20 IN THE PICTURE
Being a woman: an exercise of resilience
Currently studying for her Master in Governance and Development at IOB, Christine Apio has amassed over 10 years of experience working in the field of Women’ s Protection and Empowerment. Her commitment to fighting gender-based violence took her to five countries only to show that, despite culture, religion or ethnicity, women around the world face very similar challenges.
As I sit down after class to interview Christine, I cannot begin to imagine the depth of her experience as a humanitarian aid worker for the United Nations Population Fund, the International Rescue Committee and other organisations. All I can hope for is to escape the tired way of portraying the struggles of women as she starts to describe them with impeccable sensitivity.
Christine started her career in her home country, Uganda, which has an extensive history of conflict and violation of human rights. Unsurprisingly, women and girls are the most vulnerable segment of its population. The same was true in the next four countries where she worked: Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Life for women and girls in these countries has been especially tough. When conflict breaks out, they need to leave everything behind and go somewhere safe – that’ s when they are most exposed to physical and sexual violence. Not only that, forced displacement often leads to women being overloaded with the burden of additional roles, previously entrusted to their male partners and relatives.
For someone who has witnessed first-hand the realities of Burundian and Somali refugee camps, pre and post-crisis South Sudan, the continuous violence and suffering to which women have been subjected to in a daily basis, Christine does not show any signs of disbelief or exhaustion. Being a woman in this field is, above all, an exercise in resilience.
She tells me about a particular case of domestic violence.“ I’ ve never cried in my entire career, but this one time”, she confesses,
Exchange to change January 2017