Advisor Profile

Katana Gégé Bukuru, Congo (DR)

“As an advisor, I’m concerned with living and witnessing the harmful effects of armed conflicts that continue to burden women, including rape, sexual violence, the persistence of women’s poverty, insecurity in the region and the low levels of representation of women in decision-making.”

Katana Gégé’s tiny frame belies her stellar work as a human rights defender in the face of extreme crises and conflict. In her 25 years of activism, she has been arrested, forbidden to travel and had her life threatened by the Congolese army and other armed groups. But she remains unflinching in her work to end sexual violence in Congo (DR), her country of origin.

Katana is the founding president of “Solidarité des Femmmes Activistes pour la Defense des Droits Humains” (Solidarity Movement of Women Human Rights Activists or SOFAD), an organization that works through a grassroots network of over 600 women to end sexual violence and provide counseling to rape survivors. This group is based in Uvira in Eastern Congo, a region that has borne the brunt of military campaigns since 1998. More than four million  people have died, and thousands of women have been raped by various armies from Congo and neighboring countries.

As a human rights activist, Katana finds the lack of mechanisms and resources for combating gross violations of human rights unacceptable. The scale and horror of sexual violence against women and girls in Eastern DRC prompted Katana Gégé to form SOFAD, which also educates local communities on women and children’s rights and lobbies the government to deliver justice, reform discriminatory laws and stop the influx of weapons. This year, Katana worked with the Global Fund to organize an unprecedented convening of 55 women’s rights activists in the Eastern Congo. “My vision is to organize Global Fund grantees in Central Africa to maximize their work and strengthen impact,” said Katana, a goal that we are deeply honored to join her in fulfilling. Katana recently received the prestigious 2007 Front Line Defender Award from the Ireland-based human rights group.