A Conversation with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“Stories have been used to dispossess and malign…but can also be used to repair the humanity that has been broken.”

On Friday, October 10, 2014, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, critically acclaimed author of Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, and Americanah, spoke with the Georgetown University community about the challenges facing writers today, the ongoing Ebola crisis in parts of Africa, and her views on gender equality and feminism. Her candid answers to questions and her frank statements engaged the audience and allowed insight into the mind of the incredible writer.

Adichie began by discussing the writing and the literary industry. She has seen great success as a writer with her books and short-story collections, and she provided insight into her writing process. She separates her writing from both the publishing and marketing process, as well as from her audience or family. If she thought about what publishers wanted to produce, her work would change and shift away from what she wants to write. If she thought about how her family might respond to various parts of her stories, then she would censor her writing. Thus, she focuses on writing for herself and thinking only about the writing. Adichie also discussed how the labels within the industry are confining. She writes African literature, but she does not like being labeled as an African writer. “Labels,” she says, “tell you what you are or are not meant to write, because then there’s a predisposition to believe that writer is only supposed to write in a certain way.” Similarly, Adichie is critical of prizes, which she sees as having a great deal of power over the field. Prizes reward writers for their work, but in some cases they can limit writers. According to Adichie, prizes that reward African writers then tell writers and readers alike what constitutes the whole of African writing.

When the conversation shifted to questions about Ebola, Adichie focused on a key problem within the Western media that desensitizes people to the actual problems in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone: the dehumanization of Africans. She pointed out that the media rarely refers to the three countries currently battling the Ebola virus, instead choosing to refer to them as “Africa,” an all-encompassing term that further confuses and frightens people. The hysteria, she believes, comes from the idea that “Africa” is a place without logic; the outbreak of a disease as deadly and contagious as Ebola further perpetuates that belief. Adichie pointed out the fault of the international community in waiting so long to provide aid to Sierra Leon and Liberia. These three nations have weak health care systems and are generally lacking in infrastructure, given that they had been the site of violent conflict for many years. Adichie highlights the international community’s initial indifference to the health crisis with her final remark on the topic: “Why did we have to wait for so many deaths, and really the death of an American, to act?”

“Many economic decisions are made for women, and it comes from a lack of power.”

When asked about whether the perception of feminism is at odds with the traditional role of women, particularly in African life, Adichie stated there are many misunderstandings about what constitutes feminism. It is not saying women should spend all their time in the workforce or abandon all ties to domestic life, nor is it saying that men are the cause of all of these problems for women. Feminism, according to Adichie, is primarily about choices: women should have the options to do what they want, whether that be to stay at home or become a working professional or both. The biggest challenge to truly giving women the opportunity to choose what they do with their lives is the role of men in the home. The struggle lies in reducing the stigma for men to play a role in home life. In her words, “Women only have choices when the home is seen as equal for men and women.”

Rukmani Bhatia is the 2014-2015 Hillary Rodham Clinton Research Fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She received her M.A. in German and European Studies from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and a B.A. in International Relations from Wellesley College.

At a Crossroads: Improving Harmonisation and Implementation Efforts to Eliminate Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a shameful scourge on our society and the largest-grossing black-market crime after weapons, and before drugs. Like weapons, and unlike drugs, trafficking victims can be used more than once. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, there are an estimated 2.4 million human trafficking victims trapped in modern-day slavery as sex workers and forced labourers.

Human trafficking penetrates every major industry—construction, agriculture, food processing, fashion, domestic services, hospitality, and others. In this illicit $32bn industry, men and women are stripped of their freedom. Their passports are confiscated and they are forced to work for marginal remunerations to pay off debts for travel, food, and lodging. Trafficking is a human rights violation on many fronts—the Universal Declaration holds that “all beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person,” and “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”

Beyond the individual human rights abuses that are born by trafficking victims, human trafficking also takes an economic toll on our society. When survivors escape, they may feel both psychologically and physically broken. Many victims face difficulty reintegrating in their society or in the nation where they have been relocated. If survivors are not rehabilitated, they cannot reenter the workforce and successfully provide for themselves or lead a life of dignity. If survivors cannot access the services they require, they remain vulnerable to being trafficked again.

Two major anti-trafficking measures—the UN Convention on Human Trafficking and the Council of Europe’s Treaty on Human Trafficking—are in place in a number of countries. Almost every country in the world has national laws that criminalise trafficking in persons. Both governments and NGOs are pouring money into public awareness campaigns to educate the global citizenry, and training programmes for law officers, medical professionals and public transportation workers. But the devastation of human trafficking persists.

While incredible amounts of money are invested, there have been shamefully few prosecutions. Furthermore, of the small number of cases brought to the courts, there is not a very high conviction rate. The June 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report established that while there are millions of victims worldwide, only 9,460 prosecutions were reported in 2013. Of the 9,460 reported prosecutions, only 5,776 resulted in convictions, and a mere 470 of those convictions were for labor trafficking.

We have to ask ourselves, why are we spending all this money and not obtaining enough convictions? Why are so many traffickers operating with impunity? We know what we are doing operating in this anti-trafficking space, and we have been doing it for too long without seeing results. We need to focus on measuring what is happening; NGOs must assess and share best practices. With so many entities focused on combatting human trafficking, if we do not harmonise efforts and work together, we risk wasting valuable resources.

In addition to harmonisation, national governments need to adopt more comprehensive legislation. Governments should institute laws that protect victims of trafficking so they may seek justice without fear of reprisal. In the United Kingdom, there are “Special Measures” available to “vulnerable and intimidated” witnesses providing evidence. However, not all victims of trafficking are eligible for these protections, and eligibility does not automatically confer a grant of these special measures. The United States Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) is another example of a national law designed to protect victims. The TVPA is comprehensive in its aim to “protect of victims of trafficking by creating a bill of rights for victims, including the right to medical care, shelter, restitution, civil remedy, residency status, work permit, access to information.” The TVPA also supports prevention and prosecution initiatives.

By May 2015, the British government is expected to pass a comprehensive law that will better prevent trafficking and aid victims. The Modern Slavery Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 10 June 2014, and would provide for the non-criminalisation of victims, victim assistance and support measures, reform of the National Referral Mechanism, personal corporate responsibility for company supply chains that involve trafficked persons, asset recovery, and expansion of “special measures” to all victims of modern slavery testifying in court.

Human trafficking is not a men’s issue or a women’s issue but a human issue that traverses political divides in all countries. We are at a crossroads and better enforcement mechanisms, as well as improved harmonisation efforts, are needed to successfully combat trafficking in persons.

Baroness Mary Goudie is a senior member of the British House of Lords and a global advocate for the rights of women and children. She is involved in promoting gender equity with both the G8 and G20, and chairs the Women Leaders’ Council to Fight Human Trafficking at the United Nations. Through her extensive philanthropic work, she has been involved in training and promoting women political and business leaders. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Vital Voices Global Partnership, a founding member of the 30% Club steering committee and a trustee of the El-Hibri Charitable Foundation. She also serves on the Board of Directors of EuropEFE – the European Mission of the Education for Employment Foundation based in Spain, and is a member of the UK Board of Directors for the Center for Talent Innovation.

Interview with Claudia Paz y Paz: First Female Attorney General of Guatemala

Claudia Paz y Paz served as Guatemala’s first female Attorney General from December 2010 to May 2014. She is a respected criminal law specialist and judge with over 18 years of experience in human rights and social justice. She is the founder of the Institute for Comparative Criminal Studies of Guatemala (ICCPG). She has achieved unprecedented success in prosecuting human rights abuses in Guatemala through high profile cases, such as former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, and the perpetrators of the Dos Erres Massacre. She has reduced crime and impunity in Guatemala through her commitment to justice. She has led a concrete, coordinated effort to purge corrupt officials in both the police and the judicial system, and has worked extensively on improving women’s rights in Guatemala.

Her tenure was cut short and she was replaced as Attorney General by Ms. Thelma Aldana, a former head of the Supreme Court. Dr. Paz y Paz will be returning to academia for one year as a Distinguished Scholar in Residence, with a joint appointment between GIWPS and the Georgetown University Law Center.

On October 1^st, 2014 we sat down to talk to Dr. Paz y Paz about some of the toughest issues she faced as Attorney General and how she achieved such incredible results in her country. Read the full transcript of our interview below.

Parts of the interview have been edited for length and clarity.   Q: During your tenure as Attorney General of Guatemala, you tackled corruption, illegal trafficking, and gang violence. Can you tell us about what the situation was like when you first took office and what you and your team did to change it?  The levels of impunity were very high. They say that it was 95% of impunity, and violence was also very high, with murders, etc…So when we first started building special teams to investigate all the crime, I worked a lot with scientific evidence, working very closely with the special police team, we changed that situation of impunity from 95% to 70%. So we reduced impunity, and with that we also reduced the homicide rate from 46% in 2009 to 33% last year. When we started the prosecutor’s office, there was a lack of confidence in the justice institutions, and we built trust in the citizens toward our office. We did that by working hard. When we started important investigations, when there were big crimes, like the killing of the singer from Argentina Facundo Cabral, we could solve it very quickly…and, for example, there was also a murder of 27 persons by drug traffickers, and we could solve it. The perpetrators of those murders were the Zetas, the Mexican couple, and we investigated and found the perpetrators, so those parts of the cases brought the trust of the citizens. Q: You tried and convicted former dictator Efrain Rios Montt of war crimes and genocide, but in May 2013 the Constitutional Court of Guatemala overturned the conviction. Can you tell us what you think of this decision and how it reflects the level of political impunity in your country? I believe that the trial was very important for my country. For the first time, the victims had the opportunity to tell what happened in the villages in front of the perpetrator. They could tell it in their own language, and by telling this, they recovered part of the dignity that was stolen when they suffered so many human rights violations. So when the judges said that he was guilty and that it was genocide and crimes against humanity, it was very important for the victims, but, I believe, also for all the country. Q: And what was your reaction when his conviction was overturned? We did not agree with that sentence from the Constitutional Court, because we believe that they were normal and not extraordinary instances to review that decision, and also because the trial was respectful of all the due process.  Q: You have worked extensively on improving women’s rights in Guatemala. The Vital Voices Leadership in Public Life award celebrated you for your efforts this past summer. Can you tell us about some of the measures you implemented to protect women in Guatemala and what you hope will be accomplished by your successor to continue your efforts?  Violence against women is the most reported crime in my country; we have to work very hard to prevent this crime and to punish if it is committed. So we implemented 24-hour calls, so that the women could always come and receive 24-hour service from the Prosecutor’s office. We did this because they don’t suffer violence from 8am to 4pm; they suffer violence all times of the day. There, in just one place, there were psychologists, social workers, prosecutors, police, surgeons, forensic medics and doctors so that they could get the total attention that they needed in just one stop. Q: Can you tell us about your future research work on human rights as a Distinguished Scholar in Residence with GIWPS and the Georgetown University Law Center? What do you hope to accomplish with this research? I am now writing about my experience in the past years, so that what we learned could be used for others. I hope to document and highlight the methods or the practices that lead to the possibility of increasing justice and reducing impunity in Guatemala. Q: Can you share with us one or two of your favorite memories from your tenure as attorney general? There was a very big gang that raped women, and we had the chance to investigate this network of criminals, and they were punished for the instance of rape. That was an important case. Also I have the memory when I finished my work, I left the office and there were a lot of men and women that were waiting for me with flowers to say that they were grateful because they had had a better chance to get justice in the past years. Q: Is there anything you would like to add? I remember that there was a grandfather whose daughter was killed by her husband, who fled the country with the man’s two grandchildren. When we were able to find this man and to bring back the little children, I will always remember his smile after he saw his grandchildren. Dr. Paz y Paz holds a joint appointment with the Georgetown University Law Center and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She will conduct independent research related to human rights, justice and women, peace and security in Latin America. She will also participate in symposia, seminar discussions and other public events in Washington, D.C. and beyond.

Women Can Transform a Nation – A Discussion with Her Excellency Louise Mushikiwabo, Foreign Affairs & Cooperation Minister of the Republic of Rwanda

“Rwanda is a country with initiative and ambition. Rwanda is a nation transformed.”

On Tuesday, September 30, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security launched this semester’s ministerial roundtable series with a discussion with Louise Mushikiwabo, the Rwandan Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister. Minister Mushikiwabo candidly discussed the current status of Rwanda domestically and within the international sphere, and portrayed a nation actively working to improve the lives of its people and become a middle-income nation by 2020.

In 1994, Rwanda was the site of horrific violence, rape, and mass killing. In 100 days, 800,000 Rwandans or 10 percent of the total population were murdered. The overwhelming majority of those killed were ethnically Tutsi, in addition to moderate Hutu as well as members of the minority Twa group. The ethnic cleansing campaigns and the state-sponsored atrocities of 1994 are recent scars in Rwanda’s history. However, in the years following the conflict, Rwanda has made significant advances, both domestically and internationally. According to Mushikiwabo, there is no place for destructive or divisive politics in post-genocide Rwanda.

Minister Mushikiwabo highlighted the fact that Rwanda has “opened up” since the early 1990s, a significant change for a nation that previously made it difficult both for people to enter the country and for Rwandan citizens to leave the country. She noted Rwanda’s engagement within both Anglophone East Africa and Francophone Central Africa as key parts of the policy for strategic openness that is integrated throughout President Paul Kagame’s administration. She cited numerous improvements in Rwanda’s economy and the need to embrace technology and prioritize energy, whether through the mining potential within the nation or the methane gas available in Lake Kivu. Minister Mushikiwabo highlighted the role of the private sector in growing the economy and creating employment opportunities – including for the most downtrodden – by referencing the fashion company Kate Spade, which supplies goods from Rwandan women. According to Minister Mushikiwabo, foreign direct investment as well as welcoming foreign workers will help Rwandan business to develop and compete in the international marketplace.

Minister Mushikiwabo described a nation that has changed dramatically since the violence of 1994. The single-most important factor in the nation’s post-genocide rebuilding – economically and politically – has been the inclusion, participation and leadership of women. She stated, “I am amazed by how much women have transformed Rwanda.” Following the 1994 conflict, the Rwandan constitution required 30 percent of Parliamentary seats to be held by women. Today, women hold 64 percent of the seats in Parliament. They are also being appointed to powerful roles traditionally reserved for men, increasing the presence of women throughout the government. Women in positions of power bring in the voices and perspectives of women into policy. As Minister Mushikiwabo put it, “when women are in positions of leadership, they look out for women.” The government budgets for gender-specific programming to meet the needs of women throughout the country.

The government is working to end the gendered division within Rwandan culture both at the policy and practical levels. Women are fully engaged in society at all levels and increasingly have access to the tools needed to actively and effectively participate. The government created different programs for women to receive training that helps augment their positive impact on society. The programs link women to others doing similar work within the country, within the region, or internationally. In turn, it is evident that much of Rwanda’s progress can be credited to the inclusion of women in the decision-making process. Rwanda’s progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, for example, can be specifically linked to the inclusion of women into the policy work. As Minister Mushikiwabo pointed out, the MDGs focus largely on issues that are intrinsically linked to the daily activities of women, particularly regarding reducing poverty and increasing access to education. If women are given access to economic opportunities, they are able to support their families. If girls receive education, they will have the opportunity to support themselves. Women are the primary caretakers of children and with access to both resources and education, they will ensure their children receive vaccinations. Women, therefore, play an integral part of Rwanda’s success in the post-conflict period.

Genocide is a political crime in its worst and widest form. In Rwanda, where exclusion was the norm, inclusion is now the national motto. For Rwanda to succeed, Minister Mushikiwabo believes, the people need to stay away from the idea of exclusion, including the exclusion of women. Men are voting for women and women are being appointed to roles that were previously reserved for men. The inclusion of women hasn’t created resentment within the population, but rather Minister Mushikiwabo states the women are doing well, so people are able to accept women’s increased presence in politics. Women’s inclusion in the political structure has clearly had a positive impact thus far on Rwanda’s success since 1994.

Rukmani Bhatia is the 2014-2015 Hillary Rodham Clinton Research Fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She received her M.A. in German and European Studies from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and a B.A. in International Relations from Wellesley College.

Aha Moments: Feminism and Faith

Originally posted in Huffington Post here.

It was a puzzle: intellectual discussions about theological matters rarely engaged issues centered on women, while feminist discussions skirted spiritual dimensions of women’s lives. Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary, found faith and feminism intertwined in her own life but sharply segregated in her professional encounters. An “aha” moment came during an encounter with Egyptian women activists (who on the surface were not especially religious). Rocky communications were explained in good measure by the fact that for the Egyptians the whole area of religion affected everything they did, while for their North American counterparts, religious dimensions were completely absent from the conversation. Meaningful communication was impossible without appreciating how far religion and women’s daily lives and thus faith and feminism were linked.

Serene’s realization points to an urgent need to find ways to bridge these divides, whether it is to understand better the way that the world’s poorest women see the daily challenges that face them, or to support an American college student’s reflections about her future work and family life.

The beginnings of the feminist movement in the US were led by faith communities. Today, however, faith and feminism often seem to be in opposition. Several religious figures are prominent denigrators of feminism, seeing an assault on age-old values that honor families and hold them together. Meanwhile a religiously inspired passion for equality and care is often behind women’s struggles for equal rights. But many feminists are wary even of speaking about religion because they perceive religious values and teachings as holding back women’s progress or turning a blind eye to or even condoning egregious abuse within a family setting. Women are acknowledged as the backbone of religious institutions and the earliest stories they tell their children often draw on their faith traditions. But women’s roles and leadership are often invisible in the ranks of formal religious leadership. “Culture wars” come back again and again to relationships between men and women or, sadly, center on women as objects to be controlled.

Modern social norms are shifting, nowhere more prominently than in expectations about gender roles. Religious beliefs and practices are an important part of how these norms and expectations are shaped. This is most obvious in the public square but it is also important in private spheres, especially in families, where religious beliefs can shape gender dynamics in many ways, some readily apparent (like beliefs in differing gender roles or the relative importance of education for girls and boys), some much less so, for example the impact of stories with subservient female roles that echo religious traditions and beliefs. What’s needed, urgently, is a thoughtful conversation about how faith and feminism are linked. It needs to honor and respects feminism’s central commitment to true equal rights and women’s spiritual heritage and commitment to their central religious values.

Exploring the tensions, complementarities, and puzzles in private realms where men and women interact demands that we unpack important social challenges. This weekend actress and UN Ambassador Emma Watson gave a powerful speech at the United Nations. Her challenge: “If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won’t feel compelled to be submissive. If men don’t have to control, women won’t have to be controlled.” Where do religious teachings address or inform these issues? Surely they play a large part. Jill Lepore in the New Yorker explores the journey of Wonder Woman (an early feminist icon since she was born in 1941), as the missing link in a chain of events that begins with the woman-suffrage campaigns of the 1910s and ends with the troubled place of feminism a century later. Religion does not appear in the article but the reflections about backlash and politics around feminism highlight how much the issues matter and their deep complexity. Religion is a silent part of Lepore’s story.

Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the World Faiths Development Dialogue WFDD (which I lead) have launched an exploration of pressing issues where faith and gender intersect. We are looking primarily at the private realm, above all within families, across different cultures and religious traditions. We have found perspectives that range from pretty radical reinterpretation of traditional teachings to views that celebrate the lasting strength and insight in a religious heritage. The first step was to seek thought pieces, hopefully setting out both provocative views and reflections about paths we should pursue. Essays and interviews are online and we welcome comments. This is a continuing conversation and next steps will include discussions of the key topics that emerge.

And a conference on September 24 in Washington DC was cosponsored by the new web magazine altFem (from the founders of altMuslimah.com and altCatholicah.com), the Berkley Center, and WFDD.

Feminism and faith should be allies, not enemies. And contrary to many current conversations they are linked in important ways: both part of the problem and part of the solution. Feminism is commonly misunderstood as anti-men, anti-religion, and anti-family. That’s far from the spirit and the truth of the matter. Feminists care deeply about families even as they seek to understand or redefine family values so that they are consistent with a robust understanding of equal rights. For many women, faith gives meaning to life and strength to confront its challenges and savor its joys and women’s religiosity is too often ignored. In many parts of the world it seems downright odd that the two topics are so separate, since culture and religious heritage and wisdom are an integral to many people’s experience. The “aha” challenge is to find ways to engage different perspectives in ways that avoid the sting of preconceived and denigrating views and offer ways to build on positive visions of a world where equality is a reality.

Katherine Marshall is a faculty adviser to the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, and a Senior Fellow for Georgetown’s Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.