Women for Peace Forum

This group responds quickly to conflict escalation in the Isiolo district, either through community liaison or non-violent direct action. It also advocates for the role of women in community peace-building.

Description

The Women for Peace Forum was formed in 1999 at Maisha Bora village, Isiolo District, by women who saw beyond their clans and tribes to provide a platform for discussions and action on matters of peacebuilding and conflict transformation. The Forum fosters unity among women and provides a sense of relief and a genuine sharing of grief and experiences.

The Forum was created in November 1999, when a small group of 7 women were galvanised into action when one of their pregnant colleagues was ripped open by marauding bandits, killing her and her unborn child. Six other children were also killed during the raid.

The 7 women reported the incident to the District Commissioner of Isiolo who called an urgent security meeting to address this incident and the issue of deteriorating security in the district. This meeting came up with peace committees with representatives from the local to the district level.

In the course of time women realised that the committees were dominated by men and that their opinions were not always given much weight. The 7 women therefore sensitised their women folk to foster sisterhood among themselves and to demand equal representation in peace discussions. And being aware of the need to change the awakened emotions decisively into energy that would maintain the tempo of activism and solidarity among themselves, they created the Women for Peace Forum.

Aims / Objectives

The aim of the Women for Peace Forum is to foster women's activism in putting forward their vision and proposal for peace. This is because most of the communities in Isiolo are very conservative, and women realised that only through relentless agitation would men be compelled to recognise them as equal partners.

How it is Articulated

Whenever a conflict erupts at a certain place, the Forum members in the location meet to consult each other on the best cause of action. If it is possible for them to manage it at the village level, fine, but if not, they approach their colleagues at either the divisional or the district level.

One time, a conflict erupted and degenerated into violence, and, despite concerted efforts to stop it, escalated, threatening to engulf the whole district. The Forum members met and decided to go out into the wild by themselves to dissuade the combatants to lay down their arms. They formed a wall, and, moving fearlessly like a regiment on the march, approached the fighters, daring them to shoot them. The men were so cowed by the women that they meekly put down their weapons and walked away, thereby ending the conflict.

To enable them to handle their work more professionally, the Forum organises training workshops for its members that combine peacebuilding, conflict resolution and how to work for the betterment of society as private citizens.

Achievements / Learning points

• Women are now more united than ever before and through their relentless efforts, the government is now more attentive to their demands. For instance, after last year’s drought, there was the imminent danger of conflicts erupting everywhere because of the limited water resources and livestock rustling. The Forum discussed this with the Government and it agreed to dig 16 wells for them and to restock their depleted livestock.
• People are now more stimulated to commit themselves to working for peace. An exemplary case is the rehabilitation of Mr. L, a former bandit. Mr. L is now the chairman of Etamun (Let us remember one another), an initiative formed in 2004 by the Forum to rehabilitate ex-combatants. For their living, Etamun members are involved in crop and livestock farming and in beekeeping. They assist the Forum to reach out to bandits in the bush.
• But the work of the Forum is not without danger. Often, there are threats directed at its leaders by renegade men who feel ‘women are now growing horns’- becoming too stubborn for them to handle.
• The Forum members have learnt a lot: As they say, if you give a woman something for the family, it will reach home, but you can never be sure of the same if you give it to a man. Organisations empowering women should thus be given more support. Similarly, educating a girl is educating society, and so the education of girls should likewise be given more weight.

Geographical Area of Operation

Isiolo District, Kenya.

Funding Resources

• Oxfam GB

Organisations Involved

• Oxfam GB
• Government of Kenya

Stories

THE HEAD OF STATE COMMENDS MS. E

The 12th of December 2005 looked an ordinary Jamhuri (independence) Day to Ms. E, from Camp Garba, Isiolo District, just as it had always been. She just went about her business and even forgot there were any celebrations in town.

The following day, however, she was speechless when she found her name in the papers as one of the outstanding Kenyans earmarked to receive the ‘Head of State Commendation’ for her fearlessness in recovering rustled livestock. It was then that she recalled the events of her recent dare-devil recovery of stolen cattle (Rustling of cattle is a major cause of conflict among nomadic pastoralists in the northern Kenya).

It was about 2.00am when Ms. E, her husband and her father were awoken by a knock at the door in Kisima, about 4km from Isiolo town in 2004. A local businessman had come to report to them theft of his 4 heads of cattle.

Ms. E accompanied by her husband and the village leader reported the matter at the administration police (AP) camp. They were given two security officers with whom they went looking for the stolen animals. And after searching for some time, they spotted an enclosure with a smouldering fire at a distance. They crawled on their bellies until they were close enough to the fire.

Taking care, they entered the camp but found nobody. The rustlers might have heard them come and fled. On searching further, they found a camouflaged boma (cowshed) within the camp with all the stolen animals. They took them out and drove them to her home.

In the morning she took the animals to the AP camp. She then went and told the businessman who had come knocking at night to go and take his animals there. Others whose animals had been stolen were also notified of the same.

As news of the recovery spread, people poured to her home to congratulate her. To Ms. E, however, it was business as usual, until her bravery and sense of service to her people came to the ears of the Government.