I Have To Speak: Voices of Female Ex-Combatants from Aceh, Burundi, Mindanao and Nepal

BURUNDI
After independence from Belgium in 1962, Burundi remained under Tutsi
minority rule for the next thirty years, with significant Hutu opposition
forming in the process. Several cycles of at times violent upheaval
resulted in the start of the civil war in 1993. CNDD-FDD and (PALIPEHUTU-)
FNL formed as the most important Hutu insurgent groups, fighting
against the Tutsi-dominated army and at times each other. Both groups
relied partly on forced recruitment and a significant number of women
did not join voluntarily. After the Arusha Accords in 2000 set the baseline
for post-war Burundi, the CNDD-FDD signed a peace agreement in 2003
and a new constitution was passed in 2005, ending the civil war. Smaller
groups and CNDD splinters, such as the FNL and FNL-Icanzo, followed a
few years later. Two DDR processes were undertaken and despite having
to present a weapon to enter the programme, which few female combatants
could provide, 15 per cent of the combatants who went through it
were women.
After winning the parliamentary elections in 2005, the CNDD-FDD started
its transformation from rebel movement to political party and remains in
government today. The FNL continued its military struggle until it also
transformed into a political party in 2008, albeit with much less electoral
success. The constitution that entered into force after a referendum
in 2005 stipulates a 30 per cent quota for women in state institutions –
currently 36 per cent of MPs are women. The aim is to represent Burundi’s
diversity in terms of gender and ethnic groups.
MINDANAO
The largely Muslim Moro population of Mindanao, Philippines, faced
discrimination and repression under the Marcos regime from the late
1960s. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was one of the groups
that took up arms against the Philippine government at that time. Many
women were part of the movement, largely in non-combat and support
roles, such as medical care and communications, but some also carried
arms and engaged in combat.
14 – 15