For Search for Common Ground, women’s empowerment is not a women only issue. Countless studies have shown that when women are empowered they are better able to contribute to their families, communities and societies and do so with impressive consistency.
However, too often men are not included in projects and initiates designed to empower women, so the very idea of it becomes something that is threatening. Rather than present the scenario as a win-win situation, many men often feel that women’s empowerment means a loss, of power, resources, status etc. for them.
In DRC we’ve started a unique campaign that engages men as active participants in increasing respect of women and models positive male behavior. Quite often, men’s behavior and attitudes harm and undermine women, but by demonizing men or not speaking to them directly, we lose the chance to transform that behavior. The campaign is “Est-il un vrai djo?” (Is he a real man?) and we’ve spoken of the work further in a recent article for Huffington Post:
Against the odds, we at SFCG have been reaching out to men in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the subject of a recent UN report on mass rape and human rights violations, running retraining programs for the Congolese army and airing short films aimed at changing attitudes toward women and transforming expectations for male behavior. This campaign, the first of its kind, asks viewers to think critically about traditional attitudes toward women showing various scenarios in daily life and asking in Lingala, “Vrai djo?” “Is this a real man?”
Vrai Djo is the first media campaign against sexual violence that seeks to promote a positive role for men. “One often sees campaigns that denounce men’s behaviors and say what they should not do, but one never sees a campaign that motivates men to become positive, to find their inner strength, and to respect women and girls,” explains Dirk Koch, our DRC country director.
Read the rest of the article here and let us know what you think about the campaign!
Scrubbing Away Tensions in the DRC
ISTA students laugh with Congolese soldiers during the organized cleanup. (photo, Ilunga Kalala))
By Ilunga Kalala
This weekend I conducted a focus group session with students from Higher Institute of Applied Technology “Institut Supérieur de Technique Appliqué” (ISTA). Whether well deserved or not, ISTA students have a reputation for being quick to revolt when tensions boil over between them and government authority.
During our focus group, ISTA students told me that less than a decade ago the Congolese National Police suppressed a student revolt with gunfire. Bullet holes on the walls of student dorms are now painted over- a perfect analogy to the tensions that currently exist between students and the police, tensions that have likewise been painted over with rhetoric from both sides insisting the other is at fault. read more…
Positive Change in Action Contest Winners Announced!
In this winning entry from Zerene Haddad and Don Doll an Iraqi woman and her daughter, are welcomed by Sr Hala, a Syrian nun, to a Mother's Day celebration at the JRS Deir Vartan Centre in Aleppo, Syria.
SFCG’s 1001 Stories of Common Ground recently announced the winners of it’s first contest! The contest highlighted stories, images and video of positive change in action in the Middle East. The finalists for the contests will be announced soon.
Take some time to look over the various entries but don’t think the submissions end with the contest. 1001 Stories is constantly looking for submissions that highlight positive stories from the Arab world. Let’s hear yours!
We’re bringing you another story of conflict transformation through participatory theater from our international intern, Elise Webb:
The crowd watches as the actos portray scenes from their lives.
Simbi Nshimiyimana never could have imagined an afternoon of dancing and entertainment would change his life. On a hot, dry day in late August 2010, Simbi and a crowd of people in the Rubengera sector of Karongi District in Rwanda gathered in the market to watch a troupe of actors from Kigali. The music was loud and exciting, and everyone clapped and cheered as Simbi and a few of his neighbours became contestants in a dance competition.
Then the actors from Search for Common Ground’s Participatory Theatre Troupe did something different from other entertainers. They started performing scenes based on stories they had gathered from the villagers earlier that day. The scenes were strangely familiar to Simbi. He was experiencing some issues with his family in regards to inheritance and the theatre presented several scenes dealing with conflict in the family over land inheritance. read more…
A sculpture depicting reconciliation (maronites.wordpress.com)
The following is the first article in a series marking the tenth anniversary of September 11:
By Rev. Wayne Lavender
Virginia Beach, Virginia – Human history has been written in blood and tears. The terrorist attack on September 11 was simply one more act in a long running play: they kill us, we kill them. Repeat. This is the eternally-contemporary drama of human interaction since the time of Cain and Abel.
It is said that one definition for insanity is doing the same activity over and over again but each time expecting different results. However, this we know: the death and destruction caused by war creates a vicious cycle that leads to ever increasing levels of violence.
But there is another way: the path of peace with justice – where cooperation and collaboration replace competition and conflict. This has been the road less taken. But it is the road we must choose now because continuing to do what we have done in the past – complemented by technological advances in humanity’s ability to kill – will lead to toward a dark and destructive future. read more…
Jews and Muslims in America: More in Common Than We Think
Jewish and Muslim participants at an interfaith event
By Joshua M.Z. Stanton
New York, New York – Contrary to common assumptions, many Jewish and Muslim Americans enjoy warm relations. Yet we are only beginning to understand how and why this is so. A Gallup report released last week goes a long way to explaining this unexpected trend, which shows that the two diverse communities have more in common than is often thought.
The report, “Muslim Americans: Faith, Freedom, and the Future”, reveals that overwhelming numbers of Jewish Americans believe Muslim Americans are loyal to their country – 80 per cent to be exact. Aside from Muslims themselves, no other religious community demonstrates such confidence in the loyalty of America’s Muslim citizens.
Further, it seems that Jewish and Muslim Americans share a number of common political views – even about issues as contentious as the Middle East conflict. The same study indicates that 81 per cent of Muslim Americans and 78 per cent of Jewish Americans support a two-state solution, which would enable Israel and a future independent Palestinian state to live side by side. While dialogue about the Middle East conflict remains contentious, the vision for a long-term solution appears surprisingly similar. read more…
