Conflict

Day 14 of the 16 Days Blogging Series:

In our journey to peace, we have met different groups of people and organizations. We all have our own contexts, our own lived realities and our narratives to share. We may not meet eye to eye, and disagree on certain aspects of discussion, but we all shared one common goal. That goal is to stop violence and work towards peace. A daunting task one might say but every hardship, roller coaster ride one must take will lead us to better lives. Not just this generation but also the next to follow.

Day 11 of the 16 Days Blogging Series:

Somalia, a nation engulfed by over two decades of a brutal civil has been anything but a safe haven for women and children. During the war women, and especially young girls, were used by warring tribal factions as tools to gain advantages over one another. Fighters from these factions would brutally assault or even rape women from other clans in front of their own families as an act of vengeance.

Day 10 of the 16 Days Blogging Series:

People are struggling with a lack of freedom; university students, journalists, human rights defenders, activists and politicians can be arrested anywhere at any time because of their views and ideologies. During September 2013 over 170 people, including several children, were killed by the national security forces on the streets.

Day 9 of the 16 Days Blogging Series:

In 2009 we were given a chance to do a research on the effects of conflict on Moro women in Basilan and Sulu. It was difficult for many of us to hear their stories of deaths in the family and the trauma they have experienced. But somehow through their stories we sense their hope for a better Bangsamoro.

Day 8 of the 16 Days Blogging Series:

For more than 50 years of independence, Sudan has never witnessed peace; except for a few short years. When the longest and most brutal civil war in South Sudan was under negotiation for a peace deal in 2002-2003, a new war started in Darfur. It wasn't new in terms of the atrocitites or human suffering, but it was indeed new for the type of weapons used in the conflict.

Day 6 of the 16 Days Blogging Series:

The purpose of peace talks is to alleviate the dependency on militarism and bring an end to violence in general, but the absence of women’s voices in the discussions often results in the absence of a focus on women in the solution.

Day 3 of the 16 Days Blogging Series:

In her second installment, Donna Swita Hardiani, from Solidaritas Perempuan (Women’s Solidarity) recalls her experiences in Aceh during the immediate years after the peace agreement, including the time she was interrogated by militiamen for women's rights work.