Despite the sixteen years that have passed since the end the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the deep wounds across the country remain all too visible. Avega Agahozo, a non-profit association of genocide widows, demonstrates how this slow process of recovery is directly linked to the wounds thousands of Rwandan women continue to suffer from in complete silence.
Throughout the killings, genocidaires used sexual violence as a war tactic to humiliate and degrade the women. Some were gang-raped, and others were violated with sharp objects. These same women were then forced to witness the killing of a relative. A recent study by the Assistance Fund for Genocide Survivors found that between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped in the 100 days of violence that left 800,000 to 1 million Hutus and Tutsis dead. There are approximately 10 times more widow survivors than widowers as genocidaires often targeted men and boys.
The serious impact of this war tactic is still very apparent today. One recent study of women in Rwanda’s twelve provinces found that in a sample of 1,125 genocide widows, nearly 80 percent had suffered some form of trauma and 67% now had HIV. It is also estimated that up to 20,000 children were born from the rapes which explains the thousands of homeless orphans on the streets, and the tens of thousands of survivors that remain vulnerable to this day. In addition, women have not found justice in their traditional gacaca courts which human rights organizations have accused of not providing adequate legal services and of blatant unfairness in their rulings.
Unfortunately, the continued suffering is not solely due to flaws in the judicial or medical systems. Many women are actually unwilling to step forward because they were ashamed or too traumatized to talk about it. Other women are only speaking out now because they were previously too sick to take action. Avega reports that even now, they are receiving cases of damaged sexual organs that are directly linked to the sexual acts of violence committed sixteen years earlier.
The non-profit Avega Agahozo, working hard sixteen years after the fact, shows that one cannot underestimate the time it takes for post-conflict zones to heal – especially when women of the community have suffered debilitating psychological and physical wounds. More importantly, they provide concrete examples of what can and should be done for women in Rwanda as well as other post-conflict zones. Founded in 1995 by 58 widows, the association now has three branches and 25,000 members. Every day, 20 to 30 women knock on people’s doors to seek the women who have not yet spoken out or sought help. At the moment, around 47,400 women are receiving medical treatment through its programs. The organization has also built over 900 houses for widows and orphans, and encouraged the women to engage in income-generating activities such as basket-weaving. They also trained 419 trainers who then train volunteers to teach women in local villages how to testify in court.
The activities of Avega remind us that we cannot put aside past conflicts simply because violence has officially ended. The most vulnerable of the population, especially women and children, will continue to fight their own silent battle in the years that follow – battles that can hold back an entire community or nation from recovering and developing once again.
For the full story on non-profit Avega Agahozo’s work, read the full article at the following link: http://allafrica.com/stories/201002110854.html
