the Tanzanian patrols nor in the Nepalese patrols. These units were the closest to Eringetti and the
lack of women peacekeepers made engagement with the local women quite challenging.
The following day the helicopter landed on a cleared area very close to the Eringetti Administrators’
hut. A crowd gathered and followed the Force Commander, his close protection team, the Military
Gender Adviser, and the Tanzanian military police woman. The (male) Community Liaison Assistant
met the HQ entourage and took the Force Commander to meet with the (male) Territorial
Administrator.
The Territorial Administrator was perplexed – why had the Force Commander come all this way to
talk to the women? The Force Commander briefly looked equally perplexed but then recalled that the
Military Gender Adviser had said that it would help to enhance the understanding of the situation if
the UN could meet with the women. Still bemused and unimpressed, the Territorial Administrator
negotiated that the UN envoy could meet with the women, but that the Force Commander would
speak with both women and men beforehand.
The Force Commander held a meeting with local men and women and listened to their concerns. He
then left and the local women remained to talk with the Tanzanian military police woman and the
Military Gender Adviser. Initially, the discussion was about more trivial matters such as nail varnish
and clothing. After a while, however, the women explained that when they were tending their crops,
they were being attacked. They also said that Congolese security forces in the area (known as the
Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or “FARCD”) took the women as wives,
but that when these troops left to go to another area, they would not take the “wives” with them, some
of whom were pregnant.
The women drew a map of the farming land and pointed to the fields next to the bushes and wooded
area of Virunga National Park. They explained that this was where the men hid before attacking them
and then running away. Attacks took place during the day in isolated fields, and sometimes the illegally
armed men would attack the villagers in their huts during the night.
The Military Gender Adviser took the notes she had taken and the hand-drawn map back to Goma
HQ and shared it with the Intelligence and Operations branches. As a result, the troops near Eringetti
were directed to conduct patrols near the fields where the women worked and to carry out night time
patrols to deter the illegally armed groups from attacking the villages.
Recommendation.
Ensure each mission has a Military Gender Adviser who can prompt and remind the leadership
of the need to speak with women and men in order to better understand the human terrain;
Remind the Military leadership to meet with and listen to women from local communities, as
well as to set up regular meetings with Civil Society;
Ensure there are women military personnel deployed and that they are trained and able to join
patrols and key leader engagement meetings;
Use women with linguistic skills to meet and talk with women;
Table of Contents | Quick Look | Contact PKSOI
Page 23 of 34