Women behind the frontline

This seminar explores the experiences and coping mechanisms of combatants' partners in the eastern DRC.

Date: 2016-01-27

Time: 09:00 to 10:00

Venue: Sheraton Hotel , Taitu Street , Addis Ababa

RSVP: Mariamawit Wole
Phone: +251 115 156 320
Email: [email protected]

African leaders will gather for the 26th African Union (AU) Summit this month under the theme of the African year of human rights with a focus on the rights of women.

Although the AU’s Framework on Security Sector Reform calls for upholding the principles of gender equality and women’s empowerment, a key question remains – are women better represented in the security sector?

This seminar launches two recent studies of the wives of soldiers of the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo and the wives of rebel or militia members in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

These studies looked at the daily experiences and coping strategies of these women to assess what roles they play and whether their needs are considered during peace negotiations, reintegration processes and post-conflict reconstruction periods. 

Chair: Stephanie Wolters, Head, Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis division, ISS

Speakers:

• Mark Sewers, Australian Ambassador to Ethiopia, CAR, Djibouti and South Sudan and Permanent Representative to the African Union
• Tsion Tadess Abebe, Deputy Director Africa Program, United Nations University for Peace