Judith Adorkorach, a CARE activist from Uganda, delivering a speech to people gathered in Trafalgar Square. © CARE / Deborah Underdown
International Women’s Day (8th March) is an important date for CARE International, as we call for an end to violence against women in conflict.
This year, we were delighted to be joined in the UK by Judith Adokorach, Gender Adviser for CARE in Uganda, and a committed women’s rights activist.
Judith works with women who have survived violence in northern Uganda, where conflict raged for over two decades.
During her week in London, Judith addressed over a thousand women in Trafalgar Square as part of the Million Women Rise rally, chatted to Annie Lennox about our Voices Against Violence campaign during a march on Millennium Bridge, and addressed CARE supporters at an event in London, highlighting the violence that women in northern Uganda still face on a daily basis.
Judith said: “Coming to London for International Women’s Day has been a great opportunity to raise the voices of the women of my home land, northern Uganda. Women’s voices are often silenced there, and I am happy that I have been able to represent women who are often voiceless at an international level. Moving forward, we need to ensure that we raise these issues, and continue the struggle, every day, not just on International Women’s Day.”
A highlight of Judith’s trip was a tour of parliament and the opportunity to meet with representatives of the All Party Group on the Great Lakes. She was able to directly deliver CARE’s campaign demands – that all political parties put women at the heart of their foreign policy priorities.
In the run up to the UK election, CARE is calling for each party to commit to:
- Putting services for women at the centre of all action against rape in war;
- Promoting access to justice for women who have survived sexual violence in conflict;
- Making the UN more accountable to women;
- Addressing the root causes of violence against women in conflict.
To sign up to our campaign action, please click here.
