BEFORE Recognized by a Minister of Guinea
Prevention can be tricky – sometimes the more success and impact you have, the less happens.
But when you’re working in a country where the government has done little to invest in its people and infrastructure, work to prevent conflict builds key social foundations at the same time.
This has been the case of BEFORE’s work with Guinea women. As BEFORE has addressed strategic wide-spread violence prevention, it has also built foundations of peace that the entire country can stand upon.
In recognition of BEFORE’s impact, Guinea’s Minister of the Promotion of National Solidarity for Women and Children, Ms. Nanfadima Magassouba, said this in an official letter:
“I would like to thank the BEFORE Project. . . this important activity is in line with our priorities, among which conflict prevention and mediation, and peacebuilding figure prominently.”
Minister Magassouba
BEFORE’s relationship with Minister Magassouba began September 28th, 2009, when—in broad daylight—hundreds of women and girls were raped and assaulted by the Guinean Security Forces at a political rally. After September 28th the women of Guinea became intensely divided. Some military wives and women in the military defended their husbands and themselves, saying women should have known better and stayed at home. Survivors of September 28th clung to their right to demonstrate without having to fear for their lives or sexual safety.
Minister Magassouba knew that women play a key role in social unity in Guinea and that this social rift could have far-reaching social implications on the country’s already fragile and tense political climate.
Thanks to the support of Ms. Cynda Collins Arsenault, BEFORE and its partners immediately began working with Minister Magassouba on a Women’s Caravan of Reconciliation, National Unity and Peace – a country-wide project that focused on bringing women together in a series of dialogues around the country and a media campaigns to foster a climate of social and political peace.
In the first few weeks of the Caravan, BEFORE has already seen the impact of the Women’s Caravan. At the Women’s Caravan, Guinean women and Minister Magassouba developed a joint declaration, which outlines their support of peace and recommendations to the various government officials, women and the public.
