Being a Voice to the Voiceless: Women's Voices Heard by the UN in Timor-Leste
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Theatre performance by Forum, an interactive theater troupe in Timor-Leste, at the Open Day dialogues hosted by UN Women, UNMIT and UNDP in Maliana on 12 September.
Photo: UNMIT/Martine Perret
This unique opportunity was given to the people of Bobonaro and Dili in the form of a large town hall-type meeting where women could voice their concerns. The Open Day dialogues have been yearly events for peacekeeping missions around the world since the 10 year anniversary of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in 2010. UN Women, the Gender Affairs Unit of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) and UNDP have supported Open Day dialogues since then.
This year, dialogues were held in Maliana, the capital of Bobonaro, and in Dili, the national capital, with the support of the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality and NGO partners. Both Open Days were supported by the European Union and the UK’s Department for Development.
Maria Rosa, one among the 2.5 percent women elected as Village Chiefs was ideally poised to fulfill the Open Day objectives: bringing women’s voices to be heard at the highest levels of the Government of Timor-Leste and the United Nations. Indeed, Maria Rosa spoke of much progress in women’s participation in public life, including as voters and elected officials in the recent elections and in the armed forces. She highlighted however, that decisions continue to be made by men – an issue that was extensively discussed in the full-day preparatory session held in Maliana by UN Women and its NGO partner with representatives from women’s groups and village councils.
The rural women of Maliana enjoying the artistic performances during the Open Day dialogue.
Photo: UNMIT/Martine Perret
Open Day also provides a platform for making recommendations to the United Nations to improve and promote women’s human rights. As part of a district that borders Indonesia, the Maliana community stated concerns about human trafficking, increasing the number of women police to provide more appropriate searches of women at the border and better cooperation between the Vulnerable Persons Unit (VPU) of the national police, border patrol and immigration authorities to work towards resolving these critical difficulties in maintaining a sense of community, peace and security.
Additionally, they provided specific recommendations to respond to violence against women more effectively, including the need to regulate interventions of customary leaders to be more in line with the Law against Domestic Violence passed in 2010. Meanwhile in Dili, a civil society representative from an NGO that provides legal aid to survivors requested governmental follow-up on reparations to victims of the 1975-99 Indonesian occupation, including female victims of sexual crimes. Strengthening the VPU’s capacity to respond to violence against women and the need to create a way to increase the numbers of female civil servants in ministries were also raised as important issues.
The community exploring the new center in Tunebibi, funded by UN Women, on 12 September.
Photo: UNMIT/Martine Perret/UNMIT
The unanimous adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) a decade ago sent a message from the international security community to conflict-affected women around the world - a message recognizing that conflict affects them differently from men and that women must be part of conflict resolution and long-term peacebuilding.