WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY:
WESTERN SAHARA

UNIFEM WOMEN, WAR AND PEACE WEB PORTAL: WESTERN SAHARA

‘We formed the Union of Women in 1974 to help liberate the country from Spanish colonization. Yes, we were interested in the rights of women but national liberation was the key. We organized ourselves in secret cells. But really women didn't come into their own until after we had been forced into exile. It was women who had to take primary responsibility for building the camps: in a sense we were at the front, but just a different front from the men and we had to take responsibility for health, education, water, sanitation, everything.We have not yet achieved our full rights and there is a lot of work to do - rights will never be given, they have to be taken - but we have come a long way. This society is run very much by women: the staff of the nurseries are 100-per-cent female, administration is 85-per-cent female and education 70-per-cent female. However, we were illiterate not long ago and we still have a mindset that derives from that to some extent. It seems quite natural to me, given this, that women tend to vote for men rather than for other women. We do have outstanding women figures. But it's perfectly true that we have to fight against the old mentality.'

Moma Sidi Abdehadi, President of the Union of Women and the only female member of Polisario's National Secretariat

"There was no one but us to run things. We are aware that in other national struggles women played a very important role, then lost it after independence. But while we know we are Muslim, Arab, Third World women, we are not going to let anyone, inside or outside, use this as a stick against us. […] So far we don't know if it's because they need us right now, or if it's from their own deep conviction. Either way, it's too late to change our role. It's going to be impossible to bring us back to the kitchen."

Mariam Hmada who runs a training center for women in one of the refugee camps, on saharawi women's role in refugee camps