Women ex-combatants seek inclusion in peacekeeping missions

Old soldiers never die, they just fade away, as the saying goes. Yet for Capt Apophia Batamuliza, a retired former Rwandan woman soldier, that is not an option. Batamuliza was only 24 in 1990, when she joined a group of men to launch a four-year guerrilla war to oust a regime that had denied them a right to stay in their home country. She was born and raised in a refugee camp in Uganda. She grew up wondering about life in Rwanda, her home country. She longed to live in a country where she belonged, not in a refugee camp. So, Batamuliza joined the then rebel Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) of Paul Kagame (current Rwandan president) to contribute to the efforts of removing a government using ethnic discrimination against her. The Hutu and Tutsi division eventually led to Africa's first genocide in 1994. In 1994, the war ended with much destruction and death. The Rwandan government estimates that 937,000 people, mostly Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus, were killed during the genocide that took place between April and July 1994. Further, the memories of the horrible events during the 100 days of killings that swept across Rwanda, coupled with the four-year civil war itself, continue to linger in Batamuliza's mind. "Being a soldier, and most times at the frontline, means I came across lots of horrible experiences," she told IRIN recently. "But the main thing I learnt was that women and children were worst affected by war." Hundreds of Rwandan women voluntarily took up arms alongside men to for their country's liberation during the RPF's four-year struggle. After military service After the genocide, when the RPF had taken over the government, Batamuliza opted to leave the army. She retired and, together with a group of fellow former combatants, formed the Ndabaga Association - whose members would be female former combatants. Upon retirement or demobilisation, a member of the Rwandan Defence Force is entitled to the local currency equivalent of US $90. In addition, all former army soldiers, including those of the former army associated with the genocide, the Forces armees rwandaises, known as ex-FAR, are given "recognition of service allowances" whose value varies with rank. Thus an army private receives the equivalent of $180, whereas a colonel gets $820. The money is paid in cash in two instalments, the first within three months of discharge. Moreover, the country's Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission gives each ex-combatant a reintegration grant of $180 six months after demobilisation, provided that the candidate presents a viable project to begin a new life. Ndabaga was established in 2001, making it the first association of female ex-combatants in the Great Lakes Region. Its membership comprises female ex-combatants from all 12 of Rwanda's provinces and from both sides of the conflict. The demobilisation commission estimates that the figure of female ex-combatants could be slightly above 450, but it keeps changing as more women return home from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Role in regional peacekeeping Although the Ndabaga Association seeks, on the whole, to promote the interests for this vulnerable group, it has recently come up with an ambitious agenda - that of seeking a greater role in regional peacekeeping missions in Africa. Rwanda Defence officials say they could help the Ndabaga members in the capacity of an NGO going out to help with humanitarian work. "We would help them with ideas and if there's need to help them advance this initiative, we would be willing to help," Lt-Col Charles Karamba, the director of research and development in the Rwandan Defence Forces, told IRIN on Wednesday. In reference to the recent Rwandan government's initiative to support regional peacekeeping missions by sending troops to help protect African Union (AU) ceasefire monitors in Sudan's Darfur region, the female ex-combatants are seeking inclusion in such missions because of their experience in warfare. Batamuliza, who heads the 433-member Ndabaga Association, is concerned with the impact of conflict on women and children and what can be done to help these people after conflict. "It's women, children and babies who stay behind in wars and not men," she said. "They face a lot of problems, most of which men cannot handle. We were in a similar situation facing similar problems and so we have the experience." Batamuliza said if female ex-combatants took part in regional peacekeeping missions, they would alert the world of any abuses committed against women and children, and particularly lobby for more humanitarian aid for the victims of war. She added that in the case of African conflicts, a lot of women face similar problems and would be comfortable telling their stories to fellow women. In 1993, when the RPF signed a ceasefire agreement with the former government, Batamuliza was removed from the frontline and put in charge of social affairs. It was during this period that she came face-to-face with the suffering of the civilian population in times of war. "I was forced to look after a four-month old baby who had been left behind by a fleeing mother - look after many patients, mainly children and women, with hardly adequate resources," she said. Batamuliza added that women would feel more comfortable sharing their problems with fellow women and so female ex-combatants like her, drawing from their experience, could bring a "sense of hope" to these vulnerable groups. Rwanda's minister for gender and family promotion, Valerie Nyirahabineza, shares Batamuliza's views on the role of female ex-combatants in peacekeeping missions. Peace missions should have a big representation of women to handle the special needs of women suffering the consequences of war, Nyirahabineza was quoted as saying. Nyirahabineza mentioned the AU's Sudan mission as an example of where Rwandan women ex-combatants should have been included. Lobbying Batamuliza said Ndabaga would approach the country's Demobilisation Commission and donor partners to help advance their initiative of becoming part of regional peacekeeping initiatives. However, Ndabaga's idea is still in an infancy stage because an officer in the Rwanda Defence Forces peacekeeping operations office told IRIN that the female ex-combatants’ idea had not yet been discussed in any government army forum. At a meeting organised in Kigali recently by the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Canadian International Development Agency to discuss the challenges faced by female ex-combatants reintegrating into society, Rwandan female ex-combatants spoke strongly of the need to include them in peacekeeping missions. The UNIFEM meeting also discussed the role female ex-combatants play as peace builders in their communities. Batamuliza told IRIN that her group was preparing a document lobbying for the inclusion of female ex-combatants in peacekeeping missions. The document would be handed over to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, she said. The UNIFEM meeting was organised in recognition of the fact that female ex-combatants, despite the essential roles they play in post-conflict disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) processes, are frequently excluded. Because of the focus on men, the needs of women ex-combatants are often inadequately addressed in the demobilisation phases, resulting in often-untenable situations of deteriorating health and poverty. Batamuliza said members of the Ndabaga Association were committed to Rwanda's national reconstruction and reconciliation process. Many are already active leaders in grassroots organisations such as the traditional Gacaca justice system and community policing. However, the female ex-combatants still face numerous obstacles that have hampered their full integration into their respective communities. Batamuliza said her members lack access to basic housing, health care and education. They continue to face stigma and discrimination from the rest of the community. For the female ex-combatants who have recently been repatriated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they arrive with many orphans to care for, yet most of them lack the resources or access to resources such as land, shelter and education. All these issues reflect the difficulties female ex-combatants face in re-assimilating into society. They are often deprived of opportunities to obtain formal employment and create sustainable livelihoods. The women also say the HIV/AIDS scourge is a serious concern. They would like greater access to testing and treatment. However, having formed the Ndabaga Association, Rwanda's female ex-combatants feel they now have a forum to voice their concerns, coordinate among themselves and share their problems with the rest of the world. Depending on which province each hails from and the particular needs and resources in that province, Ndabaga Association members have began incoming-generating projects, which they hope would be funded by well-wishers.