16 Days of Activism: Cultural group marks annual campaign with dance and drama
Dancers from nine ethnic groups have come together to present a ballet aimed at countering the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence in east Congo.
Assistant High Commissioner Janet Lim meets women in the vocational training centre in Uvira. © UNHCR/S.Kpandji
GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, November 29 (UNHCR) - In the heart of Africa, dancers from nine ethnic groups have come together to present a ballet aimed at countering the alarmingly high prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence in the eastern Congo.
The inter-cultural dance troupe gave a colourful and energetic performance last week in Goma, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) North Kivu province, to mark the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign.
Conflict in the province has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in recent years, while women and girls are particularly vulnerable to rape and other abuses under the current volatile conditions.
UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations Janet Lim, who attended the special ceremony in Goma, said the refugee agency was “deeply concerned” about the high incidence of sexual violence in the DRC, especially in the east. At least 12,000 women and girls are believed to have been raped so far this year in eastern DRC.
“UNHCR is pursuing its efforts to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Lim later told women at a vocational training centre in the town of Uvira in South Kivu province. “I hear you and I know that you are facing enormous problems. UNHCR will continue to do its best to support you,” she added.
Lim was among the audience of UNHCR staff and their families, provincial and local authorities, donors, humanitarian aid workers and members of other UN agencies mesmerized and inspired by the North Kivu Intercultural Ballet Troupe.
The Goma-based group was founded in 2002 and is composed of more than 70 dancers and musicians - male and female - from nine ethnic groups in North Kivu, where ethnic differences have been behind much of the conflict.
“The ballet was created, in the context of the war, to bring together the different traditional groups in North Kivu province to perform as one,” said the troupe’s leader, Ibrahim Kubuya. “We use traditional dance and theatre to deliver key messages for peace and reconciliation.”
To mark the 16 Days of Activism, they performed a sketch showing young males campaigning against sexual violence in North Kivu and a second piece on gender-based violence linked to a land dispute. The dancers, who have toured Rwanda, Uganda and South Korea in the past, plan to perform again in Goma to show their support for the annual international campaign.
“Through drama, awareness messages about the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence are quickly passed on to the audience while images make it easier to memorize a message,” said Lorenza Trulli, UNHCR’s sexual and gender-based violence coordinator in Goma. “This technique can be adapted to every audience - the elderly, adults and children.”
The refugee agency is organizing activities to mark the 16 Days of Activism in towns across the country, including Bukavu and Uvira in South Kivu province, which Lim visited after her trip to Goma and UNHCR operations in North Kivu.
In Uvira, the Assistant High Commissioner toured a vocational training centre for women, many of whom were victims of sexual and gender-based violence. “We face violence in our daily lives,” said one of those she met at the Women for Women International centre, adding that they were now more aware that their rights were being abused.
UNHCR works to reduce sexual and gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo through prevention activities, training, capacity building of women with specific needs, and awareness campaigns using drama, radio and mobile cinema. UNHCR also believes efforts to counter impunity are a crucial aspect in eradicating sexual violence in the region.
“Since the beginning of 2010, UNHCR and its implementing partners in South Kivu have provided 80 victims with access to justice through legal support and counselling,” noted Mohamed Boukry, UNHCR’s regional representative. He said UNHCR also supported the use of mobile courts.
Meanwhile, the refugee agency has reached out to more than 90,000 people in the Kivu provinces, including hundreds of soldiers, to educate them about the causes and consequences of sexual violence, highlighting the strong impact on individuals, families and communities.
By Celine Schmitt in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Related news and stories
Across borders, South Sudan’s displaced call for peace
UNHCR concerned by conflict’s toll on hundreds of thousands displaced in eastern DR Congo
As security worsens in DR Congo, UNHCR and partners seek US$605 million to assist Congolese refugees across Africa
A refugee baker from Congo builds his business in Burundi
Escalating violence leaves hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands on the move in eastern DRC
Football brings refugees and host community together in Angola
Your search for « 16 days of activism » matched 212 results. Displaying page 1 of 24 pages.
-
16 Days of Activism: Cultural group marks annual campaign with dance and drama
29 Nov 2010 ... and energetic performance last week in Goma, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) North Kivu province, to mark the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign. ...... -
16 Days of Activism: UNHCR vows to work for the end of child marriage
25 Nov 2014 ... His remarks came in a short ceremony in Geneva to mark the annual 16 Days of Activism against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, where he said it was UNHCR's duty to counter child marriage. For this ...... -
16 Days of Activism: UNHCR renews commitment to help forcibly displaced women
25 Nov 2010 ... "Clearly, many challenges remain," Guterres said in a special message to staff to mark the start of the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, an international campaign originating from ...... -
16 Days of Activism: Colombia's Butterflies take wing to spread message
9 Dec 2014 ... with the current annual 16 Days of Activism against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, which ends on Wednesday, The two groups met in the town of Lago Agrio in the border province of Sucumbios. ...... -
16 Days of Activism: Mama Hawa's fight against sexual violence
10 Dec 2012 ... The gathering also marked the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. The Mogadishu-based SSWC has been working with "Mama" Hawa's Galkayo Education Centre for Peace and Development ...... -
16 Days of Activism: South African border shelter helps young Zimbabwean women
1 Dec 2008 ... ... The UN refugee agency is firmly committed to the struggle against SGBV, UNHCR offices around the world are supporting the annual 16 Days of Activism to Eliminate Violence Against Women, which began on ...... -
16 Days of Activism: a multiple rape victim faces uncertain future
10 Dec 2012 ... The current 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (November 25-December 10) focuses our minds at UNHCR on the human rights abuses against forcibly displaced women in places like the Democratic ...... -
16 Days of Activism: Fathers urged to act as role models in Montenegro
4 Dec 2008 ... The Montenegrin initiative was launched by the UN refugee agency and partners to coincide with the annual 16 Days of Activism to Eliminate Violence Against Women, an international campaign originating ...... -
16 Days of Activism: Afghan girl embraces new beginning after escaping forced marriage
5 Dec 2014 ... The refugee agency takes the issue very seriously and has adopted the eradication of child marriage as its theme for this year's 16 Days of Activism against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, which ......