The common perception of the international community about the DRC is that the country is in a very bleak situation. It's been referred to as the "rape capital of the world," "the worst place on earth to be a woman" and many other depressing descriptions. How do you feel about this? How can ICTs be used to put these descriptions into a more accurate and realistic perspective?

SN: It is true that many atrocities have been committed against women and girls in the DRC, and that makes us sad, but we are awake to the fight to end these atrocities. This explains the strong mobilization of women's and human rights organizations to end impunity against perpetrators of sexual violence in this country.

Building the capacity of women and girls, civil society and the media in the use of ICTs is critical so we can tell the stories from the Congolese perspective and also raise the voices of courageous girls and women who fight for women's rights in the DRC. There are a number of campaigns initiated by international organizations in the DRC on Facebook, You Tube and on several blogs, but very few Congolese activists use ICT tools to speak, to share stories and ideas online. Congolese activists should take advantage of these tools.

FM: We have that bad, long legacy of dictatorship in our country so people are really afraid to hold their leaders accountable for what is being done to them. But we women, especially young women, are willing to break the silence. We didn't really live during those dark days when people were disappearing for not saying the right things in public, but we still see how risky it is to go against the norms, because we can become scapegoats. So we do it online, everyday, more and more we are building our political consciousness. We are taking detours like using creative stuff to understand what it requires to end poverty, to be part of the leadership and to build our political consciousness. We need more projects on how to exercise our communication rights.

I'm convinced that women are the only ones who can put an end to the violence because they live it in their flesh and in their souls. But you know what, when you present an ICT project to funders they ask: "How will you implement this in a country where there is no electricity, where there is a high level of illiteracy among women, where there are many people fighting to put food on their table?" ICT projects are not part of their priorities. Our biggest challenge is to explain to them that ICT can be a solution to the problems they want to solve.

Who promotes the issue of ICT access in the DRC and how is this done?

FM: There are many people promoting ICT access but it is not done in a systematic way. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa ( UNECA) came up with a National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) plan to standardize what we are doing in-country with what was agreed internationally during the World Summit on the Information Society. The World Bank presented a sectoral policy on telecom. Some funders have started discussions on infrastructure saying that we don't need a policy before infrastructure. Some civil society organizations are also advocating for a national ICT plan before going into sectoral planning. Where have all these led us?

Nothing has been concretely accomplished after more than four years! I like very much the work of the civil society but we need political will to make things happen. We have so many people, many funders willing to help because they know that developing ICTs in the DRC can benefit the whole region. However, when they find out that there is nothing concretely done in the country, they just give up.

SN: If the sectoral strategy of development of ICT developed by the government is implemented, it will reduce the digital divide in the country. There should also be more action and involvement of women's organizations and civil society in the process of development of ICTs in the DRC.

Question answers have been edited for space constraints

* Former journalist and a survivor of violence, Francoise Mukuku is the national coordinator of a young feminist group called Si Jeunesse Savait based in Kinshasa, DRC.

* Sylvie Niombo is the regional coordinator for the MDG3: Take Back the Tech! to end violence against women project in Congo - Brazzaville and co-founder of AZUR Development, a women's organization in Congo Brazzaville.

Mavic Cabrera-Balleza is the international coordinator of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders.

The interview first appeared in www.GenderIT.org

Online petitions to help stop violence against women at  www.rdcviolencesexuelle.org/