Yvette Mushigo felt her years of activism, effort and frustration paid off when her 16-year-old daughter said publicly at school that “when women’s rights are respected, the whole of society benefits”. “That day I said to myself: ‘I did something well, I planted something’, because they, a new generation, understood everything,” explains the Congolese lawyer in an interview with this newspaper in Madrid.
Yvette Mushigo, 45, was born in a country where “a woman who is informed of her rights is seen as a threat” and as a result has spent her life navigating conflicts. Armed conflict because its region, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has been the scene of violence and the field of action of various armed groups for more than 25 years and is currently experiencing an alarming and bloody outbreak of clashes. Social conflicts because their work consists of empowering women and empowering them, denouncing the crimes committed against them and emphasizing that they are an essential part of reconciliation. And inner turmoil because she tries not to harm her husband and four children through her strenuous work and travels, or to make them the object of criticism within the community.
According to the United Nations, more than 5.6 million people have been displaced by the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a record number in Africa.
“The conflict is permanent. Now, in my region, we are living with several national and foreign armed groups and we are witnessing a resurgence of violence that is having serious consequences for the population and especially for women. In some areas, people are at the mercy of these armed groups. You’re walking down a street and they tell you: ‘Neither the police nor the Congolese army are here from here.’ We want to reach out to women in these areas and help them, but sometimes there is no practical way, there is a high risk of kidnapping and we don’t get there,” laments Mushigo, coordinator of the organization Synergie des Femmes pour la Paix et la Réconciliation (Synergy of the Women for Peace and Reconciliation) bringing together more than 40 humanitarian organizations from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.
Since last year, the Rwandan-led armed group 23 March (M23) has managed to occupy part of the territory of North Kivu in the east of the country, according to the Congolese government and the UN. Killings, violence and displacement in this region and other neighboring regions such as Ituri are an almost daily occurrence. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the more than two decades of conflict have left more than 5.6 million displaced people in the country, a record number in Africa and one of the highest in the world. In North Kivu alone, 2.1 million people have had to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere in the country. The violence is fueled by the region’s immense natural resource wealth, home to coltan, cobalt, copper, uranium, gold and diamonds, and its distance from the state capital, Kinshasa. Mushigo emphasizes that part of these armed groups are focused on mining operations, showing that “the core of the conflict is economic.”
We are cross-border cities, we all live together and this political situation poisons us
Yvette Mushigo, Congolese lawyer and activist
Success paralyzed by violence
The deteriorating security conditions in the east of the country are changing the work of this activist and her organization. For example, the Congolese, Burundian and Rwandan leaders have not been able to meet in the same room for the past three years due to the suspicion that these trips arouse in the context of violence in their communities. “We are cross-border cities, we all live together and this political situation is poisoning us,” protests Mushigo, who is in Madrid on Saturday to accept the Mundo Negro Fraternity 2022 award.
The exodus of the population has also led to the interruption of various women’s care programmes. “In some parts of the eastern part of the country, people have moved away and what we built with those people is gone. Now we are considering what to do: let’s follow the displaced people on their way, let’s start from scratch in another city, no help, which increases the risks of sexual violence.
On the other hand, the endless conflicts and security conditions have caused international organizations to leave the country and humanitarian aid to be cut, which is “a tragedy for the people”.
“Those who help us from the outside are tired and demoralized by this feeling of having to start all over again. We’re fed up too. I try not to succumb and focus on the amount of work I have left, how to deal with it and how to do it better,” she affirms, explaining that she takes the award she will receive in Spain as recognition for the work of many sees “brave women who have broken the silence and are fighting against all odds to defend their rights and those of other women.”
In this context of violence, presidential elections will be held later this year, with current Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi seeking re-election despite his weak record. “We are concerned because we do not know how the displaced population can obtain their voter ID and exercise their rights. If it’s difficult to have that at home…” the activist sighs.
We are a threat to certain men who forbid us from contacting their wives
Yvette Mushigo, Congolese lawyer and activist
Mushigo’s hope is local elections, which have long been planned and postponed for various reasons because they could give women who are already de facto leaders in their communities access to public office. “They have an authority in the community and have become a reference because they provide solutions to many people’s specific problems.” Officially electing them as representatives would mean a major change in a country that has exemplary parity laws that unfortunately remain on paper. For example, the current government has 27% women, which is unprecedented but insufficient, according to the activist. And the representation of women in regional or legislative bodies is even lower.
“The government has not understood that they have to protect our rights. It becomes clear when they do not fill certain positions with women, as if we are not competent enough,” criticizes Mushigo, emphasizing that the new generations of women are fighting for their place in society, but are still very absent from universities and the labor market . .
Peace Beyond Politics
“There will be no peace if women don’t have rights. Because our idea of peace goes beyond conflict and politics. For some women, peace may mean that their husbands are doing well or that they have food for their children. Not owning our rights causes insecurity and disarms us: how are we supposed to produce, how are we going to participate in the life of our country if we are not recognized?” insists the lawyer, without losing the serene tone that pervades her speech .
On this complicated path that Mushigo has been walking for years, she and other representatives of the organization are afraid, have fled certain cities and see themselves “marked to revolutionize women”. “We are a threat to certain men who forbid us from contacting their wives. We’re scared because we don’t know who is armed in certain communities and we have to be discreet in our movements, not communicating our agenda, arriving without warning and leaving earlier, sleeping in places we don’t make public…” , he lists.
But they’ve also celebrated small victories over these years, especially when men understand they have much to gain in the process. “In my country, for example, there are many free trade unions where the woman is subjected to more violence and can be thrown out of the house without anything in return. Some time ago a man who had just married his partner after 17 years of living together approached me and thanked me because he realized the danger he had put his wife and children in danger. He understood that his brothers would throw his wife and children out of the house if anything happened to him, and he couldn’t let that happen. That’s why he got married,” he recalls.
And who does the dishes at your house? The question makes Mushigo laugh: “We all have our responsibilities. My kids used to be surprised when their dad cleared their plate off the table after dinner because none of their friends’ dads did that.”
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