| Campaigning against sexual and gender based violence in Uganda |
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Lee Webster, from our London office, is joining women activists, all survivors of rape, who are embarking on a four-day march from their home in the conflict-affected north to the capital Kampala to meet their politicians and say enough is enough. They’ll be joined by more than 1,000 people on the streets of Kampala, including a national pop star (Mariam Ndagire), to send a strong message to the government to end sexual and gender based violence. 26th November According to an article in today’s New Vision newspaper, a total of 12,829 sexual violence cases were reported to police in 2007. This led to only 28 convictions. 8,512 of the cases are still pending enquiry. It’s a stark reminder of the scale of the problem that the campaign is up against. We’ve driven to Gulu, in the north of Uganda, where much of CARE’s work on gender-based violence takes place. Robert, who drove us here in the CARE truck, has worked for CARE since 2000. He laughs at me when I say I’ve worked for CARE for 7 months. Grace has instructed us to be ready at 7am tomorrow – for the journey to Pader, where the official launch of the Voices Against Violence campaign will take place. 25th November The first moment I really know I’m back in Africa is when a shimmer of pink catches my eye through the plane window, and I turn to see a beautiful sunrise on the horizon. I think sleepily about warm days and sunshine, it’s been a long flight. When I get off the plane in Nairobi, it’s raining and cold. So much for sunny days! I immediately panic about my lack of waterproof clothes, my hasty scan of the internet for weather in East Africa had yielded favourable reports, and I’d brought light summery clothes. After a short wait at Nairobi airport, I’m on the plane to Entebbe, Uganda’s international airport, an hour from the capital, Kampala. As I take the final leg of the journey, I reflect on the fact that I’m arriving in Uganda on November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Violence against women is no small problem in Uganda, and it’s no coincidence I’m arriving today, I’m here to take part in CARE’s Voices Against Violence campaign with women activists in the north of the country. According to Grace Kirembe, manager of CARE’s Transforming Lives initiative in the north of Uganda, violence against women is widespread. “Most women here are survivors of violence, sadly its commonplace in northern Uganda”, she tells me. Grace and her colleague Judith have worked with local women’s organisations to organise a ‘caravan of women’ to travel around northern Uganda raising awareness of violence against women and women’s rights, and then to Kampala to present the government with a petition, demanding that the government listens to grassroots women and takes action to combat violence. I’m here to share experiences about campaigning, to collect the stories of women so we can alert the world to their struggle, and to capture the events – and I’m traveling with internationally-renowned photographer Jenny Matthews. I’m really excited to be here and feel really privileged to take part in the women of Uganda’s campaign. But I feel the weight of responsibility of my trip. The women are not campaigning about something distant or abstract. They are campaigning about rape, which has happened to them, and continues to threaten their lives. Who am I to worry about staying dry, when they have to worry about staying alive?
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