Between November 25 and December 10, 2022, Environmental Defenders organized a series of events to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and promote women’s rights in fishing villages in the Lake Albert region of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Training and Dialogue on Women’s Rights
Public education and outreach on gender-based violence, especially violence against women and girls, which remains widespread in local communities around Lake Albert, were at the center of the activities. Women and girls received human rights training to help them defend and advance their rights, and discussions covered women’s property rights and awareness of the rights of peasants, among other topics.
A Radio for Every Participant
Women and girls from both Uganda and the DRC, living in the Bunyoro and West Nile subregions and in Mahagi territory, attended the main gathering at Radio Terra FM. Every woman and girl who took part received a handheld radio from Environmental Defenders as part of a partnership with Radio Terra FM. The initiative aims to raise human rights awareness among women and girls in the Lake Albert region, empower them, and lift them out of information poverty, a barrier that allows disrespect for women’s and girls’ rights to persist. Participants were also invited to speak on air about the challenges they face in their villages. Read more about how radios give women in the Albertine Rift a platform for their voices.
Voices from the Main Event
The main celebration brought together the first lady of the Wagungu chiefdom in Mahagi; Ufoy Ugengo, the local government representative for Kolokoto; advocates for the rights of women and girls from Bunyoro, West Nile, and Mahagi territory; and two facilitators from Uganda and the DRC. Members of the Pachego Women Club from Pakwach district and Mahagi-based staff of SOFEPADI, a Congolese women’s rights organization, also took part.
Ufoy Ugengo thanked Environmental Defenders and Radio Terra FM for organizing the event and for their work against violations of women’s rights, and asked that the event continue beyond 2022 in the years ahead. Madam Kabibi, the first lady of Wagungu, praised the event and said it deserved a larger venue.
About the 16 Days of Activism
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that begins on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and ends on December 10, Human Rights Day. The 2022 theme, “UNiTE! Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls,” invited everyone to play a role in ending violence against women and girls, to show support and solidarity with women’s rights activists, and to resist the erosion of women’s rights.
Environmental Defenders has continued to mark the campaign in the years since. See how we celebrated the 16 Days of Activism in 2024 and read testimonies from women defenders in the Albertine region.