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Godeliève Mukasarasi (Rwanda)

Godeliève Mukasarasi (Rwanda), Laureate

Godeliève Mukasarasi Rights & Democracy is honoured to present Rwandan human rights activist Godeliève Mukasarasi with the 2004 John Humphrey Freedom Award.

A survivor of the 1994 genocide, Ms. Mukasarasi has gone on to make an invaluable contribution to the promotion of human rights and democratic development in Rwanda as the founder of SEVOTA , a support group for the widows and orphans of the April 19, 1994, massacre of Tutsi in the town of Taba, and as a social worker with the Women's Network for Rural Development.

“Through her courage, her enthusiasm and her unwavering commitment, she has succeeded in gaining the trust of victims of rape and sexual violence, particularly women who contracted HIV-AIDS, as well as in breaking the silence and in helping these women obtain justice,” said Kathleen Mahoney, Chairperson of Rights & Democracy's Board of Directors.

Rights & Democracy presents the John Humphrey Freedom Award each year to an organization or individual from any country or region of the world, including Canada, for exceptional achievement in the promotion of human rights and democratic development. It is named in honour of John Peters Humphrey, the Canadian human rights law professor who prepared the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Award consists of a grant of $25,000 as well as a speaking tour of Canadian cities to help increase awareness of the recipient's human rights work.

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Biography for Godeliève Mukasarasi

Born in Gitarama in 1956, widow and mother of four children, Godeliève Mukasarasi has worked in rural development for over 25 years as a social worker.

At the end of the 1994 war and genocide in Rwanda, she founded SEVOTA, a support group for widows and orphans to promote their socio-economic rights. SEVOTA, located in Taba, brings together 80 associations with 2,000 members working in all local administrative units and reception centres for genocide survivors and victims of violence and other traumas.

To help them regain their strength and rebuild their lives, she worked toward the creation of safe spaces for dialogue so that women could talk about their pain. The fruit of her labour was the women's peace network (URUNANA), which promotes self-healing, human dignity, mutual support and solidarity, among 230 women survivors of violence and rape, both Tutsi and Hutu, as a means to overcome their problems. Some of these women also have children born of rape, and most of these women are HIV positive.

She also prioritized recreational, sports and counselling facilities for children in distress. In October 1996, she was awarded the Prize for Women's Creativity in Rural Life from the Women's World Summit Foundation in Geneva.

In December 1996, Ms Mukasarasi was devastated by the brutal deaths of her husband and daughter who, along with nine others, were killed by armed bands. Her exceptional courage in times of great difficulty, however, has kept her from losing hope as she continues to fight for the rights of poor and vulnerable women.

Working alongside women victims of violence and other women human rights activists, she influenced Rwanda's organic law on genocide and crimes against humanity, especially the sections on rape which were given the same status as Class 1 crimes. Renowned for her work on sexual equality, rights and the fight against all forms of violence, she is currently conducting research on gender-related issues.

A member of the coalition against violence, she has encouraged women to provide testimonials through the media, in order effect change throughout the community, as well as before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to further the fight against impunity.

An active member of the Women's Network for Rural Development, she received the Nzambazamariya Vénéranda Award, a national prize for members promoting a positive image for women named after the laureate of the Millennium Peace Prize for Women. Every year, Ms Mukasarasi also participates in organizing a special prize for Rwandan women working in rural areas which is awarded on October 15, International Rural Women's Day.

Ms Mukasarasi's commitment to rights, peace, sexual equality and development in her country is also pursued in her work as a member and a paralegal of the Haguruka Association (women and children's rights), as a member of the Administrative Committee of the Collectif Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe, of SWAA Rwanda Ihumure and as the officer responsible for training strategies of the Women's Network.

Women and Rwanda's Genocide: What Goes Unsaid

The victims of the Rwandan genocide did not all die during the 100 days in which most of the killings took place. Ten years after the massacre of an estimated 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu, the genocide continues to take lives. Slowly, painfully and yet almost invisibly, thousands of Rwandan women are succumbing to HIV / AIDS acquired through rape.

Genocide, rape, and HIV infection have condemned these women to certain death. We call them "survivors," when in fact their deaths are merely delayed. As we remember the Rwandan genocide this year, it only seems appropriate that we acknowledge those who lived, if only to die another day.

Genocide, Rape, and AIDS

On January 29, 1996, a UN report revealed the extent of the sexual violence committed during the genocide, stating that rape was used systematically as a weapon of war, that it was the rule, and that its absence was the exception and that between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped. The report also stated that "…the militiamen carrying (HIV) used it as a "weapon," thus intending to cause delayed death."

Later studies focussing exclusively on violence against women shed further light on the nature, extent, consequences, and perpetrators of rape and other physical atrocities suffered by women. While admitting that it is difficult to prove with certainty that HIV was transmitted through rape, an Human Rights Watch / Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme report states that: "Nonetheless, it is certain that some women were infected with the virus as a result of being raped." On the basis of testimony by victims such as Jeanne, who was raped by a man who clearly told her "I have AIDS and want to give it to you," Radhika Coomaraswamy, the former Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, maintains that "many women like Jeanne have survived the genocide but are infected with AIDS."

The devastation caused by AIDS among rape victims suggests that rape was used to transmit the disease. A study published in December, 1999, by AVEGA-AGAHOZO reports that 66.7 per cent of the victims of physical violence and rape were HIV-positive.

Lessons to Be Learned

Tutsi women were stereotyped and stigmatized based on their gender. The widely-read Kangura tabloid abusively ascribed sexual prowess to them, and characterized Tutsi women as a threat to the homogeneity of Hutu descent. Described as objects of temptation for Hutu men, Tutsi women were used as the prelude to a call for Hutu ethnic unity.

This kind of sexual fixation lays the foundation for ethnic hatred based on an idea of the feminine reduced to purely sexual connotations. When analyzed from the perspective of the Rwandan imagination, this raises two mutually conflictive issues.

The first of these issues is the non-tacit recognition that women have the exceptional power to give birth. The second issue stems from the term Nyampinga, which refers to women as citizens devoid of ethnic identity. Rwanda being a patriarchal society, lineage descends from men.

The fundamental issue that must be clarified lies in the contradictions inherent to Nyampinga. If women had no ethnicity, they would not have been so hated. How do you explain the fear of seeing Hutu men marrying Tutsi women? How do you explain that Hutu women who married Tutsi men were described as traitors to the Hutu cause and raped under the guise of political reprisal? The problem is not in belonging to a specific ethnic group but rather in the use of this belonging for discriminatory purposes.

The profanation of femininity that occurred during the genocide in Rwanda took the form of sexual violence and a previously unseen degree of brutality bent on destroying women's sexual organs. The two conflictive issues mentioned above are reflected in this profanation: negation of women and fear of their power. Moreover, while the gender and sexuality-based hate propaganda used against women degrades them to the level of sexual objects, it also reveals the extent to which the unique power of women to give life defines Rwanda as a nation.

The issue of HIV/AIDS must also be analyzed through consideration of this same perspective and strategy: that of first destroying women and thereby annihilating all possible offspring. In the minds of those responsible for the genocide, HIV/AIDS transmission was a three-pronged weapon. A woman who was raped and infected with the virus became a potential source of transmission for any future sexual partner; she would then give birth to children whose chances of survival were next to nil; and she would eventually die herself, causing others to follow in her wake.

Answers?

The inclusion of HIV/AIDS as a consequence of rape committed during the genocide reshapes our perceptions of justice, given that, without access to treatments, survivors are condemned to die. Although the monthly price of antiretroviral treatments is 200 times less in 2004 (US$30) than it was in 1999 (US$6,000), these treatments remain unaffordable to people who have no income.

The majority of women living with HIV/AIDS are destitute. The monthly income of those working in farming is estimated at less than US$10. The national tritherapy program currently has a maximum capacity of 7,000 patients, which means that most women have little chance of accessing it.

There is an urgent need to establish mechanisms for justice and social rehabilitation within this social and economic context. These women were infected with HIV in the very precise framework of genocide, and the nature of this act is unequivocally criminal.

These victims unanimously condemn the fact that they have been denied justice These women have asked why the ICTR feeds and cares for those responsible for genocide, while they are left to die as the Tribunal looks on with utter indifference. They have demanded that the ICTR devote more attention gender crimes and their consequences. The ICTR Rules of Evidence and Procedure authorizes it to provide physical and psychological rehabilitation for witnesses and victims. These women therefore request that the Tribunal adopt a policy regarding the access of victims and witnesses to antiretroviral treatments and related care.

This urgent situation should also be of concern to international solidarity organizations. There is a need for a more active and coordinated strategy to support victims in the fight against AIDS. Victims of rape and HIV/AIDS have a right to extend their life expectancy through access to treatment.

This is the price that must be paid so that survival will have meaning. This is the price that must be paid so that women's associations for rape victims and the HIV-positive, such as the Duhozanye Association in Cyangugu, will not be forced to decide whether their meagre resources will be divided between hospitalization costs and the purchase of coffins. Only 22 of the association's 30 original members are still alive. Eight died last year. Yes, they were AIDS victims, but, first and foremost, they were victims of genocide.

Laureate's Canadian Tour Public Conference with Ms. Godelieve Mukasarasi

"Crimes against Women during the Rwandan Genocide: Prospects of Justice for Women Survivors"

Halifax

Monday, November 29, 2004, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Dalhousie Law School, Weldon Law Building, Room 105
6061 University Ave, Halifax

Event sponsored by Rights & Democracy, in co-operation with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, the Interagency Coalition for Aids and Development, the Faculty of Law and the Rights & Democracy Network at Dalhousie University

Facilitator: Ms. Mayann Francis, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission

Guest Speaker: Ms. Susan Thomson (Dalhousie University)

Hampton

Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2004, 7:30 pm
The Hampton Community Theatre,
Hampton High School, Hampton

Public Speaking Event sponsored by Rights and Democracy, in co-operation with the Hampton John Peters Humphrey Foundation

Montreal

Monday, December 6, 2004, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Écomusée du Fier Monde
2050 Amherst (corner of Amherst and Ontario), Montreal
Metro Berri-UQÀM

Public Speaking Event (in French only) organized by Rights & Democracy, in co-operation with the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.

Facilitator: Dominique Payette, journalist, CBC

Guest Speaker: Joanne Csete, Canadian HIV/ Aids Legal Network

Toronto

Thursday, December 2, 2004 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Room 1130, Bahen Building , University of Toronto
40 St. George Street, Toronto

Public Speaking Event sponsored by Rights and Democracy, in co-operation with the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID), the Ontario Human Rights Commission and the Interagency Coalition for Aids and Development and Human Rights Watch

Facilitator: Ms. Annie Bunting, member of the Coalition of Women Rights in Conflicts Situations, coordinated by Rights & Democracy, and Human Rights Watch Young Advocates

Guest Speaker: Ms Stephanie Nixon, Interagency Coalition for Aids and Development

Godeliève Mukasarasi…

…is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide who has campaigned for many years for women's rights in her country. With a background in social work and her ongoing work with the Women's Network for Rural Development, Ms. Mukasarasi is an exceptional advocate for women victims of sexual violence and rape during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and to those who consequently contracted HIV-AIDS. She is the founder of SEVOTA, a support group for widows and orphans, and Urunana, a place where women survivors of violence and rape, both Tutsi and Hutu, can join together in dialogue. Ms. Mukasarasi has been instrumental in breaking the silence and documenting crimes of sexual violence for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Her work facilitating the testimony of women survivors of sexual violence helped set a legal precedent on October 2, 1998, when an international court imposed the first-ever sentence for sexual violence perpetrated in the context of civil war and recognized rape as an act of genocide and torture. Ms. Mukasarasi is now working toward ending impunity in Rwanda and ensuring that women obtain justice and compensation.

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