Interview: Women's light pierces darkness of war, says UN gender expert in DR Congo

KINSHASA, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 20 years ago, when Charlotte Songue first arrived in Kisangani, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's eastern Tshopo province, she was a young Cameroonian lawyer driven by dreams of justice and solidarity.

Today, as a senior women protection advisor and gender coordinator at the UN Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC, her name has become synonymous with empathy, determination and quiet strength, qualities she embodies in one of the UN's most demanding humanitarian missions.

"I was in my twenties when I began in 2006," she recalled in a recent interview with Xinhua in her office in Kinshasa. "The professional world was mostly male, but I quickly learned that professionalism has no gender."

From her earliest days, Songue felt a calling to international service. "Since high school, I knew I wanted to work in international relations," she said. After studying law in Cameroon and human rights in France, she joined the UN system as a volunteer and was deployed to the DRC, a country emerging from war yet full of resilience.

"As an African woman, I felt compelled to serve my brothers and sisters beyond my own borders," she said. "Working here offered the chance to make a real difference for survivors of gender-based violence and to help rebuild justice."

Her office documents rights violations, assists victims, trains authorities and advocates for gender equality -- work she described as "collective and deeply human."

"We partner with the Congolese government and civil society to make sure every person's rights are respected," she said.

Those ideals have been tested in some of the country's most challenging regions. Songue still remembers the muddy tracks of Lemera, the dense forests of Shabunda and Baraka, and the burned villages of Enyele after inter-communal clashes. "Traveling there was both a logistical and emotional challenge," she said. "Yet I knew our presence meant hope."

There were moments when the burden felt almost unbearable. "After listening to horrific testimonies or learning of a colleague's death, I sometimes felt powerless," she said. "At night, during field missions, I would lie in bed knowing that not far from where I slept, violence and bloodshed were still unfolding."

"But my faith and my family gave me the strength to continue. My children remind me that perseverance matters," she said.

What sustained her most was the tangible results: a survivor regaining dignity, or a wrongly detained prisoner set free. "Each of those small victories tells me that what we do here is not in vain," she said.

Through years of fieldwork, Songue has coordinated projects to support victims and empower women economically. "What strikes me most is their ability to turn pain into power," she said. "One survivor told me, 'I can stand tall again.' Those words stay with you."

She spoke with pride when talking about how she had helped women assume leadership roles in areas once closed to them. In South Kivu's Ruzizi region, 57 women were appointed neighborhood chiefs for the first time, thanks to a similar project.

"When women join local governance, decisions reflect the needs of the whole community," she said. "Investing in women's leadership benefits everyone."

In her eyes, fighting gender-based violence means engaging the entire society -- especially men and boys. "Men must move from words to action: report abuses, support survivors, and question harmful norms. This is not a war between sexes, but a collective effort for a fairer society," she said.

As a woman herself, Songue said the issue of gender is "the very essence" of her mission. "How can one remain unmoved by the pain of a teenage girl assaulted by an armed group or a mother rejected after rape?" she asked. "What keeps me going is seeing them heal and lead again. Their victories are my greatest joy."

Looking ahead, Songue envisions progress but also challenges: strengthening the rule of law, ending impunity and protecting civic freedoms. "Peace and justice must advance together," she said.

As the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women is being held in China, her message would reach far beyond the DRC. "The world needs this feminine strength to build peace," she said. "Your light always ends up piercing through the darkness of war," she added, referring to her sisters in conflict-laden regions.

Songue expressed hope that every girl in Africa can grow up in a world where gender is no obstacle. "I dream of an Africa where being a woman is a strength, not a risk. That a girl born tomorrow in Kinshasa or Yaounde has the same education, the same freedom, and the same opportunities as any boy." ■