Women’s organizations launched the League of Feminists of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Kinshasa on Wednesday, September 23, with the aim of advancing the fight for equality between men and women. The Strategic Communication and Public Information Division and the Gender Section of MONUSCO supported the launch of the organization.
Bringing together nearly one hundred participants, including representatives of civil society, UN agencies, and academia, the event, according to its organizers, marks a major milestone for the feminist movement in the DRC.
Grâce Shako, Representative of the League of Feminists of the DRC, acknowledges that the feminist struggle in Congo predates the creation of this new platform. However, she emphasizes that the initiative seeks to bring together actors already committed to the fight for equal rights for men and women.
“Our predecessors worked for the emancipation of women, for their access to education, employment, and economic empowerment […]. But we must continue to act. Because while we are talking about equality, girls are still dropping out of school today. While we are talking about empowerment, women remain deprived of resources and economic opportunities. While we are talking about protection, gender-based violence continues. And in areas affected by armed conflict, women and girls continue to suffer sexual violence and other forms of conflict-related violence,” argues Grâce Shako.
At MONUSCO’s Gender Section, the assessment is shared.
“Whether it is patriarchal sociocultural norms, gender-based violence, economic barriers, or the continued absence of women from decision-making tables, numerous obstacles continue to affect the lives of millions of Congolese women,” notes Mireille Laurier Affa’a Mindzie, Head of the Section.
To advance the fight for equality, she calls for “moving forward in solidarity.”
“The emergence of your League, and your determination to mobilize actors committed to promoting women’s rights around a shared vision and a framework for consultation, solidarity, and advocacy, respond to this need for unity,” says Mireille Laurier Affa’a Mindzie.
From conviction to action
For her, the launch of the League of Feminists is not “simply a ceremonial event”:
“It is directly at the heart of the ‘Women, Peace and Security’ agenda, based on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, whose 26th anniversary we will celebrate next month.”
Among the many priorities of her League, Grâce Shako highlights two causes—fighting femicide and promoting girls’ education—that will mobilize the new platform.
“It is time to fight. It is time to mobilize. It is time to transform,” she insists, calling for collective responses to women’s challenges.
“We chose to be a league because a league is a force. […] The League of Feminists of the DRC was not created to create a new division. It was created to build a new convergence. We want to fight injustice. We want to mobilize women, men, institutions, civil society, the media, and all forces willing to contribute to equality. We want to transform mindsets, practices, and realities,” announces the League’s Representative.
For her part, the Head of the Gender Section says that collaboration with women’s networks and feminist movements is “an essential element of our strategies for the protection of civilians, the prevention and resolution of conflicts, the promotion of human rights, and post-conflict reconstruction and stabilization.”
“At MONUSCO, we are convinced that supporting the implementation of Resolution 1325 means investing directly in peace, dignity, and the future of the DRC,” concludes Mireille Laurier Affa’a Mindzie.
The ceremony concluded with the symbolic signing of the Charter of Membership by the nine founding organizations and the adoption of an official Declaration marking the launch of the League.
