Women Advocates Discuss Peace In West Africa

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By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, 30 October 2007
A Regional forum on peace building and networking among women’s organisations in West Africa commenced in Accra yesterday with a call on women to resolve against acts that promote conflicts and wars.

"We have to make our position clear that we are not ready to contribute to acts that fuel conflicts. We must be able to point out to our men t hat we and our children are the worst affected in times of conflicts or wars and for that matter we will never be part of anything in this direction," Hajia Alima Mahama Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, said.

The Minister gave the advice when she opened a three-day forum organised by the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre in collaboration with the government of Ghana.

Some 50 representatives from women’s groups in the sub-region are attending the forum which is aimed at examining the needs and experience of women in conflict situations. It will also assess the roles women can play in peace building and post war reconstruction.

The forum will serve as a platform for the establishment of a network for women’s groups to actively participate in post-conflict management in the sub-region.

Hajia Mahama said that in societies where the views and opinions of women and children are respected there is less conflict, adding "we should take steps to make our voices heard so that when the men are going beyond bounds, we can hold them in check".

However, she said, "we should not make gender mainstreaming efforts appear as if we are fighting the men. Rather, it should be seen as a developmental issue which needs the collective effort of both men and women to promote it."

The Minister said with the acceptance of good governance as a key component of democracy, women in the sub-region should take advantage of the situation to contribute towards conflict prevention.

Ms Irene Mahama, Director of the ECOWA Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who represented the Minister said the active involvement of women in peace building and post-war reconstruction stood out as a major challenge to ECOWAS.

"Meeting this challenge will require not only the application and enforcement of the relevant international instruments but also the prioritization of gender equity and equality in the development process of the region."

Aminatta Dibba, Acting Director of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre said despite the vulnerability of women and children in conflict situations, most women have been able to support and promote peace processes in the sub-region.

She said continued dialogue, consultation and cross cultural exchanges as well as networking are vital avenues for the inculcation of peace and understanding among the people of West Africa.

In this regard, Ms Dibba said the forum will seek to put in place mechanisms to ensure the active involvement of women in peace negotiations, peace building and post-conflict reconstruction process.