Women as peacemakers: one of Congo's untapped resources

(Vatican Radio) The Democratic Republic of Congo’s vast wealth of natural resources lies at the heart of the conflict raging in the east of the country but these riches should become a means of collaboration between Congo and its neighbours. That’s what Congolese parliamentarian Eve Bazaiba Masudi told Vatican Radio’s Tracey McClure in an interview this week.

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“The rebels come to exploit our natural riches: gold, diamonds and cobalt” Bazaida says, putting the blame mostly on Congo’s neighbouring countries. Cobalt is a strategic metal used in many diverse industrial and military applications including aereonautics and the computer and chemical industries. Congo possesses 80 percent of the world's cobalt reserves.

The Congolese MP and chair of the Socio-Cultural Commission indicates arms trafficking and sexual violence against women have worsened the situation for people across the country.

“Now we have to change (our) strategy of action,” she affirms, to fight “against the many causes of these troubles, this situation.” She blames illegal trafficking of Congo’s natural resources and “bad governance in our country” for making matters worse. And, she says women should be part of the solution to the country’s woes.

“That’s why we say that women must be in the place of making decisions to change how to lead a country in taking (up) the challenge of peace, the challenge of development in our country.”

Bazaida leads an association called “Congolese Women for Election” which brings together women of different political parties from the majority, opposition and from independent voters “to enhance women’s leadership roles and political leadership.”

Women in Congo represent 52% of the population she says, pointing out that only 8% of the Senate’s 108 seats are held by women and 12% in the Chamber of Representatives. “All the time, women are (excluded) from decision making. That’s why thing have got to change.”

Recent legislation on gender and equality, she hopes, will give women more of a political voice, particularly in local elections.

More than fifty years after obtaining independence, she says, Congo remains a poor country despite its wealth of natural resources “and everything one needs to live well.”

The women’s association, she explains, has more than one thousand members from across Congo’s eleven regions. “But we need support because it is the first time that women of different political opinion work together and fight against violence together.” The association has launched campaigns against fighting and violence against women.

Bazaida argues that though women should be a greater part of the political landscape, it doesn’t mean they’re prepared to accept a carte-blanche approach to peace talks with rebels.

“Women are not agreed about this peace process,” she says, firstly “because women are not allowed to go to the peace negotiations.” Secondly, she rejects peace deals in which the rebels are brought to the negotiating table and then offered political power as a matter of course.

“How can we imagine (giving political power) to those who rape women, those who kill people? You give them the power now to lead a country? They can’t!”

Self interest and power, she argues, are exactly what the rebels are seeking. Women have a different agenda Bazaida says. “We are the peacemakers. But when you are a peacemaker it doesn’t mean that every time a rebel comes you must go to the negotiations with the rebel to give them power.”

Bazaida demands an end to the conflict in her country, calling on multinational mobile phone, computer and other technology companies to contribute to finding a solution to war.

“They need the natural resources of Congo but they don’t need to have (these) with war! They can come and invest in our country so we will work together with these different (companies). It’s the same with our neighbours like Rwanda, Uganda and the others because we have nine neighbours,” she says.

“They don’t need war to have our resources. They need to work together with us about development in the Great Lakes region.” She also points to the need for international cooperation to preserve Congo’s rich biodiversity from climate change.

“This is the challenge we have now as women,” Bazaida says, appealing to women the world over “to help Congolese women to be able to (reach) this goal of peace and development in our country…because we are sure that if we have peace in Congo, everything will go well.”