“No one is a hero in conflict” Women Waging Peace in Yirol and Mvolo Counties

“We are certain that when women linked up and worked together, they can bring peace and prosperity to these (Mvolo and Yirol) two communities.”

A woman participant during an NP training in Mvolo, January 2022 

Beyond Top-Down Interventions

In April 2022, Nonviolent Peaceforce together with trained women leaders, youth representatives, and key members of the Mvolo and Yirol communities convened an Inter-Communal Peace Conference. It was another attempt at peace for these two communities whose lives and relationships has been deeply affected by violence. Previous unsuccessful attempts at dialogue focused on the violent conflict over access to resources, particularly related to cattle keeper migrations. This has often resulted in Gender Based Violence (GBV), civilian deaths, and forced displacements. 

Although interventions have been made by others in the past, the top-down approaches of these initiatives created a lack of ownership and sustainability over the peaceful relations that both communities are looking for. To address this gap and encourage communities to solve their conflict in nonviolent ways, NP engaged with the communities, in particular women and male youth, to support their efforts in setting up a dialogue between the communities. Women and youth participated in a series of trainings that deepened their understanding of the conflict, enhanced their communication and facilitation skills, and increased their confidence to take an active role in the dialogue process between and among the Yirol and Mvolo communities. During one such training in Mvolo, one of the women participants acknowledged that women can contribute greatly to establishing community peace, sharing that:

“As a woman and a mother, one of the things we do every day is resolving conflict from resource distribution in the family to solving conflicts at home, (and) not interfere with the community peace. So, with the new skills NP is teaching us, yes, we can lead peace talks.”—Woman participant from Mvolo during the conflict mediation training on March 1, 2022.

Preparation for the Peace Conference

These trained women leaders, with support from NP, then proceeded to conduct a preparatory intra-communal dialogue for their respective communities which enabled participants to find and recognize their common interests. Both sides remembered their history of peaceful coexistence as brothers and sisters. The women underscored that the inter-communal conference is a way to mend this relationship, rebuild trust, and show their love to one another.

Going into the inter-communal conference, one of the women acknowledged the challenges inherent in any reconciliation process and the importance of forgiveness.

She narrated, “Starting a conversation like this is very hard between the two communities because of the loss and pain caused by the conflict. I thank you NP, you have given us the opportunity to come together and talk. Today I have learnt that no one is a hero in a conflict. Everybody has experienced loss and pain. But I urge us to forgive and move on. Let us practice how to sit down and talk like it is today here, this sitting alone shows a good sign of peace.”— Trained woman leader from Mvolo during the Inter-communal Conference on April 25, 2022

Agreement and Commitment to Peace

Together, participants defined and agreed on ways with which to sustain the peace conference, avoid future clashes, and bring back freedom of movement and the safety and security of all civilians. They also discussed ways to disseminate this good news to the rest of the community. The conference ended with one women leader assuring NP of their commitment to continue waging peace in their community:

“You have done your part in making us understand the importance of peace, it is now time for us to put in practice all the trainings you have given us to make sure we enjoy peace among ourselves.”—Trained woman leader from Yirol during the Inter-communal Conference on April 25, 2022.

Indeed, by centering the experiences and voices of women and youth as key components in promoting dialogue and reconciliation and reducing violence, NP promoted the capacities and leadership of women and youth as important peace actors in their respective communities. Their empowerment paved the way for a successful inter-communal conference, which is but another step in the work for better inter-communal understanding. NP will continue monitoring the situation on the ground and in developing other initiatives that can help sustain these efforts.