Biography
Lina Zedriga Waru Abuku is a lawyer and an expert in “women, peace, and security.” Since her husband, an opposition politician, disappeared eight years ago, she is the sole parent to five children plus three she adopted. She went from being a magistrate to a war widow. But she refuses to be called a “victim.” “We are the stakeholders. Nothing about us without us.” Since 2007 she has been the program manager of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 Project, aimed at empowering women for durable peace and reconciliation. “If we had a 1325 National Action Plan, we would take the Juba peace talks by storm,” she insists. In fact, she staged a media and grassroots campaign to get even one woman into the negotiations, leading a four-day march into areas of war and rape, then flying into Juba to deliver a peace torch to the Vice President.
In 2005, Ms. Zedriga served as program adviser to Northern Uganda Peace Initiatives, where she designed the Women in Peace Building and Reconciliation program, which included bringing together 300 internally displaced women and other Northern Ugandans to advance peace in the region. Before that, she was associate director of the Center for Conflict Management and Peace Studies at Gulu University, where she coordinated community outreach programs, led research, and helped develop a post-graduate diploma in conflict management and peace studies. She has trained women political candidates in nine districts in Uganda. “Where are the women in offices? We’re still making tea.” She has consulted for UNIFEM, trained police officers to protect victims of rape and sexual assault, and facilitated workshops for the Institute for Security Studies. Ms. Zedriga holds a master’s degree in human rights, a law degree, and a certificate of laws from Makerere University. She is a member of numerous professional associations, including the Network of African Peace Builders, the African Judicial Network, and the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers. Ms. Zedriga speaks English, Luo, Luganda, Lugbara, and Kiswahili. (01.2009)