Where Are The Girls?

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Girls in fighting forces in Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique:
Their lives during and after war

By Susan McKay and Dyan Mazurana

Dyan Mazurana and Susan McKay's study, Where are the Girls?, raises our awareness of the militarization of the lives of girls in fighting forces and the role they play. The authors use data gleaned from their research in Northern Uganda, Mozambique and Sierra Leone to reveal that girls in fighting forces are not, and never have been, simply "camp followers."

This study is addressed to all those who work in countries that are in conflict or ravaged by war, whether they are community groups or multilateral, governmental, or non-governmental organizations. Where are the girls, if they are not counted as part of the military when the time comes for disarmament, demobilization and rebuilding of societies?

"There has been little analysis of the specific needs of girls recruited by fighting forces and demobilisation programmes have rarely been gender-sensitive. McKay and Mazurana's work provides a welcome and important contribution to our understanding of this enormously important issue and will, one hopes, lead to an improved response from humanitarian and child protection agencies." - Iain Levine, Program Director, Human Rights Watch

Research and publication of this book were made possible by the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency's Child Protection Research Fund

By Susan McKay and Dyan Mazurana

By contributing to what is currently known about girls' distinct experiences in fighting forces, the presentation of findings from our study of girls in fighting forces is intended to assist the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the United Nations, other donors, conflictaffected governments, and local, national and international governmental and non-governmental organizations in developing policies and programs to help protect and empower girls in situations of armed conflict and postwar reconstruction. In addition, this book should alert child protection advocates at all levels to the presence and experiences of girls in fighting forces and facilitate the design of responsive gender-based policy, advocacy and programs.

This book presents findings from a research study entitled "Girls in Militaries, Paramilitaries, Militias, and Armed Opposition Groups" for which we were co-investigators. Our work was funded by CIDA's Child Protection Research Fund and implemented in partnership with Rights & Democracy. The study examined the presence and experiences of girls in fighting forces and groups within the context of three African armed conflictsMozambique (1976-1992), Northern Uganda (1986-present) and Sierra Leone (1991-2002). Fieldwork in these countries was conducted between September 2001 and October 2002. In addition to that study, this book includes findings of a parallel study, "Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration: The Experiences and Roles of Girls in Sierra Leone and Northern Uganda," by Dyan Mazurana and Khristopher Carlson, which was funded by the Policy Commission of Women Waging Peace. Fieldwork for this parallel study was conducted between September 2002 and February 2003.

One purpose of this research was to gather and analyze data to better enhance the protection of war-affected children, in particular, girls in fighting forces. Within the context of Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique, girls in the fighting forces have suffered major human rights violations, especially gender-based violence. The rights of these girls are under threat from their own governments, armed opposition forces, and, occasionally, by members of their communities and families. At times, girls are discriminated against by local groups and officials, governments and international bodies that keep secret or are unwilling to recognize their presence, needs and rights during conflict, post-conflict, demobilization and social reintegration.

In Chapter 1, our use of a gender analytic framework reveals that in contemporary and historical wars, armed conflict and militarism intensify sexism through extreme violence perpetrated by boys and men against girls and women, especially sexual violence. We find that girls' experiences within fighting forces are made more severe because of sexism and misogyny. In the aftermath of war, we find that girls and women are usually urged by organizations and community leaders to resume traditional gender roles instead of using the strengths they have developed to make new choices and seek broader opportunities. Based on the realities of their experiences, we offer a definition of "girls in fighting forces" in order to highlight the centrality of girls in these forces, a fact too often overlooked by international, government, military and community officials.

In Chapter 2, we look at the presence, entry and roles of girls in fighting forces from the years 1990 to 2003. We find that girls were part of government, militia, paramilitary and/or armed opposition forces in 55 countries, and were involved in armed conflict in 38 of those countries. In the 55 countries where they are present, girls were recruited by the fighting forces and a number of them made the decision to join. For many, "joining" is a response to violence against themselves or their community, a protection strategy or an opportunity to meet their basic needs. Others enter through being abducted by members of the forces, as occurred in 27 countries. Within the fighting forces, girls carry out a number of diverse roles, including as fighters in 34 countries. Thus, limiting our understanding of the roles they play to those of captive "wives," "sexual slaves" or "camp followers" is inaccurate.

Chapter 3 deals with key dimensions, developments and impacts of armed conflicts in Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique, and our reasons for including each study country.

In Chapter 4, comparative psycho-spiritual, physical and psychological health and sociocultural issues provide a broad thematic overview of the challenges girls face when they attempt to return to their communities after being in a fighting force. Among the key findings is that social reintegration, especially of girl mothers and young women who were girls when they were taken and who return with babies, is particularly difficult and these girls and their children are at high risk. Because relatively few girls go through disarmament and demobilization programs, many spontaneously return to their communities and never receive formal assistance. Their communities may not welcome them because of the stigma attached to rape and giving birth to babies fathered by rebel-captor "husbands." For some returning girls, community rituals-some of which are gender specific-welcome them back and protect the community. An important approach is to work with the entire community to assist it to reintegrate and help these girls heal from trauma. Community approaches are also important in order to address present and past sexual abuse of girls, a subject that is rarely discussed openly in the three study countries. Finally, the psychological and physical health effects reported by girls as a consequence of their experiences in the fighting forces are detailed. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are of particular concern because most girls who return from fighting forces are purportedly infected, yet few are tested or treated. HIV/AIDS represents a major threat to these girls and their children, many of whom will become orphans or die themselves.

Chapter 5 documents and examines girls' and young women's diverse roles in fighting forces in three African countries, Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique, the ways they are recruited into these forces, their under-representation in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programs, and the critical need for schooling and skills training. In Northern Uganda, key findings include documentation of girls' training for and participation in combat. Nearly all captive girls, including those who are pregnant and with small children, are trained as fighters in the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Few former captive girls enter the reception or reintegration centres established for those who escape the LRA. Yet the testimony of those who enter reveals that these centres are carrying out essential work in helping to care for the girls and their children, many of whom were born during their captivity. While improvements have been made in the treatment of girls captured and held by the government army, widespread human rights violations continue to occur, including attempted murder, forced recruitment and sexual and physical assault. Finally, these girls and young women are clear about their need to access education and training in skills that will enable them and their children to survive. In Sierra Leone, key findings include the widespread use of girls by nearly all forces involved in the 1991-2002 war. This includes first-time documentation and analysis of the roles and experiences of girls within government-sponsored militias, "small girl units" and those in charge of rebel fighting compounds. We find that due to a combination of deliberate obstruction, misconceptions about their roles and failed policies, the majority of girls and young women involved in the various fighting forces have been excluded from the government's DDR programs.

As in Northern Uganda, girls and young women in Sierra Leone report that education and skills training would be the most meaningful contribution in assisting their reintegration that local and international agencies could provide.

In Mozambique, girls and young women played many roles within both the government and rebel fighting forces, including as fighters, intelligence officers, spies, porters, medics and slave labour. In both FRELIMO (government) and RENAMO (rebel) fighting forces, they were actively recruited; some willingly joined and some were abducted. Although many Mozambicans were aware of the presence of girls and young women in both forces, international agencies tended to overlook them. This carried through into DDR programs that not only excluded them, but, in some instances, contributed to violations of their human rights, including their remaining captive to men who had abducted them during the war. Others migrated to cities, where they at times sought out others like them to form a community. Most were unable to access valuable skills and education opportunities and today struggle to provide for themselves and their children.

Cross-cutting findings from the three countries reveal governments' manipulation of international outrage over "child soldiers" to discredit armed opposition forces that oppose them, while simultaneously denying or attempting to cover up their own use of girls and boys. We found a pattern of governments pointing to violations of children's rights by armed opposition groups, especially gender-based violations, while failing to address their own forces' violations or to seek remedy for child and youth survivors. The second cross-cutting finding highlights the key information that officials need to use and the action they must take in planning more effective DDR programs for children and youth. Our conclusion explores the key implications of what it means to really see girls in fighting forces. It details the ways in which this recognition both enables and necessitates a deeper understanding of the types of armed conflicts we are witnessing today and suggests some of the means to address their profound consequences, which are experienced not only by the girls themselves, but by communities, nations and regions.

Susan McKay, Ph.D., is a psychologist, nurse and professor of Women's and International Studies and Nursing at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming, USA. For the past 15 years she has taught and researched issues focused upon women, girls, and armed conflict, women and peacebuilding, and feminist issues in peace psychology. Recent books include The Courage Our Stories Tell: The Daily Lives and Maternal Child Health Care of Japanese-American Women at Heart Mountain (2002), and Raising Women's Voices for Peacebuilding: Vision, Impact, and Limitations of Media Technologies (2001). She is Past President of the Division of Peace Psychology of the American Psychological Association. She can be reached at McKay@Uwyo.edu.

Dyan Mazurana, Ph.D., is a senior research fellow at the Feinstein International Famine Center, Tufts University, USA. Mazurana was one of the authors of Women, Peace and Security: Study of the United Nations Secretary-General as Pursuant Security Council Resolution 1325 (United Nations 2002). Her areas of specialty include women's human rights, war-affected children, armed conflict, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Her latest major work on these topics is Gender, Conflict, and Peacekeeping (Rowman and Littlefield: Boulder and Oxford, 2004). Mazurana is a 2003-2004 visiting scholar and was a 2001-2002 research fellow of International Peace and Security at Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA. She can be reached at D.Mazurana@Tufts.edu or Mazurana@hotmail.com.

"We each need to read Where are the Girls? now. We need to give copies to colleagues. We need to think hard about McKay's and Mazurana's gritty, specific revelations about the ways in which both governments' and opponents' armed forces use and abuse girls. Then we need to make Where are the Girls? a basis for actions - to hold every abusing force (and their sponsors) to account, to reform how our own organizations intervene in ending wars, and, most of all, to listen closely to what girls themselves say they need. This is a very important book for all of us."
- Cynthia Enloe, author of Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives

"Where are the Girls? is a much-needed vehicle for broadcasting the voice of girls who have served in armed groups, and a superlative example of the power of gender-aware analysis to transform and, indeed, obliterate, "official truths" that prevent effective action. DDR [&R] actors anywhere can learn from this book to challenge their assumptions, stop being part of the problem and find ways to address the often hidden needs and suffering of the many courageous girls and young women who have served armed forces the world over."
- Courtney Mireille O'Connor, International Jurist & Operations Policy Advisor.

"This important work provides a much deeper and more nuanced description of girls associated with fighting forces than has been available previously. It offers a rich mixture of compelling stories, thoughtful analysis, and appropriate recommendations at multiple levels that can guide policy and practice in ways that better meet the long-neglected needs of girls and young women. This is a must read for everyone who works on issues of child soldiering."
- Michael Wessells, Senior Child Protection Specialist, Christian Children's Fund and Professor of Psychology, Randolph-Macon College.

"Where are the Girls? describes many of the solutions girls regularly voice, but are too rarely heard by politicians or humanitarian groups. It is an important contribution, invigorating discussion, advocacy and program efforts to appropriately address the complex and distinct experiences girls face in armed conflict."
- Jane Lowicki, Advisor for Youth Protection and Development, International Rescue Committee.