Women IDPs in Darfur. |
NYALA, 19 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - Well-known Sudanese singers and
actors have an important role to play in teaching internally displaced persons
(IDPs) in the western Sudanese region of Darfur about the harmful consequences
of gender-based violence (GBV), aid workers say.
"As a poet, music
composer and singer, I profoundly know influence of arts upon human beings and
that human life is not sustained by bread alone," said Abdel Karim el Kabli, an
internationally renowned Sudanese singer, after a recent concert in Otash IDP
camp near Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.
Kabli, along with singers
Samira Dunia and Abdel Gadir Salim, entertained thousands of IDPs as part of the
16 Days of Activism for Violence Against Women campaign, which linked 25
November, the International Day Against Violence Against Women and 10 December,
International Human Rights Day.
Thousands of IDPs living in Otash and
surrounding areas gathered to listen to Kabli as he sang, "Please do not cry but
tell all mothers in the neighbourhood that my passing away was due to the ugly,
primitive and dangerous circumcision. Tell all the women the real causes of
fistula; also that my death was due to my early marriage and child pregnancy and
I could not tolerate the pains of delivery."
Kabli’s lyrics speak for
thousands of women and girls in Sudan who are victims of gender-based violence,
which is often perpetrated in the name of custom or tradition.
Between
each song, members of the Tarab comedy group, which frequently appears on
Sudanese television, took to the stage and performed comedic skits about
GBV.
"These issues are very difficult to discuss in Sudan, so we thought
it best to address them in a way that would make the people laugh but also make
them think," explained Izeldin Ahmed Omda, an actor from Tarab.
In one of
the skits, a man sat at home all day while his wife worked long hours selling
tea to pay the bills. When she was late returning home from work one night, her
husband beat her for her tardiness.
"We made the man appear silly for
treating the woman this way and then asked, Why are you beating this woman when
you will not get up and work yourself? The woman does this work for you," Omda
said.
The performances, which were supported by the UN Population Fund
(UNFPA), are part of a GBV prevention and treatment initiative in Darfur. They
were organised not only to educate Sudanese about these issues, but also to give
the IDPs a chance to enjoy themselves.
"[A] distinctive aspect of life of
refugees and displaced persons is [the] lack of access to cultural activities
such as music, dance, poetry and drama. That contributes to their sense of
isolation from the rest of society," said Pamela Delargy, chief of humanitarian
response for UNFPA in Sudan.
"Bringing some of Sudan's most renowned
artists and musicians to the camp itself is a message that the displaced in
Darfur are not forgotten in their own society and the recognition that music and
art is a very important part of life," she said.
Delargy added that
greater effort needed to be made to protect women and girls living in IDP
camps.
"Women and girls in conflict situations all over the world face
problems of GBV. It comes as a direct result of war but also because during
displacement ... support systems of community and protection are lost," she
said.
During group discussions organised by the UN Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) in May, women and girls said that sexual violence and abuse is a
serious concern in Darfur. Most sexual assaults occurred outside the camps,
usually while the women and girls were collecting grass or
firewood.
These disclosures followed a report in March by the
international NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which has provided emergency
aid and healthcare in Sudan for more than 20 years. The organisation reported
that between October 2004 and mid-February 2005, MSF doctors in numerous
locations in South and West Darfur treated almost 500 women and girls who had
been raped.
Almost one-third of the victims had been raped more than
once by a single or multiple perpetrators, and 81 percent reported being
attacked by armed militia. MSF believed that these statistics reflected only a
fraction of the total number of victims because many women and girls were
reluctant to report the crime or seek treatment.
The Sudanese government
refuted the findings.
UNFPA is currently helping authorities establish
procedures that will ensure protection and confidentiality for victims of GBV.
It is also working with the UN mission in Sudan and the Sudanese government to
provide timely treatment for rape victims.
Future projects include
training security, police and peacekeeping troops on GBV issues so that they can
adequately protect women and girls; informing medical personnel on how to deal
appropriately with victims of physical and sexual violence; and providing
victims with psychological support.
According to Delargy, it is important
that communities work together to promote the message that this kind of violence
is no longer acceptable in Sudanese culture. All members of communities - most
importantly the perpetrators - must be educated about the harmful consequences
of GBV.
"Some of the skits and songs [in the concert in Otash camp]
discussed GBV, and at first it appeared to be a surprise to some of the people
to have a concert in the middle of this camp based on GBV. But in the end the
women listened carefully, and even more importantly the men listened carefully,"
Delargy
said.