Summary of the International Conference on Women and Resistance held on days 2 and April 3, 2016 in the Saharawi refugee camps, near the town of Tindouf Algeria.

Summary of the International Conference on Women and Resistance held on days 2 and April 3, 2016 in the Saharawi refugee camps, near the town of Tindouf Algeria.

This conference is the fourth edition. The first such conference was held in Abuja, Nigeria 2010, the second was in Algiers, Algeria 2013, and the third was in Windhoek, Namibia.

The conference comes within the framework of a strategy of African women in order to support the struggle of the Saharawi women with 40 years, and their peaceful resistance despite the serious human rights violations being committed by security forces against the Saharawi people especially women.

The fourth Conference has been a forum for exchange of experiences between groups of women who participated in the struggle against colonialism in Africa, struggles were led by liberation movements in Africa as the first item.

In this regard they were shared experiences of resistance during the struggle against colonialism, from Namibia, Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the experience of Saharawi women. The experience of the Saharawi women was very striking and hard by the presence of a delegation of Saharawi women from the areas occupied by Morocco especially women who were imprisoned and tortured, mothers of political prisoners and missing.

 The conference has received messages of solidarity from the Federation of Cuban women, women of Angola and other organizations continental and international.

The second issue was the economic empowerment of women, in this regard were treated experiences from Waele an organization of African women in Nigeria who works for the political and economic empowerment of women in Africa were also discussed experiences from Algeria and camps Sahrawi refugees.

At the end of the Conference, Waele has supported  60 cooperatives Saharawi women in the refugee camps.