WILPF Mission Kandhamal:
Whither Women's Rights

Report on behalf of the
Women Who Were Part of the Minority Community
that was attacked in Kandhamal, Orissa, India

Please click HERE to read the full report.

The poor in Kandhamal (Orissa) had suffered violence intermittently from the Christmas of 2007. In August 2008 there was a sudden huge flare up. A Hindu leader, Swami Lakshmanand Saraswati and his four followers were murdered on August 23, 2008. Soon after, violence was unleashed on the ‘other’ community, the Christians living in the hinterland of Kandhamal district of Orissa State.
Human rights of thousands were violated, men, women and children had to run for their lives, leaving their homes and in some cases their dear ones, because men were caught, killed and burned while their family escaped. Camps were constructed in which shelter was offered by the State that could not protect them earlier. Many recommendations were made to improve the camps, for providing protection and compensation. And the poor homeless, turned into destitute waited to return to their homes.

A team of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), led by the President of WILPF International and joined by the President and the Vice-President of WILPF India undertook a fact finding mission to Kandhamal: to research the background and consequences of violence and the way women were affected by them. The team also wanted to check if recommendations made earlier were taken into consideration by the State government and were followed up. The team of WILPF was more concerned with the wellbeing of women and children, both in camps and in rehabilitation, because, we, WILPFers are convinced that in any such mayhem women are worst sufferers.

WILPF’s focus was to check if women’s rights are protected as spelt out in the ‘Universal Declaration Of Human Rights’; ‘Vienna Declaration’; ‘Convention on Elimination of all kinds of Discrimination Against Women’; Security Council Resolutions 1325 (on Women Peace and Security); and SCR 1820 (on Sexual and Gender Based Violence during Armed Conflict). The WILPF mission approached the camps with these in mind. The recommendations made so far by other visiting teams or the prayers made to the High Court of Orissa and to the Supreme Court of India did not seem to include women’s specific demands.

It is accepted that in conflict situations, men also suffer and that is not gainsaid. Thereafter whatever is demanded for men is, largely, good for women; yet women are more vulnerable and do have specific demands. Such demands ought to be responded to and this is the theme of the above cited international covenants. WILPF chose to focus on them. This report presents the humanitarian approach of the WILPF team to the violent happenings in Orissa and its impact on women.

We entreat the Government of India to establish a special mechanism for women, which could be activated in such eventualities to demand special provisions for women, to monitor their implementation and to ensure their continuity as long as it is needed.

Please click HERE to read the full report.