Women who break the mold. Caddy Adzuba knows what it means to live dangerously.
14/05/2022
The 19th and 20th May, a hundred of women leaders from Africa, Latin America and Europe will hold a major meeting in Madrid. Under the name ‘Women’s Bridges. Proposals from the South for global change’, they will debate the major issues of concern to the global population. The aim is to ensure that they are heard and taken into account. To this end, they will prepare a document with proposals which will be presented to the international community.
In this section we introduce you to some of these leaders. They are all women who will impress you. We have made the choice of presenting you those who are going to be the coordinators of the different working groups, but you will find biographies of all the participants on this website.
Today we introduce you to CADDY ADZUBA who, together with Hibaaq Osman, coordinates the working group “Violence, women, peace and security”
In Congo, being a woman and a journalist is not easy. Here we have a brave woman who grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country that has been at war since 1996. The DRC is rich in minerals and one of the most devastated states in the world. It is also one of the countries with more displaced people fleeing violence and greed.
This lawyer and journalist specialized in gender and women’s leadership has been death threatened and assaulted for reporting sexual violence and abuses suffered by women.
She is one of the leading voices of feminism in Africa and an expert on violence against women in wars and armed conflicts.
An advocate of press freedom, she uses the media to promote human rights, denounce abuses, help women and push for peace. She says the media “is the voice of the voiceless”.
She is president of the Association of Women in the Media (AFEM), which promotes gender equality and fights against sexual violence. They are the creators and owners of the first and only radio station focused on women.
She has worked for Radio Okapi, a United Nations Mission radio station, through which she has reported the torture and rape of Congolese women and girls.
She is president of the FPM/asbl, a foundation whose objective is the empowerment of Congolese women.
She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Alliance of Women for Peace.
Her courage and exemplary work have brought her international recognition. In Spain she has been awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, the Julia Anguita International Journalism Award and has been named Doctor Honoris Causa by the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
(Translated by Alba González Pascual, Student trainee, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares)
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