Sudan:

The Women Who Clear

Sudan's Mines

 

Mary Opani, women team leader/ Photo: Jahle Auset

Leah Young gives a more in-depth look--more in depth than these IRIN and BBC articles--about an all women demining team in South Sudan and what women from rural communities uniquely bring to mine-action efforts:

NPA has found that in these war-torn communities it is typically women who are involved in gathering wood and water for their families in more remote locations. Due to their knowledge of these lesser-known areas, women have the most information in these rural communities regarding which areas are the most dangerous. These women, however, are typically an untapped resource of knowledge, since all-male teams go into these areas and speak mainly to the men from the communities about their knowledge of the mine threat in the area. Perhaps this all-women team will be able to speak to more women, accessing vital information that has not been found in the past.

(Women deminers in Laos and Cambodia)

 

__________________________

The women who clear Sudan's minefields

In baking heat, the women wear bomb-proof clothing and cannot drink water By Peter Martell  BBC News, Bungu Jamba Besta had planned to be a secretary, hoping to find work in an office as her homeland of South Sudan emerged out of a 22-year long civil war. Instead, the pregnant mother heads an all-female team of de-miners, removing dangerous explosives from former battlefields. "I never thought I would be doing this," says Ms Besta, welcoming her six-woman team back from the danger zone they are clearing.  Many people have died or had their legs shot off because of a mine  Tabu Monica Festo Mine clearer "But it shows those people who think that women can't do jobs like this that they are wrong." The team's members say they work better as an all-women team - supporting each other against often critical comments that de-mining is work only for a man. "We live and work away from home all as one team, so it is good we are all women together," she says. Sudan's north-south war - fought over ideology, religion, ethnicity and oil - ended more than four years ago. Some two million people died in the war, and its bitter legacy of landmines and unexploded ordnance continues to kill and wound. Warning signs In Bungu, where Jama and her Sudanese team working for Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) are clearing mines, the community want to rebuild a school abandoned during the war.  The women do a great job - and we don't have problems of fighting or drinking  Kjell Ivar Breili Norwegian People's Aid The small settlement, some 30 miles from the southern capital Juba, was a northern government outpost on a key rebel supply line from neighbouring Uganda. Soldiers ringed the outpost with mines against the surrounding southern guerrilla forces, while unexploded ordnance is left from the battles between the two sides. "It will take a long time to clear," says de-miner Tabu Monica Festo, waving at the waist high grass and tangled bushes. "We don't know where there may be something hidden." Only a narrow passage has so far been cleared through the ruins of the old school, a jumbled pile of rocks covered in thick shrubs. The path is clearly marked with warning sticks tipped with red, to show the rest remains unsafe. "We have to be very careful to check all the ground is clear," Ms Festo added, resuming her slow sweeping of the ground with a metal detector. A solid squeaking sound indicates hidden metal - and the risk of a mine or unexploded bomb. Some were designed to maim people, others to take out an armoured tank. "It's a job that is important to do - many people have died or had their legs shot off because of a mine," Ms Festo adds. Painstaking work Similar all-women teams work elsewhere in the world, including Kosovo and Cambodia. Mine clearance is arduous and the teams must be alert for booby traps But Kjell Ivar Breili, NPA's programme manager, says this is the first such team to be used in Sudan. Mr Breili said NPA's two female teams have recently beaten several of the six male teams in terms of the numbers of mines cleared. "The women do a great job - and we don't have problems of fighting or drinking," he said. Each de-miner creeps painstakingly forward down thin alleys, moving the safety line forward only once every section has been checked. It is tough work in baking sun, and the plastic face-shields they wear inside the minefield mean that it is not possible to drink water during each 45-minute shift. However, the women must pour water on to the hard-baked soil to soften the earth and allow the gentle probing of suspect objects. Critics 'are jealous' One cleared passage stops just short of a tall mango tree, whose cool shade looks an inviting place to rest. Their children sometimes join the women during breaks But the women say such spots are especially risky - booby-trapped simply because they are likely places for people to go. "The soldiers are believed to have buried mines all around here," said Fazia Annet, dressed in a heavy protective bomb blast jacket. "But we have to check all the ground of course, because there could be danger anywhere." Later, in the tent-camp a short distance outside the minefield, the women eat lunch before relaxing for a break in the shade. One mother plays with their daughter, who is looked after in the camp while the women are at work. But the team leader, currently assigned to logistical duties during the later stages of her pregnancy and for the following nine months, is clear that women can do the job just as well as men. "Some say it is dangerous for a woman, but they are jealous because we are doing the same job as the men," said Ms Besta, with a laugh. "What is dangerous is leaving mines hidden in the ground."

__________________________   SUDAN: Demining not just a man's job Photo: Severine Flores/IRIN A deminer at work in a field in Bongo, near Juba. Female deminers are perceived to be more accurate and reliable than their male counterparts JUBA, 23 June 2009 (IRIN) - The whistle signalling the end of the morning shift had just sounded when six deminers emerged from the tall grass, took off their protective clothing and walked back to the rest camp for lunch.  "I never thought I would end up as a deminer," Jamba Besta, the team leader, said. "All I wanted was to become a secretary, I even took the qualification, but when [this] offer came up, I took it."  Like Besta, all the deminers are women. They work in Bongo, a small community on the road from Juba to Yei in Southern Sudan, for the international NGO Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) Mine Action.  Besta's all-female demining team is a first for Sudan, although successful examples are found in Kosovo and Cambodia. Despite some abuse, especially from drunken soldiers passing by, the team's reputation has inspired commercial contractors to follow suit.  "They [the drunken soldiers] insult us," Besta said. "They laugh at us and say that women cannot remove landmines. But ladies can do just as well as men if they are trained."  The role of the women in demining has been championed by the UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO). "Female deminers work really well," Johann Maree, UNMAO operations officer in Yei, said. "They are constant and reliable."  Women deminers have proved more effective than men, according to NPA officials: "Women are very accurate and organized," said Kjell Ivar Breili, NPA programme manager. "They don’t get drunk as the men often do... Over the past two years, they are the teams that have found the most mines."  Photo: Severine Flores/IRIN  Jamba Besta, NPA’s all-female deminers’ team leader A necessary activity  Demining is a necessary activity in Sudan where more than 20 years of conflict left 19 out of the 25 states affected by mines or explosive remnants of war (ERW).  ERW include unexploded ordnance - such as bombs, mortars, grenades, missiles, cluster munitions or other devices that fail to detonate on impact but remain volatile and can kill if touched or moved - and "abandoned ordnance" or weapons left behind by armed forces when they leave an area.  Men risk death or injury when working in the fields, and women are in danger when collecting firewood or carrying water.  According to UNMAO, the true extent of Sudan’s mine and ERW problem is unknown, but since 2002, UNMAO and its partners have had some success: They have opened up more than 29,000km of roads, cleared 45 million square metres of land, and destroyed over 16,000 anti-personnel and anti-tank mines as well as 800,000 ERW.  Despite this, mines and ERW continue to maim and kill people in various parts of Sudan and obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid. They also hinder the return of refugees and displaced people and slow down reconstruction, development and peace building.  Photo: Severine Flores/IRIN  One of the female deminers takes a break. Deminers earn between $250-$400 per month, receive free medical treatment, insurance, paid annual leave and maternity cover Maternity provision  The job with NPA brings in US$250-$400 per month, and it is a stable, regular income.  The women also get three months’ maternity leave, after which they are relocated for nine months at the administration camp in Yei, where they work on other tasks and receive training while being able to breastfeed at regular intervals, until they are ready to go back to the minefield.  "As long as you’ve got proper training and you take precautions, demining is not more dangerous than any other job," Breilli said. "I think it is far more dangerous for women to go out in a contaminated field and collect firewood."  According to the NPA, some of the women in its programme are inspired to work hard because they have families or relatives in the villages where clearance is being done.  "I want to help rid [this] area of landmines," Besta, who is six months pregnant, said. "I like the fact that I can help [my people] feel safer."  sf/eo/cb Theme (s): Conflict, Environment, [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] >via: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=84952

__________________________

NPA’s All-female

Demining Team in Sudan

by Leah Young [ Mine Action Information Center ]

Norwegian People’s Aid’s commitment to gender mainstreaming in mine action is reflected by the organization’s present work in Sudan. This article looks at the successes of the country’s first all-female demining team, established in 2007, as well as at the larger cultural and practical considerations of women in demining.

Norwegian People’s Aid has always held the opinion that women should have equal employment rights to all jobs—including those in every aspect of demining.¹ It has demonstrated this belief by involving women in many of its demining projects around the world. Past NPA projects that incorporated women in the demining process include clearance projects in Bosnia, Croatia, Iraq, Kosovo and Sri Lanka, all of which were successful. The positive feedback concerning female participation in these projects encouraged NPA to continue training women to take part in demining—even in its most recent project in war-torn southern Sudan.¹

Female deminer at Limbe Bridge task, Lainya, Central Equatoria.
Photo courtesy of Jahle Auset

Mary Opani, team leader. 
Photo courtesy of Jahle Auset

Female Demining in Sudan

NPA has been involved in mine clearance in Sudan since April 2004, when it established its first program in the nation, a traditional all-male team. Soon after, however, in 2005, training for the first female deminers in Sudan began, leading to the formation of the first all-female demining team in the country, which officially came together in 2007.¹ The government of South Sudan is working on gender mainstreaming within its employment ranks, setting a target of having females serve as 25 percent of its agencies’ workforce. NPA’s mine-action programs in Sudan aimed for this gender-mainstreaming goal and made the 25-percent target a reality, assimilating women into every part of demining operations, including the operational and support departments.¹

NPA did not take any special measures to recruit the women it trained. The recruitment of female staff was conducted within Yei County, Central Equatoria, where advertisements were posted around the town area. Applicants were interviewed and then screened by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army for security purposes. After that, successful candidates began a four-week basic demining course.¹

Many advantages exist in facilitating all-female demining teams. First, avoiding mixed-gender teams addresses the practical concerns of deminers living together in a small working environment. Second, all-female demining teams ensure a “gender balance” within NPA’s demining programs, providing not only equal employment opportunities to the women, but also bringing female perspectives to the traditionally male-dominated field. All-women teams also create unique positions in local communities for women to be role models for others.¹ NPA has not observed any drawbacks or weaknesses in these teams. Although the female teams may require slight increases in donor funding, to assist with the expenses associated with maternity leave, NPA says that donors “have responded very well.”¹

The women of South Sudan. The culture of South Sudan is known for its conservative nature. Initially, this emphasis on tradition was seen as a potential cultural hindrance as the first all-female demining team was formed and women began to take on roles traditionally viewed as masculine.² This traditional culture, however, has not been a deterrent to the process. The majority of the female deminers say that their involvement has not been discouraged, but rather that their friends and families have been very supportive of their involvement in mine clearance.² Their participation in the program gives them not only an opportunity outside of the home to earn extra money for their families, but it also is “a source of pride for the women” as they help rebuild their nation after the country’s second civil war (1983–2005).^2,3The only issue that the NPA needed to take into account, they say, was to “respect the difference between the sexes,” by providing separate housing camps for the men and women when they were in the field demining away from home for up to six weeks at a time.¹

In this region of southern Sudan, it is viewed as traditional for a woman to be married and raise a large family. Furthermore, since the end of the civil war, which led to the deaths of approximately two million people and the displacement of another four million citizens, there has been a sentiment in the region that Sudan needs to repopulate due to wartime losses.³ For these reasons, it is not uncommon for many of the women on the team to be pregnant while working.³ NPA has not let the high numbers of pregnancies and the resulting maternity leave stop it from utilizing the benefits of all-female demining teams. It has instead found ways in which to make the team function despite this challenge, since the benefits of an all-female team, such as being able to learn about and use female knowledge of a minefield, the ability to help support a family and the improved status of these women in the community, outweigh this one drawback. For instance, the first all-female team is made up of 35 women. This size is larger than a typical NPA demining team, taking into account the many women who may be on maternity leave.²

NPA has also developed a special program for its female deminers who become pregnant and require leave. In this program, if a female deminer is pregnant, she is automatically given a three-month maternity leave, which is used both before and after the birth. If necessary, for the woman’s comfort, health and safety, extra time can be allotted.¹ After this point, NPA ensures that the woman is able to be with her child for six months by letting her work from the Logobero Base Camp near Yei, 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the current demining operation in Morobo county. The NPA also takes advantage of this time by providing the women with important computer and skills training for the job.²Throughout this entire period of three months’ leave and six months working at the base camp, NPA ensures the woman receives the same pay she would if she were demining on the field with the rest of the team.¹

Clearing Mile 38. The team recently participated in the clearance of Mile 38 on the Yei-Juba road—a Line of Disengagement of some 100 hectares  This Mile 38 battlefield was “on the frontline in a decade’s long conflict”³ in Sudan. In the process of mine clearance in this dangerous stretch of land, the women cleared 15,845 square meters (4 acres) and removed 9 pieces of unexploded ordnance,  103 anti-personnel mines and  21 anti-tank mines.¹ The Mile 38 clearance project took over a year, spanning from February 2007 to March 2008. The grueling clearance process involved the use of both manual and mechanical demining techniques, which included the use of the MineWolf.¹ In June 2008 Mile 38 was handed over to the Sudanese government by the NPA, with farming and agriculture predicted as the use for the land.¹

Minebelt at Mile 38, Ganji Payam, Juba. 
Photo courtesy of Charles Frisby

Statistics from the U.N. Mine Action Office in the region show that, there have been over 2,000 recorded civilian casualties and injuries from landmines laid during and since the civil war.³ The heavily mined land in this area has caused more than just death and injury to the people of Sudan. It has made trade and travel virtually impossible, destroyed farmers’ livelihoods and harmed communities throughout southern Sudan. For example, Mile 38 was once a part of a major trade route, but due to fear of landmines and conflict, it is virtually useless land now.³ The women of the team are working to restore their nation and bring an end to the fear that keeps communities from making use of the land.

Continued commitment to gender mainstreaming. NPA has found that in these war-torn communities it is typically women who are involved in gathering wood and water for their families in more remote locations. Due to their knowledge of these lesser-known areas, women have the most information in these rural communities regarding which areas are the most dangerous.²These women, however, are typically an untapped resource of knowledge, since all-male teams go into these areas and speak mainly to the men from the communities about their knowledge of the mine threat in the area. Perhaps this all-women team will be able to speak to more women, accessing vital information that has not been found in the past.²

NPA’s commitment to incorporating women into the demining process continues to pay off. The first all-female demining team’s success in Sudan is just one example of this. Although it seemed that a traditional culture would get in the way, the team has been met with support by their friends and families. The potential issues of pregnancy and maternity leave have not hindered the team, but rather have provided an opportunity for NPA to develop a new program for new mothers. Furthermore, the team has recently finished clearing one of the most dangerous battlefields in the nation, Mile 38, providing communities with land for agriculture and trade. The team hopes to continue on this path, restoring communities and helping the country recover from a long war. 

Biography

Leah Young has been working at the The Journal of Mine Action since January 2008. She is from Virginia Beach and attends James Madison University where she is pursuing an undergraduate degree in justice studies with a minor in Spanish.

Endnotes

1. E-mail correspondence with Charles Frisby, Norwegian People’s Aid Program Manager. 29 May 2008.
2. “Southern Sudan’s Female Deminers.” United Nations Mine Action Office Sudan. January/February 2008 Newsletter. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/SHIG-7D5CM2?OpenDocument. Accessed 25 July 2008.
3. Wheeler, Skye. “Women Join Demining Charge in South Sudan.” 23 March 2008. Reuters.http://lite.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2740043.htm. Accessed 25 July 2008.

Contact Information

Leah Young
Editorial Assistant
The Journal of ERW And Mine Action
Mine Action Information Center 
E-mail: maic@jmu.edu

Charles Frisby
Program Manager
Norwegian People's Aid
Mine Action Sudan

Email: cfisby@sudan.npaid.org