Women hold the key to peace

Sweet songs from women’s throats encourage men to fight wars. If women changed their lyrics peace would prevail, activist Nuria Gollo hopes

By Morten Bonde Pedersen

22. november 2007

Nuria Gollo is literally a child of the multi-ethnic environment in Marsabit, Northern Kenya. Being half Gabbra half Borana she belongs to both of the two local communities who have for the past years been fighting each other fiercely in this remote Northern district.

Hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between the two tribe. Today, fear of conflicts have made investors pull out leaving the town underdeveloped to a degree where hundreds of yellow jerry cans are lined up from the early morning in front of the town’s central water post.

Just as Nuria Gollo herself is a result of coexistence between the Gabbra and Borana communties she now works through MS Kenya partner organization MWADO (Marsabit Women Advocacy and Development Organisation) to make people coexist across fronts of hatred and hostility.

in the activities of MWADO on a more or less voluntary basis. Apart from Gabbras and Boranas, they are Rendilles and Burgis. All of them are victims of conflicts in one way or another; some are displaced, others have lost husband or children in clashes.

Supported by MWADO they go to the communities, tell their stories and spread the message of peace.

“When we go to campaign we always make sure that we send women from the different sides of the conflict,” says Nuria Gollo.

She finds that women hold the key to peace in pastoralist communities where warrior traditions are still alive and strong.

“In the culture of pastoralist tribes around here, men are heroes if they fight and raid livestock. It is allowed in our culture, and women praise them through songs when they bring back livestock. These moving songs excite the men to go and steal more livestock. In this way women are the instigators of war,” she explains.

The rationale of targeting women is that if women instigate men to go to battle, they should also be equally able to convince their men not to fight.

One of the most convincing points that the campaigners of MWADO use is to remind the local women of their own vulnerability.

“We tell again that they themselves will fall victims if they rouse their men to go to war. If a father dies, the whole household will suffer; the women and the children. So if they would change their mindset and not consider men who go to war to be heroes, a lot would be done,” Nuria Gollo tells as she talks to partnernews in the small office of MWADO in the middle of Marsabit town.

Although campaigners from MWADO are being welcomed in most communities in the area regardsless of tribal belonging, Nuria Gollo concedes to the fact that a change of attitude towards fighting will not come overnight among pastoralist societies where cultures and traditions stand very strong.

However she has no doubt, that campaigns will affect the local women:

“I agree that we have to address the women repeatedly to change attitudes. But we have seen differences being made. To mention an example we did a campaign over one month in June and July, and since then there has not been any fighting in Marsabit. You will even find that the Gabbras and Boranas who have been fighting each other fiercely are now greeting each other and even talking here in Marsabit. Everybody is tired of war.”