April 2011 - Centre for Civil Society - University of KwaZulu-Natal

everyone was tired of this. Our will to leave it behind was shown by the
high voter turnout in the elections: 83 per cent in the first round and over
70 per cent in the second round.’ However, Coulibaly does not agree: ‘The
division is inevitable. The politicians accuse the people of the north of
being rebels. Women are divided in the markets. Some pro-Gbagbo market
women tell their pro-Ouattara counterparts to ask their leader to build
them their own market.’
The current situation in Côte d’Ivoire is worrying. The Ivorian population,
which underwent almost a decade of crisis, strongly desires that a
peaceful outcome to this situation be found quickly for the benefit of
everyone. Human and women’s rights organisations are particularly
affected because funding opportunities for their work are becoming
scarce. Furthermore, growing fears for their personal safety reduce their
capacity to engage, and very few of them dare to openly express their
analysis of the situation. Coulibaly confided to AWID (Association for
Women’s Rights in Development) that, as far as she knew, no public action
has been undertaken by human rights organisations and that only the Civil
Society Agreement of Côte d’Ivoire (CSCI), which is a leading organisation
in the country, has made proposals for a solution. Other organisations
prefer not to issue statements because they do not share the same point of
view or analysis of the situation. However, Toure stated that there are
discreet initiatives being carried out by around 20 organisations and
women’s networks to encourage the two protagonists to protect the lives
of women and children, and to seek a peaceful outcome to the crisis.
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Reference
* Literally ‘hard onion’ – a variety of onion common in Cote d’Ivoire.
[1] RFI, http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20101028-cote-ivoire-trois-favorispassent-attaque
[2] IRIN, Côte d’Ivoire: La pression de l’économie – Compte rendu,
http://www.irinnews.org/fr/ReportFrench.aspx?ReportID=91589
[3] Ibid.
[4] PNUD,
http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2010_FR_Tables_reprint.pdf
[5] France 24, http://www.france24.com/fr/
[6] IRIN, Côte d’Ivoire: Violations des droits de l’homme – Compte rendu,
http://www.irinnews.org/fr/ReportFrench.aspx?ReportID=91604
[7] Ibid.