violence to a public audience which included Senior Congolese government officials, key Ambassadors to the DRC, senior UN officials, civil society, survivors of sexual violence, and campaign activists.
Dear Friends,
I am writing at 6AM as we board the five-hour boat ride from Goma to Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The sky is a V-Day pink as the sun rises over Lake Kivu, the sound of tropical birds, the greenest flora, and a morning alive with hundreds of passengers and porters and travelers. I have been here over a week and it has been full of many extremes – enormous despair, potential violence, criminal poverty, regular power failures, tropical storms, streets of dried lava from the last volcano, and encroaching war. Laurent Nkunda’s forces were at one point this week within 27 kilometers of Goma. Moments where we were not allowed to travel, moments when the event was almost canceled as the security threat was too great, but we prevailed.
Then, there is our amazing campaign, the activists, the survivors and our brilliant team working on the ground – Pernille Ironside, Francesca Morandini and Esther Ntoto.
The V-Day team here with me, photographer Paula Allen and V-Day Campaigns Manager Purva Panday, will be joined later this morning in Bukavu by Congolese activist and V-Day’s newest member of staff Christine Schuler Deschryver. Christine will officially begin working for V-Day in December.
I spent the last week preparing for our very successful event on September12th in Goma. I worked with ten survivors, women who have suffered terrible rapes and losses and shame and still they were willing to stand in front of their communities and break the silence. During the week we did numerous theater exercises, releasing trauma and rage and sorrow and they rehearsed telling their stories. I am including snapshots of their stories below.
I met with Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource activists who have been working with our partner UNICEF over the last months holding 90 forums throughout the eastern and northern provinces. These forums have been extremely successful in changing the thinking in many small communities and in bringing men into the conversation. Activists talked of educating people about sexual violence in the schools, in the Church, in the home, in the market. These activists are so fierce and so empowered and have reported dramatic changes in their communities which are often far out in the bush where women are not able to read, but are so ready to change the state of their existence. Many women have been bringing their husbands to the forums and we are seeing violence lessening in some communities. Through these forums women are finding their voices and changing their relationship to sex. I fell in love with these activists, and I know we will end violence in the Congo because they are so strong and they are growing.
WOMEN BREAKING THE SILENCE
On September 12th the day began with a massive storm that delayed the flight of the Ministers and Ambassadors and UN Officials coming from Kinshasa by two hours. The people were amazingly patient; sadly they have been made to wait for so many things. Despite the delay I am pleased to report that throughout the day there were between 500-600 people who were in attendance including many local officials. There were theater performances and school choirs, and excellent singers. This was a historic event.
Then the women began to tell their stories. Each one took the stage with such grace, such confidence, such heart and such courage. The testimonies went on for several hours. The emotion in the audience was so powerful. Many men were weeping. I sat and held a man who was a pastor who openly wept. Afterwards, there were speeches. But my favorite moment was when the women were honored at the end with pink scarves (made in Paris) with the words in French “I am a Survivor. I can do anything. “
There was food after and great celebration. Every single survivor reported that after the experience she felt “free.” So many people came together in the community. Just about every NGO group participated in this event from psycho, social, legal, medical. Women For Women made a wonderful meal and displayed their beautiful crafts. Many reported never knowing these stories and we could see in the reaction of Government officials, (one even wrote a poem) that they were moved – hopefully to action. The activist and survivors community were gratefully empowered. International press, including the BBC, and local African media covered the event, putting these stories out on the wires. Paula is taking great pictures and we have videoed much of the week and it will be part of a film that we are making.
The day after the event, we had a follow up meetings with survivors and activists and planned the next six months. There were about 50 activists total, eight of whom were men. They will create a list of demands to be brought to provincial governments with a six-month timeline. If these demands are not met, there will be a call for national demonstrations and possible occupation of Parliament. If these demands are not met, there will be a call for a national strike by women. I feel change is happening and is going to happen in Congo.
This all said, the situation in the Congo remains catastrophic. Rape continues at an unprecedented and alarming rate. The night of our event, one the survivors returned to her village, only to discover a young girl had just been raped. The women of Congo need every one of us to pressure governments who benefit from their resources and governments who don’t, to get involved in protecting women. There is still impunity and the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) peacekeepers need to be pressured to do their job and protect the women. Mainly we need to keep providing resources so the women can empower themselves. There are leaders emerging and I suspect the movement will be huge within the next five years.
After the activist meeting we went to see the women who are making our bags at The Healing Arts which is part of an organization called Heal Africa. The bags are fabulous and it was thrilling to see so many women survivors employed and making such beautiful products. In Bukavu where we have just arrived, we will have many meetings for The City of Joy, working at the final steps before the building begins, developing leadership, creating criteria, reworking budgets, creating job descriptions, etc.
I take all of you with me and all the support you have given this campaign and hope you will multiply your efforts and support for these activists and survivors. These women and men are giving everything, in spite of days of hunger and often having to walk for miles, in order to end the violence in their country.
I will write an update from Bukavu. Much love,
Eve
SNAPSHOT STORIES OF SOME OF THE SURVIVORS WHO BROKE THE SILENCE
ZAMUDA
54 years old.5 militias Tutsi’s and Mai Mai. I was naked in front of my kids. Her husband and children were killed in front of her. They beat her legs. She will never forget the feeling of the rifle inside her vagina. She has no kids to take care of her when she is old.
FRANCIE
On main road. Industrial school. Selling something, Carrying a bag of soybeans. With my best friend. I live near airport. It was 7pm. Two men jumped me. I was with a friend. She could run faster cause she wasn’t carrying anything. They started screaming at me. Stopped me and told me to take off my clothes or we will kill you. They raped me. I got pregnant. Don’t know which one of their babies it is. My wedding was supposed to happen in October. When my dad heard I was raped, he said instead of giving back the dowry, they should kill me. I ran away. I thought of getting an abortion. I kept the baby. Named her Joyeuese.
NADO
I don’t want to give my name. My community doesn’t know what happened to me. I won’t give the name of my rapist if I do, they will bring him to the police, He will get out and rape me again. I was 10 and a half when I was raped. It was an old man. He took me and tied with ropes. He put a stick in my mouth. I stopped coming to school. I am an orphan. I was raped in a house a second time. Rape was something I did not expect,. It comes in my dreams.
LUMO
The soldiers came and told 5 women to come with them. Two of them had babies. 2 mothers asked questions and were killed on the way. One bullet went through a mother and her baby. By the time they got to forest there were only 2 women, Lumo and her friend. Brought them in the forest. Men from the country. Interahamwe. They caught her looking at them and they started to beat her. They were afraid of being identified. 50 of them raped her and her friend. She lost her mind. Began at 2:30 and went on till 7pm. They shoved grass in my mouth and tied me with my clothes. After I couldn’t walk. They used my clothes and dragged me on the ground. The next day a hunter found me. I was hospitalized for three years. I have fistula from the rapes. I still after 9 operations have fistula. I was going to be married. My husband left me after the rapes. He got his dowry back. My friend ended up dying.
MARTA
Men threw her to ground, She banged her head. She fought one off. The other soldier accused the soldier of being a girl. He raped her and picked up her baby. She was sure he was going to throw the baby against a wall. He threw baby on bed. Then they set the house on fire. Locked her in the house while it was burning Her brother let her out. She went back for the baby and was burned from head to toe. She ran and jumped in the lake which was a very bad idea. The baby died three days later.
I had no value until I came here. People were afraid of me. They thought I was a monster. Then they changed when they heard my story,
VALENTINA
Seven months pregnant when she was raped .He was hitting my hips telling me to move the way I move when I make love to my husband. I felt something coming out.
Husband left me after even though he watched her being raped. They had a gun to his head and he was on his knees. The next day he accused me of liking it.
Left me with five kids, kicked us out of the house. My family left me.
JANET
When I hear a boom, I am terrified. The pain they felt when they took my leg over my head as they raped me. They leg was lose and they were pulling it. I was screaming the pain was so great. I had 2 surgeries-nothing they could do. Head of the thigh bone was gone,. I will be on crutches for the rest of my life.
“I’ve always been courageous. Always will be courageous. If the military want to kill me for telling my story, I am ready to die.”
For more information on the Stop Raping Our Greatest Recourse: Power To The Women and Girls of the DRC Campaign please visit www.vday.org/drcongo
Public Events in Goma and Bukavu, DRC, September 2008
WOMEN BREAKING THE SILENCE
What:
UNICEF and V-DAY are organizing two one-day events as part of their joint campaign in the DRC: “Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource: Power to Women and Girls in DRC”. The events are entitled “Women Breaking the Silence”, which for the first time will feature women survivors telling their stories of rape and sexual violence to a public audience. Each woman will end her story with a statement, with the 20 statements collectively serving as a call to the world to act now to stop the raping of Congolese women and girls. These spokeswomen will be supported to go on and become community activists on sexual and gender based violence as part of the broader campaign.
Where:
Goma – Conference Room, Mwanga College
Bukavu – TBA
When:
Goma – September 12th, 2008
Bukavu – September 19th, 2008
Who:
Conveners of the events are UNICEF and V-Day in partnership with UNFPA, MONUC, and dozens of Non-Governmental Organizations working on sexual and gender based violence in DRC. The founder of V-DAY and renowned activist, Eve Ensler, will participate in both events. Senior Congolese government officials, key Ambassadors to the DRC, senior UN officials, civil society, survivors of sexual violence, and campaign activists will attend.
Why:
To provide a platform from which Congolese rape survivors can make their voices heard, be publicly acknowledged, lift their shame, transform their pain into power, and reshape public opinion on the realities of their suffering. Also, to continue to raise international awareness of the scale and brutality of sexual violence in the DRC, where more than 200,000 women and girls have been raped over the past 12 years.
Background:
The campaign was launched in November 2007 in Bukavu, DRC. Dozens of activities have been held in major towns across eastern DRC, including hundreds of village-level discussion fora led by trained activists, which are starting to change perceptions and attitudes that continue to perpetuate the cycle of violence. Construction on the ‘City of Joy’, a safe haven and leadership program for survivors of rape who have been left without family and community, starts this autumn!
Comme chaque année, la pièce Les Monologues du vagin est à l’affiche du Festival “off” d’Avignon.
L’auteure de ce succès planétaire, Eve Ensler, s’est entretenue avec plus de 200 femmes avant d’écrire la pièce, qu’elle considère comme un recueil de témoignages. Cette Américaine tient donc à ce qu’il y ait au moins trois actrices sur scène. L’une raconte tandis que les autres écoutent, le texte à la main. De monologue en monologue, chaque femme va ainsi tour à tour égrener une histoire intime. C’est souvent drôle, parfois grave, voire atroce. Chaque texte est court. On ne s’attarde jamais.
Jouée régulièrement en France, la pièce a accueilli depuis 2000 plus de 700 000 spectateurs. Et ce n’est pas fini. Elle est à l’affiche à Paris, depuis août 2007, et se prépare à partir en tournée en région. Bien sûr, la distribution évolue. La liste des actrices s’allonge au fil du temps. A Fanny Cottençon, la première à avoir eu le courage de se lancer, toute seule, ont succédé Isabelle Aubret, Maimouna Gueye, Lisette Maldoror, Eva Darlan, Stéphanie Bataille, Nicole Calfan, Sonia Dubois et Aurore Auteuil.
“FORCE ET FRAGILITÉ”
Pourtant, la productrice, Marie-Cécile Renaud, a eu du mal au début à monter cette pièce. Alors agent littéraire et de théâtre, elle cherchait des auteurs. Après avoir vu la pièce à New York, elle s’est renseignée sur les droits. A sa grande surprise, vu le succès de la pièce depuis 1996, ils n’étaient pas encore pris. Elle a donc pu les acheter pour l’Europe et le Canada francophones. Les ennuis ne faisaient que commencer. Car la pièce faisait peur. Elle a d’ailleurs été créée en Belgique avant d’être jouée en France, où certaines villes de province refusent de la programmer.
Des actrices choquées au début ont souvent fini par s’impliquer, comme Micheline Dax, qui a joué la pièce pendant six mois, mais reconnaît volontiers qu’elle a mis six ans avant d’aller la voir. “J’appelais ça Les Monologues du machin. C’est un ami qui m’a tendu un piège, et ce n’était pas ce que j’imaginais. C’est difficile à jouer, ce n’est pas vraiment une pièce, mais c’est formidable d’être sur scène entre femmes. Alors, même si je n’étais pas à l’aise pour dire que j’aime les femmes, tant qu’on ne me demande pas de le mettre en pratique…”
Il est vrai que le mot vagin revient 123 fois pendant un peu plus d’une heure. “J’étais comme tout le monde rebutée par le titre, explique la romancière Geneviève Brisac, qui a participé le 19 mai à une représentation impliquant des femmes venues du monde du livre (écrivaines, éditrices, libraires…). Je redoutais une certaine violence, de la vulgarité, je disais “Les Monologues”, sans plus… Ce n’est pas naturel dans un pays latin de prononcer ce mot-là. Mais j’ai été bouleversée par le contraste entre la force et la fragilité, cette notion de violence complètement retournée qui lève le tabou de la violence contre les femmes. Ce qui frappe, c’est cette frontalité, cette accumulation de données révélatrices.”
Parmi les 32 femmes présentes ce soir-là, Valérie Létard, secrétaire d’Etat chargée de la solidarité, “recrutée” par la metteuse en scène et actrice Stéphanie Bataille et qui a accepté “sur un coup de tête”. “J’ai eu un trac incroyable, dit-elle, parce que ce n’est pas la même chose de monter sur scène avec ce texte que de faire un discours devant 1 500 personnes. Il m’a fallu faire un effort considérable, mais c’est que l’on demande aux victimes de passer au-delà de leur pudeur, de leur peur, de sortir du cadre établi, et, vu mes responsabilités, je ne vois pas pourquoi j’aurais refusé.” Mais une autre histoire s’est greffée sur la pièce de théâtre. Une histoire qui s’appelle le V-Day (www.vday.org). Un mouvement international qui a pour objectif de lutter contre la violence faite aux femmes et aux filles dans le monde entier, à partir des bénéfices obtenus par les représentations des Monologues du vagin.
“UNE INCITATION AU COURAGE”
Depuis la création de cette association en 1998, des événements V-Day ont lieu partout dans le monde. Quelque 50 millions de dollars ont ainsi été consacrés à différentes formes d’action : création de foyers de femmes battues, écoles, maisons-refuges, etc. Le mécanisme d’un V-Day est simple et précis : chaque année, il suffit de s’inscrire sur le site américain, de choisir une date (en 2009, entre le 1er janvier et le 31 mars), de trouver une salle mise gratuitement à la disposition des participantes, de s’engager à ne payer personne et de trouver les volontaires. 90 % de l’argent récolté par la représentation sera remis à des associations locales et 10 % à la cause de l’année (en 2009, les femmes et les filles de la République démocratique du Congo).
L’argent ne transite donc jamais par les Etats-Unis, où V-Day a son siège, mais va directement à la région ou au pays concerné. Geneviève Robin, bretonne par amour, a organisé un premier V-Day à Brest en février 2004. Elle avait trouvé un théâtre de 200 places, 150 personnes sont restées dehors. Depuis, elle a trouvé plus grand. Il fallait aussi recruter les actrices d’un soir : 24 femmes de 21 à 72 ans, étudiantes, demandeuses d’emploi, députée, retraitée, agricultrice… six mois de travail préparatoire, non rémunéré bien sûr. Mais Eve Ensler s’est engagée à venir à Brest pour le V-Day de 2009.
Comme le résume Geneviève Brisac, “comme écrivaine, je conçois qu’il y ait des mots qui choquent les oreilles, mais la question est ailleurs, il y a un effet de transmission. On a envie d’emmener sa mère, sa fille, les hommes qui nous entourent. C’est un texte qui entraîne les gens vers l’utopie, la fraternité, l’amour. Et c’est avant tout une incitation au courage”.
Forgive me for seeing everything as a play, but it did occur to me yesterday as Condoleezza Rice took the stage on the floor of the United Nations Security Council to talk about the importance of dealing with sexual violence as a security issue (and of course it is crucial and long overdue) that we were all witnessing bad theater.
Usually there is an arc to a character. A journey. A path. What happens in the first act has something to do with what happens in the third act. I have spent my life inventing characters, plotting out the narratives and trajectories, their ascents and descents, working hard to understand their motivations and needs. In this case, I am completely befuddled. Who wrote the script?
In the third act, our lead character, Ms. Rice, suddenly reveals herself to be a passionate spokesperson for women suffering sexual violence in armed conflicts. Note her dialogue in response to the question Should the UN protect women in these crisis zones?: “I’m proud that today we respond to that question with a resounding ‘Yes.’ It is our responsibility to be their advocates and defenders”. Suddenly Condi Rice emerges as a Republican Mother Courage, defiantly speaking truth to power.
But how’d she get there? What of the Condi Rice of the first act: willing and enthusiastic defender of one of the most disastrous wars in history. A war that rendered Iraq into a barbaric state where sexual violence towards women is so rampant and so accepted it is actually no news at all. A war where one out of three American women soldiers fighting in it have been raped and sexually assaulted by their comrades.
How did enthusiastic war-defender become indignant global defender of women in war? What part of the play did we all miss? Did it happen off stage during intermission? Was there a scene where Ms. Rice accidentally stumbles into the Walter Reade Hospital and meets Ana, 27-year-old U.S. veteran, tied to a respirator in a sexual military trauma ward, after just attempting suicide? Was there a scene in Baghdad, where Condi slips away from a military briefing and is brought by a group of women to an underground shelter where she meets Amira, who shows her the bruises on her body, traces of the rape and torture she endured at the hands of authorities in a detention center? Was there a scene where, after mile-10 on the treadmill, Condi, in an endorphin-driven state, commits to changing her legacy and making her mother proud? Or, was there simply a career crisis scene, where Ms. Rice found herself in the last days of a dying administration, needing to repackage herself?
Maybe there is something deeper all together. Whatever it is, in order for the third act to ring true, have meaning, and not be an insult to the intelligence of the audience, we need accountability. There is always the moment of confrontation in a play where the lead character is forced to reckon, in one way or another. You don’t get to be a defender of rights that you are responsible for destroying without a comeuppance, without passing through a dark night of the soul, without admitting wrongs done.
But these days we live in bad theater. The world is run by people who get away with doing all kinds of horrible things, who seamlessly morph into new characters, with even more fabulous careers.
What started out as “An Evening with Eve” turned into a weekend with Eve for students from Clarion University.
In February, Eve Ensler, author of the award-winning “The Vagina Monologues,” made Clarion University one of the stops on her college tour promoting the 10th anniversary of VDay, a movement to end violence against women and children. During her appearance, Ensler invited everyone to participate in “V to the 10th – SUPERLOVE,” the 10th Anniversary of VDay, international event in April at the Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA.
Twenty-one students, along with Dr. Deborah Burghardt, director of Women’s Studies at Clarion University, made the trip. Nineteen sponsors, including the Student Senate, Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA), Women United, Minority Student Services, EOP/Act 101, Student & University Affairs, Clarion and Venango Campuses, Cass Neely, Esq., Dr. Bob Girvan, Dr. Anne Day, Kay King, Office of Social Equity, “An Evening with Eve” donations, Women’s Studies Program, Edna R. Brown Women’s Programs Fund, Psychology Department, Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, Presidential Commission on Affirmative Active, and Presidential Commission on Human Relations made the trip possible.
Burghardt described the event, “Eve Ensler’s ability to inspire and mobilize is phenomenal. The students talked to survivors of Hurricane Katrina, 1,200 of whom were honored and brought back to their home for the first time during this event. Students attended multiple panel sessions with activists from all over the world and the benefit performance of “The Vagina Monologues” with 30,000 people, an event that raised $700,000; and they attended the world premiere of “Swimming Upstream,” a collaboration between Ensler and New Orleans artist document stories of life during and after Katrina.”
Clarion’s students also provided over 50 hours of volunteer service while in New Orleans, with Planned Parenthood Association of Pennsylvania. The organization has an ongoing effort to obtain one million signatures on a petition to Congress to lower the cost of birth control and health care for women nationwide.
“I feel that by assisting the Planned Parenthood Organization, that I have made my small voice loud and heard,” said Amanda Stockhausen. “As I collected these signatures I listened to stories of heartache and pain from women who lost their loved ones in the storms because they could not afford the healthcare needed to treat their injuries. I listened to women who are living in the streets with children they cannot provide for and to women who have lost their daughters to prostitution since it was the only way to raise money. It is the 21st century, but there are still women being killed and mutilated every day. This reality truly bothered me and I wondered how we can all sit back and allow this sick torture to take place around us. I am no longer willing to let the world pass me by. I feel the need to actually stand up and do something!”
Other students found healing by standing in solidarity with survivors.
Ylynne Baskerville said, “I was not surprised when at the end of “The Vagina Monologues” performance, Eve Ensler asked all of the women who were abused to stand. I watched as hundreds and thousands of women stood unafraid and unmoved. I stood with them. Violence against women is a war to be recognized, as well as, a war to be won. I did not attend V-Day for a free trip, I attended V-Day for my sisters, my mother, my grandmother, the silenced woman across the street, the woman I see with black eyes and large glasses, my daughters and sons, my aunts and cousins, the girls enduring genocide. I did this because they need a voice, and Eve answered.”
“I was lucky enough to be asked to help back stage and the women I met were so inspiring to me,” said Stacey Duran. “Being a victim of abuse myself, I was able to connect with the women who spoke and to hear all of their motivating advice has helped me to better deal with moving on from my past. This was an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life and when times get hard, I will be able to look back on my experience and the advice I received and I will be able to grow into a stronger person because of it.”
Another abuse victim, Kelli Grill, said, “As a victim of abuse, it was a healing process for me to be able to surround myself with other women who had been in the same situation. We laughed, cried and told our stories in this unprecedented gathering. I feel that this experience has changed me and made me a stronger woman. Now I want to move forward with my life as I strive to make a difference in the lives of other individuals, as well as, the world at large.
Summing up, Emily D’Itri said, “I learned so much about the violence occurring against women in the global community. I want to be part of the solution to this terrible problem. Attending V Day’s SUPERLOVE event helped me to further myself as a woman of strength.
The reality of Hurricane Katrina made an impression on many students.
“Before actually going to New Orleans, I really had no idea what happened when Katrina hit, other than what I saw in the news,” said Elizabeth Strasbaugh. “But during the premiere of “Swimming Upstream,” I realized that our government pretty much forgot about the people of New Orleans and that there was still a lot of work to be done in the areas that were most affected. Actors, women from other countries, and Eve Ensler performed “The Vagina Monologues” and there was not a dry eye in the house; not for sadness but for longing to change the world.”
Kelly Surgalski was impressed by the survivors and said, “The Conference was full of strong women who fought through and survived the devastation of Katrina. I met a lot of these women and heard their experiences. Being in New Orleans really changes the way I see cities fighting to come back after tough times.”
“During this event, I had the honor of meeting a couple of girls around my age that are survivors of rape and of Katrina,” said Lacy Lichvar. “One of them told me about how she suffers from guilt because she survived the hurricane and was able to get her life back on track while some of her friends and their families are still working to rebuild their lives and homes. She told me lower income folks, especially single mothers, are taken advantage of by contractors, who purposely rebuild homes improperly. I left New Orleans with a feeling of love, peace, and an increased desire to create change.”
Leigh Wenerick saw it this way. “I saw the stories of the women of New Orleans, not the media’s perspective. I saw women rise up and make change – a change that is so desperately needed in our world. When I saw all of this I realized that even though I have lived a life that one would not call enjoyable, and even to this day, I struggle – those women made me realize that I am lucky to be alive, breathing with food, shelter and water.”
All of them brought back hope for change.
“I give thanks to everyone who played a part in helping me capture the great experience of thousands of people coming together to share love through their struggles and hardship, through love and laughter, through all in all just being able to see another day, breathe another breath, just say,” I made it” or “I can make it” . . .” said Sade Criswell. “I have come back rejuvenated and ready to stand up and fight for what is right, and to represent and help others through love and strength.”
“I am honored to be the only guy from Clarion to go on this amazing trip,” said B. J. Haynes. “Being from New Orleans, it was amazing to go back and see just how far the city has come since Hurricane Katrina. I was in New Orleans just after the hurricane and saw the damage, the devastation, and the heartache it caused. I was almost constantly in tears. The weekend, celebrated not only the VDay, but the amazing and unbeatable spirit of the women who survived Hurricane Katrina. From the moment I walked into the Superdome, I could feel this overwhelming sense of love and camaraderie. It was amazing to have so many people under one roof who were all supporting the same causes. What a feeling.”
“Being able to be around so many women, who have like minds, was very encouraging,” said Kristen Colford. “I am new to the idea of women changing the world, but being at this event has shown me that it is possible, even if there happens to be obstacles in the way. Seeing “The Vagina Monologues” for the first time in New Orleans was extremely powerful. There were so many words spoken during this event that seemed to speak to me and I hold them close to my heart! I hope that one day I am able to come back and tell how this event started a movement in me and exactly what has come about as a result.”
“As a mother and full-time student I found the seminars to be very empowering; I came back home with a refreshed mind and a strengthened spirit,” said Erin Wincek. “I found that I was able to step back from the current stresses of my everyday life and reevaluate what is important in life by learning about the plights of women throughout the world.”
“Having been to V to the 10th – SUPERLOVE, I can see what a huge impact can be had on the lives of women simply by coming together when called forth,” said Tracy Milchick. “Rarely did I see someone who wasn’t volunteering for a cause, and I’m talking about being in a giant dome with thousands of women. I am not lying when I say that I really am a different person for having gone. I was able to discover parts of me that I didn’t know I had, and I realized exactly what I can do to help others in their hour of need.”
“To have had the opportunity to be in the presence of so many amazing women and men who are working to change the way women and girls are being treated around the world was a fantastic feeling,” said Sao Duwana. “I loved being in the city of New Orleans. Its culture somewhat reminded me of my culture back home in Liberia, Africa, where people love to celebrate and be happy. I think New Orleans was the best place to have this event, because I think it helped give the people of New Orleans hope and our being there let them know they were not alone.”
“A simple thank-you cannot express the monumental inspiration I received from the whole trip,” said Mariah Yancey. “For me, being there brought the whole situation of Hurricane Katrina to reality, rather than it just being a news report. Being a part of VDay targets the end of violence against women and girls. The effort behind this movement is to “change the story of women and girls” forever.”
Second time New Orleans visitor Brittany Concilius had this perspective, “I was given the opportunity to also visit New Orleans in December. During my stay, I saw all of the devastation that still faces that area first hand. I was unsure what I could do to help but I was desperate to change that. By being involved in Superlove, I really feel as though I’ve sent positive ripples into an area that is in so much pain.”
“I know each and every one of the women, and our one guy, are grateful and enjoyed the event greatly,” said Ashley Johnson. “We also enjoyed the opportunity to explore a beautiful city with rich culture and history. We were a part of the healing process of the Hurricane Katrina victims, and we were a part of history. But, the thing that meant the most to me was meeting a woman my age, who was a victim of incest and a victim of the hurricane. I listened to her story and was able to ask questions and really gain some insight into what happened.”
The Clarion University students attending included:
Ylynne Baskerville, freshman sociology major, a daughter of Cheryl Waters-Baskerville of Harrisburg and a graduate of Susquehanna Township High School.
Kristen Colford, a sophomore associate of arts and science major, a daughter of Dale Colford of Oil City and a graduate of Central High School.
Brittany Concilus, a junior secondary education/English major, from Pittsburgh and a graduate of Baldwin High School.
Sade Criswell, a junior rehabilitative science major, a daughter of Pauline Criswell of Pittsburgh and a graduate of Brashear High School.
Emily D’Itri, a freshmen secondary education/English major, a daughter of Dominic and Ruth D’Itri of Midland and a graduate of Western Beaver High School.
Valerie Dixon, a senior accounting major, a daughter of Debbie Dixon of Stump Creek and a graduate of Punxsutawney Area High School.
Stacey Duran, a junior library science major, a daughter of Brenda Duran of Kulpmont and a graduate of Mt Carmel Area High School.
Sao Duwana, a sophomore elementary education major, a daughter of Francis Duwana of Philadelphia and a graduate of Randolph Area Voc-Tech High School.
Gretchen Gallagher, a junior English major, a daughter of Joseph and Geraldine Gallagher of Erie and a graduate of Mercyhurst Preparatory High School.
Kelly Grill, a junior art major, a daughter of Elizabeth Grill of Reynoldsville and a graduate of Central Catholic High School.
B. J. Haynes, a sophomore international business major, a son of Mindy Myers of Ford City and a graduate of Kittanning High School.
Ashley Johnson, a graduate student seeking a degree in rehabilitative science, a daughter of Anna Johnson of Everett and a graduate of Everett High School.
Lacy Lichvar, a senior library science major, a daughter of Susan Dibert of Clearville and a graduate of Everett Area High School.
Tracey Milchick, a sophomore psychology major, a daughter of Shirley Milchick of Salem, Ohio, and a graduate of Salem High School.
Bonita Mullen, a sophomore library science major, a daughter of Evelyn Browning of Wilmington and a graduate of Newark High School.
Liz Strasbaugh, a sophomore management major, a daughter of Betsy Perrucci of Pittsburgh and a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School.
Amanda Stockhausen, a freshmen early childhood education major, a daughter of Chris and Fran Stockhausen of Pittsburgh and a graduate of Baldwin High School.
Kelly Surgalski, a junior environmental biology major, a daughter of Jeannie Surgalski of Butler and a graduate of Butler Area High School.
Leigh Wenerick, a freshmen library science major, a daughter of Sarah Mazan of Mechanicsburg and a graduate of Scotland School Veterans Child.
Erin Wincek, a junior liberal studies major, a daughter of Joseph Wanninger of Pittsburgh and a graduate of North Hills High School.
MariahYancey, a junior English/Spanish major, a daughter of Robyn Yancey of Harrisburg and a graduate of Susquehanna Township High School.
Daughters of Hope celebrating a rite of passage ceremony that solidifies a post-Katrina identity
By Joan Lipkin
New Orleans—This year, I decided to skip the card, flowers, or piece of jewelry my mother probably won’t wear. I wanted a different way to honor my 86 year old mother whose years of activism included starting an after-school study program for at risk youth on the Southside of Chicago, protesting the war in Viet Nam, supporting reproductive choice before Roe v. Wade and raising two feminist daughters and one feminist son. In early recognition of Mother’s Day, I headed to New Orleans to participate in one of the largest international gatherings about violence against women, V-Day to the 10th, held at the Superdome on April 11-12.
Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalism said she was initially skeptical about having the event at the Superdome. “I think of it as a haunted house. But actually, it is exactly where we need to be. We are up against a mentality that says some lives are worth more than others.”
V- Day, short for “The Vagina Monologues” is like the little engine that could. Playwright, actress and activist Eve Ensler created this series of humorous and poignant monologues in 1996 in response to a friend who said she felt uncomfortable with her vagina. Since that initial performance, V-Day has turned into an international movement to end violence against women and girls, raising funds and awareness through benefit productions of Ensler’s play. A February performance in St. Louis directed by Stellie Siteman and performed with St. Louis area women sold out the Center of Creative Arts’400 seat auditorium, and was one of the more than 3,700 V-Day events that will take place around the world this year.
For anyone who might wonder if V-Day to the 10th is 70’s style recycled feminism for middle aged straight white women, the answer is a resounding no. This event also attracted several thousand young people of all races, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations–like dozens of teenage girls from New York’s Lower East Side Girls Club or the 14 member cast and crew from a college production of “The Vagina Monologues” from Texas A & M University.
There was quite a bit of mentoring going on. Jamie Hecker, a 59 year old clinical manager from Pre Term, an abortion clinic in Cleveland, Ohio said she helped pay expenses for Samara Knox, 30, a counselor and activist from her agency to share her legacy of activism. “I’m so glad I went,” said Samara. “I was feeling kind of down about what can be done and this was really encouraging.”
In a weekend that went by quickly, certain moments stood out. Like when Jane Fonda, said, “The problem is not men, it is a lack of democracy.” Or when Suze Orman said, “Ask me how it feels to be a very rich woman. It feels very good. And I want to help you learn how to get money, too.” Particularly stirring were the words of Dr. Denis Mukwege, the lone physician at Panzi Hospital which houses the only center for victims of sexual violence in Eastern Congo.
The Daughters of Hope, a group of New Orleans girls ranging from 13-17 years of age had their first graduation ceremony from a program called “Rites of Passage” in which they learned how to care for themselves physically, nutritionally, sexually and psychologically.
“This is a very important program because schools have backed away from dealing with the issues, with any realness,” said Adrienne Lombard, 36, a single mother who works as a water meter reader and whose daughter, Jasmine, 13, was graduating. “I learned a lot,” said Jasmine. “Especially about relationships. I can say no and respect myself.”
One of the most popular sessions was a story telling circle about LGBT lives with Ilene Chaikin, producer of the L word, along with actresses Jennifer Beals, Daniela Sea and Alexandra Hedison. Held in a cozy red tent, it encouraged conversation but left several hundred disappointed people outside. Personally, I would have traded intimacy for inclusion. When it comes to LGBT representation, we still have a way to go.
In a jam packed two days of extraordinary speakers, everyone had their favorites. For me, a panel of feminist men topped the list. Quentin Walcott, director of CONNECT in New York, said, “You can call (violence) a human rights issue, but when 92% of it is perpetuated by men, it is a male issue.” Bart Scott, a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, said the birth of his daughter had made the issue of violence against women very personal for him and that he was determined to speak out despite the challenges in his profession. “A lot of people are taught to communicate through hitting. We need to teach them other ways to communicate. It takes a lot of strength to tell a buddy to stop, especially in sports.”
To date, the V-Day movement has raised over 50 million dollars and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and efforts to end it; created international, educational, media and public service campaigns, launched the Karama Program in the Middle East, reopened shelters and funded over 5000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Egypt, Iraq and South Dakota.
Violence against women takes many forms: Rape. Incest. Domestic Violence. Assault. Sexual Harassment. Verbal Abuse. Eventually, one in three women will experience some form of violence in her lifetime.
Organizers said the event drew an estimated 30,000 people, the majority of them in attendance at the culminating performance of “The Vagina Monologues” at the New Orleans Arena. The star studded performance included Jane Fonda, Ali Larter, Rosario Dawson, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Beals, Christine Lahti, Doris Roberts, Calpernia Addams, Faith Hill and more. It was more show-biz wattage than I had ever seen up close and personal.
However, the real stars were the Katrina Warriors, some 1200 women who were coming home for the first time. There was a parade in their honor, and the Warriors had the best seats in the house. Earlier at the Superdome, there were a myriad of activities designed just for them. They could attend health screenings and consultations, learn stress relieving techniques, or chill out with a smoothie. All free.
Diane Sharper, a volunteer trauma therapist from Minneapolis wore a sign around her neck that said, “Want to talk?” Both her eyes and mine filled with tears at the sight of Katrina evacuees getting massages and talking to therapists, some for the first time in their lives. Generosity was in the air. I spotted yoga master Rodney Yee and designer Donna Karan of the Urban Zen Foundation among a virtual army of volunteer massage therapists from across the country. T Salon founder Miriam Novalle gave away 2500 cups of organic tea in one single afternoon.
Democracy Now host Amy Goodman broadcasted live from the event and activists from around the country had their own lounge where people could network. Code Pink, a female-initiated grassroots peace and social justice organization with 150,000 international members had a strong presence, including St. Louis organizer Laurie Meier who offered workshops on making art and props for demonstrations.
Eve Ensler has given a real gift to the local and global community in bringing together activists, performers, academics, journalists, community leaders and celebrities to talk across the various disciplines that tend to affect American society and the perception of womanhood. And, with an epidemic of violence against women on the table, we must have the courage to have the really tough conversations. As Rita Smith, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence said, “We need to go beyond building buildings. We need programs and we need money.”
From my perspective, making change cannot begin too early. Teaching girls and boys how to respect themselves and each other is critically important. But, it is also crucial to welcome men to the table, and to ask them to support redefinitions of masculine behavior and to commit to interrupting acts of violence, whatever form they may take. It will take more than a village, although the extended village of V-Day in New Orleans was an inspiring weigh station. It will take all of us, men and women, alike, to stop the violence. That would be the best possible Mother’s Day present, though in the end, I did decide to send my mother those flowers!
Joan Lipkin is the Artistic Director of That Uppity Theatre Company and a recipient of the James F Hornback Ethical Humanist of the Year Award. She may be reached at uppityco@att.net.
