Bringing Women to the Policymaking Arena

Close to 200 participants joined Women Waging Peace members for an important policy meeting in Kigali this May. Officials from a number of African governments and international policymakers met to discuss peace building efforts in sub-Saharan Africa and to generate policy recommendations for the inclusion of women in those efforts.

Angelina Muganza, Rwandan Minister of Gender and Women's Development, opened the meeting with Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Chair of Women Waging Peace. "Where Policy and Practice Meet" was the theme of the podium discussion that followed, with remarks by Jos Hoenen, First Secretary of Women & Development at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Nairobi; Dick Goldman, Director of USAID Rwanda; Aloisea Inyumba, Executive Secretary of National Unity and Reconciliation Commission; and Sabine Sabimbona, Burundian Member of Parliament. This assembly of policy makers, peacebuilders, and NGO representatives and others was the culmination of the first Women Waging Peace regional meeting.

A critical component of the day were roundtable discussions among women peace builders, policymakers, and media representatives. Each discussion focused on one topic and discussed it in detail, reviewing questions and devising potential action steps on issues, such as how best to promote the reconciliation and justice work of national and international commissions; the models and methods Burundian, Rwandan, South African, and Sudanese women have used to gain political influence and achieve positions in government; and how women peace builders can work with the media to highlight their role as agents of change. These highly productive discussions were followed by a reception at the home of US Ambassador to Rwanda, George Staples.

During one of the round table discussions which focused on how African women have gained political influence within their governments, a Ugandan participant relayed her experience as a woman running for office. Her first political race was for a position that had been set aside for women, and did not command the same level of respect among her male peers in government. Five years later, she reports that she has the confidence and connections necessary to run for a mainstream position, "where the power is." Since the Waging regional meeting concluded, the election was held and she won her new seat.

As part of the regional meeting, twenty women from Burundi, Rwanda, South Africa, and Sudan came together for three days of workshops and conversations about how their work as peace builders on the front lines of conflict has progressed since they joined the Waging network. Another 12 to 15 women from the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Uganda joined them for the "Women as Partners for Peace Conference," an independently organized gathering that provided networking and training opportunities for women leaders.

The structure of the regional meeting was highly conducive to productive discussions among Waging members. Each delegation presented a review of their activities over the last year, and staff provided an update of the work of Women Waging Peace in other regions around the world. The deteriorating situations in Burundi, as well as that in Sudan where a 37-year civil war continues, were reviewed. Proposals for supporting the work of women peacebuilders in both regions were drafted and approved.

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