Background
Men and women do not always see the problem of SALW in the same light. In Senegalese society, women and men have well defined responsibilities. Clichés abound, rooted in both the individual and collective conscience, which associate arms with masculinity. Guns are not viewed as a woman’s subject; they are a ‘man’s business.’ Women are not perceived to be affected by arms. The consequences are that:

• Women are often not aware that their husband has a gun in the house (according to the results of a survey carried out by MALAO in 2003)
• In spite of the deadly consequences of the conflict in Casamance and the Bissau-Guinean war of liberation over which they despair, women are not particularly drawn to the problem of guns and do not involve themselves in the cause of gun control.
• Home manufacturing still exists, a throwback to the ancient imperial era with its extensive caste system. Only men are permitted to learn the craft.
• Men are direct victims, but women are more indirectly affected.
• For MALAO to have a female president was at first considered ‘surprising’ and ‘atypical’ by policymakers and civil society alike.

The role of women in the Casamance conflict
The Diolas women of Casamance have a special status and role which gives them a certain amount of power within the family and in society. They are priestesses and the guardians of tradition. During the 20-year conflict, women prolonged the conflict by providing spiritual, material, and logistical support to the men, who were the primary users of SALW. However it is important to remember that women are also victims of SALW, although they also facilitated their proliferation and circulation.

At the beginning of the conflict, women were particularly involved in the mystical and cultural preparation of the rebellion. Women incited and galvanised the troops; they participated in the transporting of weapons from one battlefield to another. They laid mines, which they were told would only blow up the enemy. Alas, women now constitute the vast majority of mine victims. The impact of the conflict was terrible and felt in every domain: psychological (stress, psychiatric problems), physical (mine victims, rapes, and child pregnancy), social, economic.

Women were also the first to work concretely to reverse the violence with various initiatives, such as sporting events, and wide-ranging regional and national conferences. They involved themselves in awareness-raising for the return of peace. MALAO played a role in training these women in the problem of SALW, preparing their hearts and minds for the ensuing DDR process.

Future prospects
The governmental body concerned with SALW is the National Commission, which was created in November 2000. To date there has not been a single female member of the Commission. On the 3-4 March 2005, however, the Commission began a process to revise all legislation dealing with small arms. Out of 75 participants in the process, six were women.

At the initiative of MALAO, the Senegalese Action Network on Small Arms (RESAAL) was created. It launched a campaign for an Arms Trade Treaty with a steering committee. Although its membership and activities do not specifically take into account gender, MALAO has noted the involvement of more and more women’s organisations.

A small arms program which is being planned for 4 countries in the sub region has a well-elaborated gender strategy which will permit Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Guinea to better take into account the aspect of gender and SALW. UNIFEM is also working to ensure gender is taken into account in the reconstruction programme in Casamance.

The key actors in the struggle against SALW in Senegal are thus becoming increasingly aware of the need to adopt a gender-inclusive approach to the subject. The National Committee will soon be open to more ministries, one of which is the Ministry of the Family, which is in charge of all questions of gender. President Abdoulaye Wade received women from Casamance on the 4 March 2005 and assured them he would involve women in the current negotiations process.

For more information on women and arms in Senegal and MALAO, go to www.malao.org.

Article contributed by Dr Christiane Agboton Johnson, President of MALAO, an IANSA member.