To amplify women’s voices and enhance their impact in resolving the current security crisis in Mali, JHR/JDH organized an interactive program broadcast live on the “Joliba TV” news channel, with the participation of Fatima MAIGA, President of the Coalition of Women Leaders from the North, South and Center; Oumou BOCOUM, Vice-Spokesperson of the Consultation Framework for Women of Political Parties; Aissata BARRY, member of the ICAP Party. The program was also broadcast online and on the channel’s 3 regional radios covering Mali’s inland localities.
In Mali, although the 2015 signing of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation resulting from the Algiers process contributed to a ceasefire between armed actors, it has not led to real and lasting peace today. “In this security crisis, what concerns women is violent extremism, which aims to transform our society and destroy democracy and the rule of law,” explained Ms. Fatima MAIGA, President of the Coalition of Women Leaders from the North, South, and Center.
Since 2020, women have participated in the Monitoring Committee of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation, which brings together the government, armed groups, and civil society. In this body, they have decision-making power. Ms. Oumou BOCOUM, Vice-Spokesperson of the Consultation Framework for Women of Political Parties, says she didn’t see any women when the Songho tragedy occurred. In Farabougou, “women are calling for soap, but I didn’t see any women who answered their call. It’s time for us women to get really involved in assisting women and children who are victims of violence and massacres on the ground, particularly in the affected areas”.
Against violent extremism, the women advocate that the current role of women is to be more courageous in mobilizing, regrouping, forming a single voice, and telling the armed groups who signed the Peace Agreement not to associate themselves with terrorist groups, giving the terrorists more chances to be more robust against Mali.
They believe that Mali’s current crisis results from an internal conflict. As solutions, the women propose discussion, dialogue, and negotiation to end the violence and massacres affecting women and children, worsening their living conditions. They recall that the Assises Nationales de la Refondation (ANR), to be held in 2021, also recommended exploring dialogue and negotiation.
This media forum is part of the implementation of phase 2 of the Project “Amplifying Women’s Voices through the Media in the Context of Transition and Reform in Mali,” executed by JHR/JDH and supported by NED in Mali.