UNMEE CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY WITH ERITREANS

    To celebrate International Women’s Day, local and international staff of UNMEE along with a delegation from the National Union of Eritrean Women, travelled some 60 kilometre north of Asmara to the village of Merarah in Dankhur, a tropical forest area that forms part of Eritrea’s Semenawi Bahri, or Northern Red Sea Zone. After a 3-hour trip by bus, the first time to the area for many of the group, the visitors were welcomed by almost 400 villagers to the lush spot.  Merarah resident Fissehaye Brekia said this year’s celebration was different “because we have you here.  You came from many faraway places to celebrate with us, which makes us feel privileged”. 

    Lul Gebreab, the President of the National Union of Eritrean Women, said her organization worked to make sure women participated in all sectors of Eritrean society, “since no development programme can be achieved without the participation of women”.  And 83-year old Osman Abdulkhader, welcomed everyone in Tigre, adding that he had lived in Merarah all his life and “We are happy to have you here”.   

    Jacquelyn Taylor who represented UNMEE, gave a rousing speech on how “phenomenal” women are, “We come in all sizes, all colors and shapes.  Our hearts make the world go round.  We do more than give birth to our children, we give birth to joy and hope and the future”.  Her “What makes us beautiful?  Everything about us!” brought sustained applause and ululation from everyone, even from those who may not have exactly understood the words. 

    Kidan Tesfamichael, representing the Eritrean women from the diaspora, made a 10,000 nakfa donation to the event.  Not to be outdone, UNMEE representative Jacquelyn Taylor, said the Mission would match that amount. 

    Then it was time for food, drinks, music and dancing.  Soldiers and police danced in a circle with the village women and men, while small children looked on.  Others sat down to enjoy the home cooked meal, which included roasted corn.  People mixed and mingled and took photographs until it was time to say so long until next year.

ERITREAN WOMEN ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES

Consisting of over 20,000 members in Eritrea and 3,000 abroad, the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) has been campaigning strongly to raise the political consciousness of Eritrean women since its creation in 1979.

    The NUEW pursues gender equality on village, district, sub-regional and provincial levels and works extensively at a grassroots level to promote the establishment of women’s fundamental rights, political participation and influence over family and marriage practices.

    “During the war for independence, women played a prominent role,” said Leul Gebreab, President of the NUEW, “women fought alongside the men, making up 30% of the liberation front. Women went to hospitals to support wounded soldiers and to the frontline to boost their morale. Their contribution was immense.” “Nowadays” she continued “Eritrean women are contributing to a lasting peace in both Eritrea and Ethiopia because they feel the same as the women on the other side. They share the same interest in maintaining peace.”

    Currently, the NUEW spearheads numerous projects. In the field of education, for instance, the NUEW has organized various programmes to build women’s capacity.

    The “Donkey and Container” project, for example,  provides rural women with  donkeys and water containers to assist them in their daily activities and thus allowing young girls to go to school. “It is essential to reduce time and energy spent, especially by women and children on fetching water,” said Leul. “Time is a very scarce resource for women,” she remarked  “they have to use their time in fetching wood or water or trying to bring something home to feed their children.”

    Another project, implemented by the NUEW with the support of WFP,  is “food for education”. “This project,” Leul explained “has been really successful. We provided women who would go to school with food items.”

Leul concluded by saying that as far as education was concerned “it is our objective to convince elderly people that girl education is important and it is therefore imperative for them to realize it.”

    The NUEW has also been striving to ensure women’s access to health and child care services. “In Eritrea the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest of the sub-Saharan African countries,” explained Leul. “The Ministry of Health has been doing its best to address that issue”. Besides opening clinics and health centers, the Ministry has focused on the training of traditional birth attendants. Leul said that the NUEW “has been giving training for women as health promoters on several issues: hygiene, childcare, and HIV/AIDS.”

    As for economic empowerment, the campaign includes vocational training programs in the areas of sewing, embroidery, tailoring, basketry, and weaving. “We are trying to upgrade local know-know and make it marketable” said Leul. “In order to do that, we have invited some experts to work with us. For example, we had two people from China who worked with us for six months, and a Danish woman who worked with us on a traditional doll-making project.”

    “We have also ventured in non-traditional areas like hotel management, catering and driving,” remarked Leul. She also said that tourism had the capacity to develop in Eritrea and “in the long run women could have the opportunity to be employed in this sector.”

    “Women could also be involved in construction work, a booming industry in the country” she said and added that in order to get women involved in this kind of training “we have to change the existing attitude” which subordinates the position of women in the society.