16 Days of Activism Against GBV: Sexual Violence During Conflict

Photo from Genocide Watch: South Sudan Violence Women and Girls Suffer the Most

During times of conflict and war, women and girls are often targeted to be victims of all forms of violence. The violence they experience is not something necessarily sparked by conflict or war, as these forms of violence already existed within families, communities and the country as a whole. However, incidents of violence against women, girls and boys increases at an alarming rate during times of conflict and war. Primarily because violence, particularly sexual violence, is used as a weapon of war or rather a deliberate military strategy.

Sexual violence against women and girls is not a “spoils of war” or a “need for sexual gratification” by armed combatants who have spent months alone in the bush---as sexual violence has been conceptualized in centuries past. On the contrary, rape is often used in ethnic conflicts as a way for attackers to perpetuate their social control and redraw ethnic boundaries. Women are seen as the reproducers and care-takers of the community. If one group wants to control another group, they can do it by impregnating women of the other community because they see it as a way of destroying the opposing community.

In the 1990s, systematic rape was used in Bosnia so that women would give birth to Serbian babies while in Rwanda systematic rape against Tutsi women occurred during the genocide. (Medecins Sans Fronteire, “Rape as a Weapon of War,” 2005) In 1971, state-backed Pakistani troops during the fight for Bangladesh's independence perpetrated rape in order that women produce Punjabi children (Bangladesh Liberation War, Emma Rebholz, Kira Compton, and Madelynne Weisberg). Thus, this demonstrates that historically, rape and sexual violence against women and girls has been a specific military strategy to sow terror and weaken the social fabric of communities. (Medecins Sans Fronteire, “The Crushing Burden of Rape, Sexual Violence in Darfur,” 2005). In some conflict settings, the collapse of the rule of law leaves justice systems unable to deal with allegations of rape, while in many other conflict settings women feel too exposed to stigma or reprisals to accuse their attackers.

Photo from Rape as a Weapon of War, Robin Hammond

During the ongoing conflict here in South Sudan, rape has been perpetrated by armed combatants in the conflict impacted areas of the country---as evidenced by the data collected through the GBV Information Management System (GBVIMS). The GBVIMS is a tool that humanitarian actors working on GBV prevention and response interventions use to understand the types of GBV experienced by survivors and who is perpetrating these acts as reported by the survivors themselves. The GBVIMS only uses non-identifiable information so that the survivor is always protected. By understanding the types of GBV and who is perpetrating these acts, the tool also allows GBV actors to design prevention and response interventions in order to improve service provision to GBV survivors in South Sudan (and other countries that are using it).

GBV in South Sudan also occurs in what is known as Protection of Civilian (PoC) sites around the country. These sites provide refuge to internally displaced persons (IDPs)where they are provided with temporary shelter and food rations. PoCs and refugee camps are not desirable places to live and the limited resources available to meet a high demand causes stress among IDPS as well as within families. Compounding the fact that IDPS cannot leave these sites and have limited food, they also are limited in their earning capacities. IDPs, especially men, become very angry and frustrated with their inability to provide for their families.

Photo is from Caught in the Middle: Civilian Protection in South Sudan

GBV is also occurring in areas that are not as impacted as the primary conflict areas of Unity, Upper Nile State and Jonglei (to the northwest) and more recently in Western and parts of Eastern Equatoria (the south). Conflict causes a number of economic and social stresses on intimate partners and families. The conflict has triggered an economic crisis that has led to a lack of employment, educational and vocational opportunities and food insecurity. Consequently, limited resources and opportunities place stress on intimate partners and families resulting in violence being used to express frustration and anger. Women and girls are most often the recipients of this violent expression of frustration and anger. In South Sudan, physical assault is the most commonly reported type of GBV in South Sudan and accounts for 50% of all the reported GBV cases and is often perpetrated by intimate partners, many of whom are unemployed.

Whether a woman or girl is raped at gunpoint or forced into sexual slavery by an occupying force, the sexual violence she and her children experience will shape not just their own but their community's future for years to come. Humanitarian actors working on preventing and treating GBV understand the long term consequences of war and the sexual violence associated with it. Thus we focus on prevention methods that focus on education and coping mechanisms that equip individuals, families and communities with the tools to prevent and recover from the conflicted related violence and GBV traumas they are experiencing. The best that any of us can do is advocate to our government representatives to not forget that the conflict continues in South Sudan. Government officials have a responsibility to exert more pressure on South Sudanese warring parties to complete the peace process as soon as possible. If they do not, they should expect many more South Sudanese to become part of the flood of refugees hoping to enter Europe and the United States--and then the forgotten conflict will be upon our doorstep once again.

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence 2015

Yesterday, the 25th of November marked the first day of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (16 Days). During 16 Days, individuals, communities and nations have the opportunity to bring light to the many forms of violence experienced by women and girls around the world. It also provides each of us the opportunity to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls through activities, campaigns and dialogue. Each year 16 Days begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day. This year’s theme for activities and campaigns is: “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Make Education Safe for All!” A very apt theme for me and other gender based violence (GBV) actors working in conflict and war zones. And because I am in a conflict situation where GBV is rampant and is persistently used as a weapon of war (will discuss on another day)--I felt that I need to talk about my work and life here in South Sudan. I also want to use this time to refocus some attention to South Sudan---this young nation is already falling off the international community's radar. In light of the crisis in Syria and Europe and other emerging humanitarian crises--I fear that South Sudan will be forgotten. Yet the women and children are still suffering human rights violations on a daily basis. I hope that I will let at least a few people in the U.S. not forget. And if you feel compelled---act by contacting your Congress person and reminding them that the U.S. Government must play a role in concluding the peace process and setting this new nation on the path to recovery and development.

Over the course of the next 16 days I will share information on a specific form of GBV. Not every day mind you, but most of the days. I have not done something like this before, but because my work is pretty much my life right now, I want to share that part with you.

Whenever I do advocacy on women's rights and GBV it is always my hope that the information I share will be used as discussion points with colleagues, families and friends. Education and understanding is the first step to eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls. Of course, because I am in South Sudan, and my second home is the African continent, much of what I write will be country and continent specific. On some days I will include a “What can I do?” component. This component is framed to highlight how each and every one of us has the power to make a difference no matter how small it may seem. The small steps we take today to eliminate violence against women, girls, men and boys can make a big impact tomorrow. My suggestions in the “What can I do?” section are that only: suggestions. These suggestions could be used as Talking Points for you to discuss with colleagues, family and friends or even better, to develop empowering and healing practices that work best for your family and community. Violence and GBV is not inherently part of the social fabric of any one nation whether developing or developed---so please be aware that GBV is happening in South Sudan, India, Brazil and of course, right in our own country of the United States.

I have written about GBV before on this blog, but I don't think I have given a substantial overview of what violence against women and girls IS--but rather shared links to websites provided that information. Here is a super brief summary.

Gender Based Violence (GBV) is violence that is directed against a woman or girl or man or boy precisely because s/he is a woman or girl or man or boy. Unfortunately, incidents of GBV disproportionately impact women and girls. GBV knows no race, ethnic, social, economic or national boundaries. Worldwide, an estimated one in three women will experience physical or sexual violence in her lifetime.

Violence against women and girls is an expression of power inequalities between women and men and adults and children it can take many forms, for example:
-rape,
-sexual assault,
-female genital mutilation or cutting,
-child and forced marriage.
-sex trafficking, and
-psychological and emotional abuse which includes threats, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.

These various forms of violence against women and girls can occur in public or in private life and can be perpetrated by an unknown person, family member and/or an intimate physical or sexual partner. Therefore perpetrators can be ANYONE: husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, grandfathers/mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts or neighbors. Acts of violence can be perpetrated against boys as well such as rape, sexual torture, mutilation of the genitals, and sexual humiliation. Victims of violence can suffer sexual and reproductive health consequences, including forced and unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, traumatic fistula, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and even death.

Statistics from around the world (UNFPA website):
-In India, 8,093 cases of dowry-related death were reported in 2007; an unknown number of murders of women and young girls were falsely labeled ‘suicides’ or ‘accidents’.
-In Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United States, between 40 and 70 percent of female murder victims were killed by their intimate partners.
-In the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, 66 percent of murders of women were committed by husbands, boyfriends or other family members.

Worldwide,
-up to 50 percent of sexual assaults are committed against girls under 16
-Approximately 130 million girls and women have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) with more than 3 million
girls in Africa annually at risk of the practice.
-Over 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, married before the age of 18, primarily in South Asia (31.3 million) and
sub-Saharan Africa (14.1 million).
-Women and girls are 80 percent of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked across national borders annually, with the majority
(79 percent) trafficked for sexual exploitation. Within countries, many more women and girls are trafficked, often for
purposes of sexual exploitation or domestic servitude.

What can I do?

1. Discuss issues of violence with your wives, husbands and/ or intimate partners. Discuss these issues especially with your children, even with your young children---it is never too soon to start. Let them know what is appropriate and inappropriate touching. Equip your children, particularly your girl children, with the tools to protect their psychological, spiritual and physical integrity. Let them know they have a voice and it can and should be heard on any topic affecting their mind, body and soul.

2. Let the women and girls in your family and communities know you are there to support them. Let them know that you would never judge or ridicule them for being victims and survivors of GBV, especially rape or any other form of sexual violence. Women, men, girls and boys who suffer GBV have many reasons to fear coming forward and reporting their experience (e.g. stigma and perpetrator reprisals). But if as everyday persons and communities we provide an environment of support and encouragement, more GBV survivors will come forward to access the health, psycho-social and legal services they need.

3. Do not remain silent if you are a GBV survivor. You survived an incident of GBV, so that means you can survive anything. If you are a GBV survivor, please know there are people to support and protect you. Reach out to your nearest hospital or a community/women's organization--many of these places can refer you to the appropriate health and psycho-social support services. If you fear seeking help on your own, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline and they will provide you support in how to access help. The hotline number is 1 800 799 SAFE(7233)or 1 800 787 3224 (TTY), click here to learn about what to expect once you contact the hotline.

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.” –African proverb

Peace in South Sudan…sort of.

I am about two weeks away from my one year anniversary living and working in South Sudan. Since I have arrived the conflict has resulted in some of the most atrocious acts against South Sudanese: from acts of gender based violence such as burning young girls alive who may be of opposing ethnic groups to the recruitment of children into the conflict. In any war or conflict, women, children, the disabled and the elderly bear the brunt of the brutality that accompanies a struggle for wealth and power. And many South Sudanese are ready for the violence and hunger to end. Sadly, most South Sudanese that I have spoken to are in a perpetual state of resignation that whatever ceasefire or peace deal that is made will be broken.

The two warring sides were given a deadline of August 17th by the international negotiators, IGAD, to end, at the time, a 20 month conflict. The leader of rebel groups, Riek Machar, signed by the deadline but the president of the country, Salva Kiir, did not sign until August 27th. But within days the ceasefire was broken again (as many South Sudanese predicted) and fighting has continued in the conflict affected states of Unity, Upper Nile and parts of Jonglei, where South Sudan’s rich oil reserves lie. Uganda has had a military presence in the country since the conflict began with the mandate to maintain peace. However, but for some, particularly the rebel forces, its military presence has created more hostility amongst South Sudanese than it has secured security and peace. Thus as part of the peace agreement, the Ugandan government was given 45 days from the 27th of August to extract their military personnel, which is scheduled to happen next week. In addition, all armed actors must lie down their guns by mid-October. Until then, we are all sure the fighting will continue and many more lives will be lost to violence and hunger.

Most recently President Kiir has called for the further division of South Sudan’s states increasing from 10 to 28 states, with Abyei, the contested administrative area between Sudan and South Sudan, potentially becoming the 29th state. The President draws his authority to do this from the country’s transitional constitution with the decree taking effect November 1st. The rebel forces have stated that the decree is in violation of the signed peace deal. Perhaps, the creation of states was meant to meet political and economic demands in the short term, but because the divisions were made along ethnic lines and in fact, have divided a number of ethnic groups between states, threat of sanctions for violating the Transitional Constitution and the peace deal, have been made. In the meantime, in the world of me, I struggle to find reasons to stay in South Sudan.

Since I arrived, I have been operating a program that has experienced a funding gap. In the most simple of terms a funding gap means that we had money, the one donor we had said “no more money for you” but we continue to operate on our other program funds while we find new donors to fund a fully operational GBV program. Most of my year has been hustling and begging to find funds to rebuild our program. And writing grant proposals. Not what I signed on to do and not that much fun quite frankly, but it is part of the life of development/humanitarian aid work.
I have had some great moments learning, observing, and just…experiencing. The experiences range from seeing history being made and trying to grasp the painful growing pains of a people building a nation and navigating the twists and turns of democracy (which for South Sudan can be traced back to the 1980s or even earlier); camping during field visits eating only goat meat with some hard Jesus bread for a week. But best of all, I had the opportunity to work with strong, resilient South Sudanese women who carry on with the task of living and growing, as many of their men have died, abandoned them or continue fighting in a conflict they are tired of and want to end.

When I tell people that I am in a war torn country, their first thoughts are that I am at risk of dying in the conflict. South Sudan is not like Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria---where kidnappings and suicide bombs are part and parcel of the conflict raging there. Here, the conflict occurs in areas that are pretty rural and quite distant from where the main offices of NGOs are based, although in the conflict affected areas NGOS are in the vicinity of tank and gunfire and need to take special precautions. For us in Juba, the capital, our greatest threat is the economic crisis that has accompanied this conflict and thus has ignited a crime wave that puts many of us in danger from such crimes as petty theft to carjackings and even rape.

The South Sudanese government is running out of money (if it has not already done so), all food is imported from Uganda and petrol from Kenya or Ethiopia. The cost of living has sky-rocketed for everyone here, but as you can imagine those who are least educated and thus are unemployed or have very low paying jobs, it is making life almost impossible for them. Every night there are gunshots heard, women and children violated and even killed for their meagre possessions. The conflict triggered the economic crisis which has triggered severe food insecurity which has led to mass malnourishment of both children and adults (which I have seen with my own eyes in the more rural areas). This makes NGOs the biggest targets as we have safes with US dollars and stuff that people can sell: land cruisers, laptops, American and European cell phones, and our personal money, usually U.S. dollars as well because the South Sudanese pound is losing value every hour if not every minute. We also do not have weapons on the premise (not even our security guards) in order to be in compliance with our code of conduct as a humanitarian aid organization (no guns, always politically neutral). We are therefore vulnerable to robbery. Thankfully my particular organization is particularly safeguarded from targeting because of our location (difficult to enter and exit without being seen or cornered) and I think people do not realize we actually live and work in the same space….we are so quiet our neighbors and others do not realize that human beings are moving around inside the compound. One of my former employees called our living residence The Cemetery. Yep. We are a pretty boring, dry bunch—bad for social interaction but good for safety.

I am happy with what I have been able to achieve under my constraints and circumstances. I have almost completed my personal mission: one year doing GBV work in a conflict setting...well just like peace in South Sudan....I have sort of completed my mission. Of course, if I decide to move on, I have no idea what comes next, which, if I let it, can be nerve racking and scary. Or I can embrace it and take it as an opportunity to do what my life path has always forced me to do: to look outside the box and try something different. In the meantime, I am cherishing the time I have had with some great colleagues and staff....and of course learning about the way South Sudanese women live their lives, and doing my best to support them.

Here are some photos from my work with South Sudanese Women:

Women farmers (women started farming due to food insecurity…but they aim to make it a profit making enterprise)…..

Women are making tie dye cloth for their tailoring business---they plan to make traditional style African dresses for sale…

Women small business owners after completing their simple bookkeeping and business management training were provided with in-kind goods to start their shop:

Women’s traditional beadwork: they make necklaces, earrings, bracelets for wrists and ankles, and even shirt-like pieces. Some of their necklaces are pictured below:

My fierce women leaders…..

Juba Airport

Everything looks absolutely normal on the surface of Juba city: congregations of tall, lean men in business and casual attire lounge with their long legs crossed under the shade of an acacia tree or even under the open ground floor space of a building being constructed (as long as there is shade). They wait to be served tea by equally long limbed girls and women, with their colorful sarongs and glittery head scarves. Kids are running barefooted on dusty side streets playing with footballs made out of rubber bands. Sheep and goats graze along the side of the road sometimes darting into the middle of traffic congested with motorbikes and land-cruisers blazoned with organizational logos. But underneath it there is a pulsating tension because of the worsening economy, the rising crime rates, and increased skirmishes that are happening in the conflict affected areas. We are all waiting to see what will happen with the peace process over the next few days to weeks. But I can’t get into it today…I’m thinking about when I will have to make another dreaded trip through Juba airport.

Upon arrival to Juba airport, if you are lucky, a bus will meet you on the tarmac, as the actual terminal is from, maybe, the 1970s and cannot accommodate planes at the actual terminal. Ok, that is reasonable, many airports are still stuck in the pre-historic era---like LaGuardia airport in NYC. But even if there is a crazy African torrential downpour, you better have something to cover your head because you cannot count on the little bus to come and get you at the plane. But most of the time the sun is scorching hot to the point that you feel as if it is melting the skin off your bones.

By the time you trek across the tarmac and park yourself on line for the Ebola check, things are getting pretty steamy under the collar. As you stand on line you are most likely juggling your laptop, maybe your handbag, a folder with work related reading and most likely some other bag between your hands and armpits as you try to wash your hands with the Ebola-Killing-Soap at the small, small blue plastic water dispenser. At the same time, you are doing your darndest not to knock over said dispenser or step into the muddy, soapy water pooling around the basin underneath the dispenser. Then you walk a bit more to the big white tent to fill out a form saying you are not infected and have not traveled to an infected country in the last 21 days. Yes, we must be safe, because Ebola is one helluva virulent pathogen—and why the next paragraph actually terrifies me.

You are now standing on another line underneath this tarp, pretty much roasting and by the time you get to the white robed mask wearing temperature taker---you should have something simulating a raging fever and thus a good candidate to be pulled aside for Ebola Queries. I’m usually told to move to passport stamping and when I look at my stamped form I have a temperature approximating 4 degrees Celsius---pretty much the temperature of a corpse that has been sitting in a morgue—I should both be dead and very cold to the touch. Which of course I am far from either. SO. How well are these instruments at spotting infected persons? I try not to dwell on it, I have other things that make my hypochondriac behind toss and turn at night.

I’m now inside the terminal and waiting to be inspected—which I feel is happening every single time I perch up on my tippy toes to talk through the tiny hole in the plastic window. And on one occasion my suspicions were correct. “You cut your hair.” “Excuse me?” Passport Guard 1 shows me my own passport photo with a longer hairstyle. “Ah, yes, I cut my hair.” “You are pretty with long hair. You should have long hair” I ignore him and continue to fill out more paperwork. Passport Guard 2 “But she looks nice with short hair too.” “But women should have long hair,” Passport Control 1 states. “But if a woman wants to have short hair she can do so. It is her hair,” Passport Control 2 says smiling broadly at me. “But look at how nice she…” I cut them both off with a tap on the plastic window with index finger, “Hello, yes, well it is very hot in Africa and I sweat a lot so I cut if off. I don’t want pimples on my back. Are you done with my passport?” “Yes. Grow your hair back.” Thank you Passport Control 1 and 2. Happy day.

You are now ready to claim your baggage but first you must get by some men sitting up on some high stools, staring down on you very hot, tired and unsmiling. This man is usually flanked by two or three men who I can never tell what their job is exactly. The one perched on the stool is, most times, in some semblance of a uniform but the rest look like they came to chat and have a cup of tea, yet they all take a look at your passport “Keef (how are you?)?” I am asked. “Tamam (I’m fine.),” I say. “Something, something more in Arabic.” I stare blankly, and then I reply “Maafi arabe (I don’t speak Arabic).” “Why don’t you speak Arabic (pauses as he looks at my Arabic/Middle Eastern name again)” “Because I don’t want to.” I’m literally soaked through with sweat as two hundred people crowded into the space of a large elevator press behind me—because of course it is Africa and there is no such thing as personal space. Something shows the testiness in my face and he hands back my passport “You should learn Arabic” Juba airport is just full of folks who are specialists on what my behind should and should not be doing. From here it is pretty straight forward….you wait as your bags are taken from the plane, to the baggage claim area to a conveyor belt and a woman (I always get the same exact woman) sometimes in a uniform, sometimes in a dress, marks your bag with a piece of chalk after she peeks inside your bag—now you can leave, because that chalk marking is all very official that your bag has been properly inspected. But strangely enough, it is not arriving to Juba airport that is the bane of my existence but it is taking off from it that makes me cringe.

Leaving on a Monday morning is the worst because they have the commercial and the UN Humanitarian Airline Service (UNHAS) flights leaving from the same terminal. Oh yes, I forgot to mention THERE IS ONLY ONE freakin’ terminal. UNHAS services all domestic flights because there is a conflict and it is the only way we can travel safely around the country. Depending on what flight you are going on, there is some queueing, pretending to really check your e-ticket and ID and then a wave of a hand to pass through a door made for one person at a time, but of course we all try to smash through it like uncivilized beasts because we want to get to the UNHAS counter before everyone else to get our bag weighed and our plastic boarding card. But you can never get there early enough. There is always a herd of people crowded inside the small, small, small space that houses the airline counter, immigration windows, scales and conveyor belt: a space that should really accommodate 20-30 people has about 150. So we all push our way through like cattle going to the slaughter, eyes lolling to the back of our heads as we squeeze through people, bags just parked in the middle of everything, 5L water containers, food parcels, medical equipment and just about everything you will need to go to the field. If you can manage to get through check in, where we basically body slam each other to get to the scale first—because that is the most important part, making sure you have exactly 20kg.

And after all that hard work, I mean literally, I am drenched in sweat and any evidence of a morning shower are long gone by now: once a ray of sun hits my skin or I am in a tightly enclosed space for more than 10 seconds my pores are gushing sweat like a rotating sprinkler. Really. This tight hot space is my worst nightmare, I feel like my brain will explode out my eyes with the heat of the African sun and humans vacuumed into our tiny check-in area. You would think that all this pushing and defense football line-backing is because we are rushing to get a flight that will be leaving shortly. Nope. We are flying, most likely, a World Food Program (WFP) plane which I fondly call Waiting for the F@#$in’ Plane---because you could literally be there waiting for 3 hours for a flight that may take only 40 minutes. Once in the field and you are ready to return to Juba, you usually have to drive out to a dirt airstrip and wait up to 3 -6 hours for your flight with the WFP staff sometimes walkie-talkie-ing to say “Flight canceled.” What?!?!? Dear jeee--zuz. (deep sigh)….TIA (This is Africa) is now TIJ……This is Juba.

Bride Price and the Girl Child in South Sudan

Many cultures have the exchange of bride price when it is time to marry. It is sometimes called lobolo--as it is known in Southern Africa. It plays a huge part of many cultures on the African continent and it is a topic on my mind of late because it plays a big part of the gender based violence (GBV) I see in my work in South Sudan.

Bride price is not something that is particular to Africa. It has been a practice that has existed throughout time. In ancient Mesopatamia the Code of Hammurabi mentions bride price regarding payment if a groom to be did not commit to the bride, if the father refused the match or if the now wife died without producing sons. The Torah or Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) mentions paying bride price to the father of a minor girl in Books Exodus (22:16-17) and Deuteronomy (22:28-29). Bride price also existed in Western cultures and has now faded away but vestiges of concluding affairs and respecting the bond created through the bride price can still be seen in the gesture of a father “giving away” his daughter when they walk down the aisle and a woman pledging her “obedience” during the wedding rites. Bride prices developed in patriarchal societies as a security on the children that a woman would bring to the union--as children and property descended through the father’s line. Bride price also developed as a way to create alliances between two families with the bride price being the symbolic bond between them. Today, where bride price is practiced, it can be said that bride price is no longer just a bonding of two families, but that it has become an economic necessity for families that are very poor and are in desperate need of money.

If you ask most South Sudanese people about why the conflict continues they will inevitably mention disputes over cattle as one of the many push factors. The cattle raids that occur amongst different ethnic groups (approximately 60) fuels retaliatory tactics. Cattle raids also impact women and girls with one of the most egregious forms of GBV in South Sudan: forced early marriage which leads to a cascade of many other forms of GBV (not to mention the pscychological damage it has on women in general, whether they experience direct forms of GBV or not).

Women and young girls are not only the hardest hit victims during periods of actual fighting when rape and sexual assault are used as weapons against them, but are doubly victimized during this conflict when their “honor” has been defiled during cattle raids when raiders go on a spree of sexual violence and “ruin” the adolescent girl by taking her virginity, making her ineligible to marry, and thus an economic burden on her family who will have to continue to care for her. If her perpetrator is caught, he must pay heads of cattle for “ruining” her. Unfortunately in most cases, girls will be abducted by their perpetrators and will now become “wives.” Adolescent girls are not the only ones abducted during cattle raids but also girls and boys, as young as 4 or 5, are also abducted. Girls for their marketability to be sold for cattle as young brides when they reach “of age.” And boys, for their ability to work and herd cattle. The majority of forced early forced marriages are because the conflict has caused extreme hunger and economic insecurity thus money strapped families arrange marriages early so that they can receive cattle sooner, when they are economically suffering, rather than later when their daughter reach a more appropriate age. For example, if you are part of the Dinka clan, a young girl will be “worth” 100 heads of cattle (about $200/head) the taller she is, then the more cattle she will receive, while in other parts of South Sudan, girls are valued at 60 heads of cattle.

It is not uncommon to find young girls married in South Sudan at 12 and 13 years old with her first child at 14 and 15 years. Women and girls when asked will tell you that they have no voice, that they are not seen and that they do not have hope for schooling---because school means the potential of meeting a boy that your family has not approved of or has not “booked” with for her future nuptials. Poor and/or (more often than not) rural women in South Sudan must obey the will of her husband, father and the men within her family and community when it comes to determining her future.

There are several long term GBV consequences to forced early marriage. First and foremost, forced early marriage leads to early pregnancy which can result in poor maternal and infant health outcomes such as anemia, preeclampsia, C-section, obstetric fistula, low infant birth weight and even maternal and infant mortality. Forced early marriage can lead to many other forms of GBV such as sexual, physical, emotional and psychological abuse as well as financial manipulation and coercion by husbands that leads girls and women to be trapped in a cycle of violence and poverty. This cycle is extremely difficult to break for women on the African continent because of the limited educational and employment opportunities that are available to them, if at all. And even if such options are available, once the bride price has been paid in full, the cultural and societal pressure on women to stay with their abusive husband is too strong for women to leave the relationship. Because for her to return to her family home, her parents would have to return the bride price which in most cases has been spent once she walks over the threshold of her husband’s home.

So far I have painted a pretty dire picture—which it is—but South Sudanese women are being supported by the humanitarian aid community. Women’s advocates support South Sudanese women and communities by working toward changing the status of women and girls in South Sudan through education and public awareness on GBV, working to provide women with pathways to seek treatment, care and legal adjudication and to provide educational and livelihoods opportunities so that women can break the chains of dependence that tie them to their husbands, fathers and patriarchal structures and institutions. We also work with men in changing their outlook on what is masculinity and the role of men, women and girls in their communities. But we should also be working with the private sector on advocacy efforts that promote diversifying markets on the continent by shifting what commodities people place a high value on within their community. Hopefully, the consequence of such efforts could be reducing the value of cattle and increasing the value of other commodities or making other economic niches available---such as agriculture or developing small entrepreneurship skills--- that will not make the attainment of many heads of cattle as the only option to wealth and prestige in a community.

Bride price and the negative consequences associated with it was once part of our culture too but I would say that our western bride price has evolved over time---somewhat (I can’t tell you how many times I have heard of men asking for the engagement ring back when they are disgruntled that his wife has not acted the way he thought she would or that the marriage did not go according to his preconceived plans.) So. I’m sure bride price in developing nations will evolve as people’s wants and desires change and exposure to how other people live increases thereby influencing their economic, cultural and social choices—moving bride price from an actual economic necessity to one that, like our own western cultures, is symbolic.

I hope to be a better blogger---but life here is exhausting. My five months here feels like 10—and I’m not being melodramatic. Day to day living is intense and unpredictable and I hope I can share a slice of it with you in the posts to come, which I hope touch on the reality on the ground and as I always like to do, sprinkled with the lighter (and sometimes unexpected) side of life on the African continent.

South Sudan: A nation in conflict.

(Photos for my profile picture and this post were taken from Google's Image stock photos for South Sudan. They will be changed when I am able to exhibit my own photos. Most photo taking in South Sudan is prohibited unless you have been authorized by the GoSS.)

Last week, I was swimming in a very large pool, pretty clean, except for the layer of dust that coated its surface. I did laps according to my version of the breast stroke, which probably was more like a frog kick with bits of a doggie paddle thrown in. I was completely alone for a good part of the day—which was lovely. The other pools I have visited have had 10 men to every woman, and each set of eyes did a good job of violating us. There were also a few business men meeting to chat—no food or drinks, just huddled together on bamboo chairs under swaying palm trees. Chatting and nodding. Gardeners in long, blue coveralls clipped slowly and methodically the bushes and shrubs decorating the pool area. The waiter wore a crisply pressed white dress shirt, a shimmery gold/yellow vest and yellow linen pants. He sat at the bar that was decorated with red and silver tinsel, on a stool. Every time I looked up or mistakenly made any kind of “Please come” gesture, he would rise with a pad in his hand and walk over to the fence close to where I was recline don a lounge chair, until I would, embarrassed, say “No, not yet, thanks.” There was a fake white Christmas tree sitting in the corner. When I got really hungry I did order. He brought me a ham and cheese hamburger with fries and small side salad, along with a mango juice, with the napkin in some sort of origami shaped animal wrapped around it—to protect it from the dust. I made sure to leave a big tip---his smile could of bridged continents.

In the states northwest of the state I live in, only kilometers away, thousands of people have been killed, maimed and millions have fled to other parts of the country seeking refuge from soldiers and rebels with assault rifles, grenade and rocket launchers and millions of bullets. They seek not only safety but also shelter, food and access to basic services like health, education, water and sanitation. They also require psychosocial support from the psychological traumas they have experienced. I am in South Sudan working as the coordinator of a gender based violence (GBV) program. Many forms of GBV are used as a weapon of war in conflict situations, particularly rape. In South Sudan, the crisis has been made one of food insecurity and famine, but based on my short time here (2 months) learning the lay of the land and just listening to South Sudanese, this crisis should have equally been characterized as one of violence against women and children. The U.N. General Secretary’s Special Envoy on Sexual Violence, Zainab Bangura, has visited South Sudan and has stated that violence against women and children in the South Sudan conflict is the worst she has ever witnessed. Hopefully her report will shift the attention onto women and children and the violence they experience.

So. This is the part I give you a bit of a historical context so if you already know about the conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan or are not interested you may want to skip the next two paragraphs.

Most people know about Sudan because of George Clooney and Darfur. But what many people may not have realized is that in July 2011, Sudan split in two creating the world’s newest nation: the Republic of South Sudan. The split occurred after the last phase of a six year peace agreement ended decades of civil war and a referendum was put to vote for cessation. Much of the civil conflict was based on control over Sudan’s large deposits of crude oil exacerbated by grievances between the northern Sudan’s predominantly Arab-Muslim population and the South’s Black-Christian population. Through a 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) there was a deal at the time to split the revenues from southern oil evenly between the north and south—and that agreement, for the most part, was held up after South Sudan’s independence. The areas of Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei, in what is now South Sudan, has the crude oil but South Sudan has to rely on Sudan’s pipelines and port to extract and export the oil. In 2012, South Sudan began its oil extraction, but shortly thereafter disputes over fees as well as border demarcation lines kept tensions high and fighting ongoing with thousands of refugees flooding into South Sudan. South Sudanese who were born and raised in Sudan were targeted and persecuted. In March 2013 Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, made agreements on trade, oil and security deals: oil production resumed with a demilitarized buffer zone between the two countries.

The conflict soon turned from one between countries to one between ethnic groups. Internal conflict broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 when a year-long power struggle between President Kiir and his Vice President Riek Machar resulted in the latter being accused by Kiir of attempting a coup d’etat and Machar was fired. Kiir is Dinka, the largest ethnic group in South Sudan and Machar is a Nuer, the second largest ethnic group. Since then, fighting based along ethnic lines between Dinka and Nuer has been ongoing with many ceasefires being broken or not adhered to at all. Atrocities against women and children have been committed by both ethnic groups: men gang raping women sometimes with foreign objects and then murdering them, forced early marriage of young girls and child recruitment into the conflict. Thousands of people have been killed and millions have been made internally displaced persons (IDPs) or refugees in Sudan, Kenya, and Uganda. The conflicts in both Sudan and South Sudan is complicated, messy and needless to say it is taking a psychological toll on the people of South Sudan as well as those who work here. I of course have given you an abbreviated version of the conflict as I have understood it. If you want a brief timeline of events, please visit’s BBC’s South Sudan profile page and I found the Newsweek article George Clooney, South Sudan and How the World’s Newest Nation Imploded by Alex Perry an interesting perspective on humanitarian aid and the ideals that foreign governments and aid workers have in stopping conflict and building nations.

Peace talks began in Addis Ababa in August and adjourned for the Christmas holidays. All of us living and working in South Sudan are praying for a peaceful and fairly immediate peace resolution when they resume talks. We pray because the dry season has arrived on the African continent. Why is this significant? Because during rainy season, flooding destroys dirt roads which makes it difficult for everyone, soldiers and rebels included to travel or to fight. But with the impending dry season, it means if fighting will start--- it will start during this time. A combination of an economy in dire straits, hungry bellies and angry hearts that are not being soothed by political leaders can be the spark to continued and even escalated violence. My hope is that the will of the people of South Sudan will overcome political and ethnic divisions. Namely, a people that has experienced two generations worth of war and conflict, are exhausted. The overwhelming refrain of South Sudanese I have spoken to has been “We are tired of the fighting.”

I have been working alot these past two months. The line between working, socializing and just living is blurred. My residence is in the same compound that our office is located in. But thankfuly, I have a strong support network in B and my family. I have good music, Kindle books and pictures of the smiling faces of my months old nephews, which always makes me smile. I eat healthy and exercise—I either do yoga or I jog and on occasion I dance (my iTunes and me). When I go jogging, just after sunrise, on a short strip on the main road where I do laps--- I’m greeted by U.N. tanks and pick-ups with blue helmeted soldiers heading out on their patrol—my early morning reminder of where I am, just in case I should momentarily forget.

I’m also greeted by two puppies from a nearby hotel who jump on me, enthusiastically full of life--- their happiness makes me happy and my heart is filled with their exuberance. A heart filled with such a small dose of exuberance is something that I am grateful for---on any day, in any part of the world I may be.

Thoughts on Beauty....

(If you are interested in hiring the model in the photos, please contact me.)

There is a young woman in my neighborhood that is stunningly pretty. The first time I saw her I thought: “That girl could be a high fashion model.” As you can see from the cover photo to this post, I speak no lie. So I wasn’t surprised when one day a few months ago she walked into our yard asking me if I could help her achieve her dream of becoming a model. We are taking baby steps and crossing fingers that they will lead to bigger, grander steps to making that dream come true.

I had to do some research into things like make-up, clothes, and posturing in order to do our mini photo shoot. My fashion and beauty research got me to thinking about what is considered “beautiful,” as the concept is ever changing and is, of course, culture specific. However, globalization has shaped, and continues to shape, the concept of beauty so that it conforms to a western ideal, specifically, white tall and thin unless you fall into a category that is deemed “exotic.”

I wasn’t surprised when I came to the African continent and found that there are many attempts of adopting western imposed forms of beauty such as light skin and straight hair---as people of color living in the U.S. and other Western cultures, are also told that these are forms of beauty that we must aim to achieve. What I identified immediately as this young woman’s strong points to become a model, I’m sure , are what she has been over looked at in being considered beautiful in Mozambique: she is dark skinned and extremely thin (a sign of poverty). Many women in Mozambique, as well as other parts of Africa, the Caribbean and India (and surely everywhere else where darker skin is the dominant feature of the population), use skin lightening cream. These creams can have terrible effects if used over a long period such as hardening the skin to a rock hard texture. Many of the women I’ve seen using it, use it only on their faces. I suppose these creams don’t come cheap so it would get expensive putting it all over on’e body thus the effect is that women have very light skinned faces but then one can see the contrast with their darker skinned hands, feet etc. The original intent of these creams was to even out skin tones which often happens amongst darker skinned people---it was not developed to be used (and abused) to change one’s skin color.

Hair, on the African continent, and amongst most black folks outside of Africa, can be a contentious topic. I don’t believe women with curly or kinky hair (that includes women with Jew Fros) should feel the need to use chemicals or fake hair in order to have long tresses flowing down their back. As some of you can imagine I’ve received many a response from black women and other very curly haired women in the form of “well you don’t have our kind of hair so you can’t make such a statement.” But my mother does have what white people would call kinky hair (not necessarily what other black people call kinky) and she always told me that hair is beautiful when you take care of it, be it straight, curly or kinky hair. So it pretty much makes my skin crawl when women here in Mozambique fawn over my hair and ask me to cut it off and give it to them, so they can make a weave with it or use it to braid into their own hair. I always respond that they should accept themselves as they are, “you are beautiful just as God made you” which is answered with a fake smile. The fakeness of the smile speaks to possible inner thoughts of “of course you would say that whitey, you look like the women in fashion magazines.” Most likely, to them, I look like those women and the conversation would go nowhere if I tried to explain to them that growing up no one thought that my skin and hair looked like those white girls in the fashion mags.

Hair weaves are relatively new in Mozambique (maybe the last 5-10 years) and is considered a sign of increasing wealth. Many women use these weaves in a very ascetically pleasing way and I think it would be difficult to differentiate a Mozambican from a South African from an American black woman---that is how up to date the hair styles are. Yet, some women do miss the mark. I was walking with B once in Jo’burg’s bus station and I said out loud “Why? Why did she do that to herself?” Sitting on a bench not too far in front of us was a woman who could have easily been mistaken for Sabertooth from the Thundercats---her weave made her head 3x her size and it flowed down in a mass of blond frizz down to her waist. B said “Yeah. I know she thinks she looks like Beyonce, but no, sorry minha irma………she is Mozambican. I KNOW it.”

Western forms of beauty doesn’t stop at hair texture and skin color, it is also how people wear their clothes. I know many of us in the U.S. have seen recently arrived immigrants and have noted the outfit they are wearing and have asked “Why?” For example, the 60 year old Chinese woman who wears Hello Kitty from the barettes in her pixie cut, to her pink shirt with its huge Hello Kitty Face on it down to her pink house slippers in the form of a cat, ears and whiskers included (and yes she is wearing Hello Kitty socks too). Or the West Indian man with the tight fishnet shirt (our women like them too, with a nice lacey red bra underneath). Or perhaps the Russian woman with blue eyeliner all around her eye, donning a fake fur coat, in fuchia, and a super mini skirt and platform shoes, and let’s say she doesn’t say no to seconds at dinner time.

So I’ve been asking “Why?” a lot here. I’ve been asking why to the 50 year old man with a beer belly that makes him look like he is 9 months pregnant and wears a T-shirt that says “I’m Your Bitch”. I’ve been asking why to the women who shave off their perfectly lovely eyebrows and instead use a red eyebrow pencil to draw in scary clown eyebrows. I’ve been asking why to the women who wear thong panties as beach wear or lace ones with their pubic hair sticking through it. I’ve been asking why to the dudes who strut along the street with neon pink painted nails and ladies purses with fringes.

But it has come to this: I’ve had to stop asking why and just accept that people wear what they wear because they feel beautiful by being one step closer to what the dominant culture says is the right thing to be. Many people achieve this goal using what is available to them from our charitable donations in clothes (which are actually not given to poor people but sold to vendors who then sell them to the populace in open air markets) to Chinese made synthetic hair for weaves and braiding.
Thus, even though that man with the bitch T-shirt probably doesn’t understand what bitch means, he’s wearing a shirt with English on it, so he is perceived to know how to speak English and therefore he is perceived to be smarter or more educated and maybe as having more money. Perhaps a woman that sports a weave that makes her head the size of a blimpie does so because she can afford that much hair—so she’s telling people “I’ve got money and now I am beautiful because I’m sprtin’ Beyonce’s look.” The Chinese granny wears Hello Kitty because she probably had to work as a child and never got to be a kid that enjoyed kid stuff (I’m taking a leap..but probably not that big of a leap). My Guyanese brother wears a fishnet shirt because….ok there is no excuse for that, I’m sorry my Caribbean brothers and sisters--please stop wearing them.

What is considered beautiful has certainly changed from when I was a teenager, which is great, as now little girls have diverse representations of beauty in our popular culture from the lovely dark complexion of Lupita Nyong'o to the voluptuous bodies of J.Lo and Adele to the “be you” fashion styles of Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry. Unfortunately, our perceptions of beauty swing on a pendulum from honoring our diverse beauty as humans to exploiting, demonizing and politicizing such diversity. But I suppose that has been happening since the dawn of human civilization and we can only do our best to accept and love ourselves the way we are.

At the end of the day, beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder and yes our current dominant white Western culture controls what is defined as beautiful. But I think reflecting on how people adopt these forced-fed images of beauty and then make them their own using the resources they have ….is just as beautiful.