Telling the Story of Women and War in Uganda
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Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng is showing the world what happens to women in armed conflict in Uganda.
As Co-director of Uganda's Isis–Women's International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) and the Coordinator of its Information and Documentation Programme, Ochieng is using a UNIFEM Trust Fund grant to create videos portraying Ugandan women's experiences in armed conflict. In the process, she has found shocking testimonies of gang rape, sexual and physical abuse, psychological torture, mutilation, forced marriage, and numerous long-term health problems, including infertility, incontinence, and debilitation.
"We need to expose these atrocities," Ochieng insists. "African women's voices must be heard and I believe video documentation is one of the most effective ways to tell the stories of the crimes committed against women during war — stories that are rarely heard."
Ochieng and her team at Isis-WICCE have made two videos; one will be shown to large groups in interactive settings to raise awareness and educate the public, other women's groups, and the mainstream media, and to stir a national dialogue on the issue. The other, shorter video includes critical analysis by academics and politicians to point the way toward addressing the problem and deriving a solution.
Most women in Uganda become involved in war unwittingly or are manipulated by false promises of protection and assistance, Ochieng says. Once they're in, "they're forced to fight on two fronts: they're responsible for holding communities and families together while on the run; at the same time they must provide support to warring parties by cooking, caring for the sick, and delivering information," Ochieng points out, adding that these women are often singled out for sexual abuse because they are considered enemy property and therefore prime targets for retaliation.
Ochieng wants to help victims like Devota Mbabazi make their stories known. Mbabazi, a former National Resistance Army fighter, was gang raped by 21 soldiers. She suffered grave physical problems as a result, and later died of AIDS, leaving five orphaned children. When interviewed by Ochieng, Mbabazi said, "Tell my story and make sure the world knows what has happened to me. Tell women not to get involved in war and don't let this happen anymore." Ochieng was often moved to tears when listening to the women's stories. "I would just cry with them — it would help us both to let it out. Many of these women hadn't been able to tell anyone what had happened before so it helped them heal to share the burden with someone else. I just wish I could have made their pain go away."
Ochieng hasn't always been the activist she is now. After receiving a university degree, she worked in the information department of the Ugandan government. "At that time, I didn't even know what human rights were. I thought patriarchy was the order of the day and I did what I was told." She later took a second degree in communications and when she returned to her job, she says, "I felt like I didn't belong there anymore." Several months later, she learned about Isis-WICCE, which had just moved its headquarters to Uganda from Geneva. "I read this job description and immediately thought this is what I want to do." Thus began her education in women's rights.
One of the first things she realized was that there was scant information about African women at the organization's resource center and she took it upon herself to ensure that they were adequately represented, making connections with a wide range of women's groups in the process. Another turning point in her activist education was attending the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. "It was so exciting to see the progressive way women were approaching information and communication. I could just see the doors for African women opening up and it was so exciting to be a part of it."
Ochieng believes communications technology can go a long way to help women make their experiences known and to spread awareness about human rights violations. "I'd love to be able to give these women the training and a camera to document their own stories. There's no better way than letting the women talk for themselves and tell the world what happened."
But for now, Ochieng says Isis-WICCE will do all it can to serve as conduit for these women. "Through tools like this video, we're going to expose what's happened to these women — and what continues to happen to thousands of women in war around the world every day. Only then can we truly start the healing process and make long lasting peace in our society," she says. "Accessing women's voices in Africa is one of our biggest challenges. But with these videos, we're finally giving women the chance to say no to war."
Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng is Co-director of Isis-WICCE and Coordinator of its Information and Documentation Programme. The organization received a grant in 1999 from the Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women for the project titled "Documentary Film on Women's Experiences during the Armed Conflict in Uganda (1980-97)."
(Story Date: 24 November 2000)
