WOMEN of the CONGO

Congo Today

Since 1998, a ferocious war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has left over 5 million people dead, more than any other conflict since World War II. Within this crisis are the incalculable casualties: the tens of thousands of women and girls who have been systematically raped, mutilated, or tortured by soldiers from both foreign militias and the Congolese army. The world knows little of these women. They and their children have suffered and died in silence. Only now are their shocking stories beginning to be told.

Epidemic of Rape

Though much of the country is now at peace, sexual violence in Congo rages unabated, amid widespread indifference and in a climate of impunity. Savage rapes are committed against women as old as 87 and children as young as 10 months. Few of the culprits are punished: There is no functioning justice system to speak of, and most attacks go unreported. Victims are disgraced and frequently ostracized by their families and communities. The ripple effect of these crimes extends far beyond the individual victims, destroying family and community bonds and leaving children orphaned and HIV-positive. Many survivors, having lost everything and suffered immeasurable physical and psychological trauma, require multiple surgeries and long-term medical care—and these are the lucky ones.

Even Dr. Denis Mukwege, director and founder of the woefully understaffed UNICEF supported Panzi hospital in Bukavu, a haven for many of the victims, is shocked on a daily basis by the mutilation that often accompanies the rapes. He refers to these crimes against women as the "monstrosity of this century".  

Dr. Mukwege has treated thousands of these women and has recieved national recognition of his devotion to the women and children of eastern DR Congo.  "I am doing this because I don't want to have to cry anymore.  I don't want to have to cry when I tell a young woman when she asks me, can I have a baby, and I have to say no" - Dr. Mukwege, April 2008   

"Before I went to the Congo, I’d spent the past 10 years working on V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls. I’d traveled
to the rape mines of the world--places like Bosnia, Afghanistan and Haiti,
where rape has been used as a tool of war. But nothing I ever experienced
felt as ghastly, terrifying and complete as the sexual torture and attempted destruction of the female species here. The violence is a threat to all; young girls and village elders alike are at risk. It is not too strong to call this a femicide, to say that the future of the Congo’s women is in serious jeopardy."  -Eve Ensler, V-Day founder and playwright

"Eastern Congo may be the most beautiful slice of Africa and the most disturbed. I was floored by what I saw there. And my story seemed to strike a nerve. Scores of people from around the world have written me, asking what they could do to help. It seems like this is one forgotten crisis that more and more people are determined not to forget."  - Jeffrey Gettleman, journalist and East Africa Bureau Chief of the New York Times