COVER STORY DRCongo


“It will take men to stop rape in DRCongo. Te fact that rape victims are breaking the silence around the horrific sexual violence endemic in the


country is crucial for building peace and stability in the country. Women have started to speak out on their devastating experiences. Men, by and large, have remained mute while playing a strong part in stigmatising and excluding rape survivors. But without involving Congolese men, it will be difficult to address this problem successfully.”


CHRISTINE KARUMBA is the Country Director of Women for Women International in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.


“Sometime in the summer, I saw Ruined, the Pulitzer Award-winning play by Lynn Nottage, which told of women in a village in Congo


who accept to work in a bar/brothel, aſter being brutalised by soldiers in the war. Tis may have been fiction, but the emotions the actors raised in me broke my heart that some real women did go through these things and it continues to happen. One thing that helped me withstand the play was the resilient spirit that shone through, the humanity these women retained through it all and their hope for a better future, and making ways to adapt and come through it stronger. What we can do to help stop these war crimes targeted at women is to continue to support such works that bring them to the public stage, in plays, art, movies, books and documentaries. We can support by taking action as part of charities and lobby groups.”


MYNE WHITMAN is a US-based Nigerian writer and author of A Heart To Mend.


“Te real perpetrators of rape in the Congo are the corporations and international mining cartels that drive the carnage, in order to protect their access to mineral


resources. Increasingly, the data shows that the international attention generated by ‘rape reporting’ has done more harm than good to Congolese women. Congolese militia now know that they can generate headlines by planning mass rapes, and they use the threat of mass rape as a negotiating chip. So our job is not to ‘raise awareness’. It is to name and shame, call out, and hold accountable the international corporations, mining cartels, and political interests who are extracting resources from the region and arming and funding the militias. And to demand fair trade in Congolese minerals, which are in all our cellphones, laptops and other techno toys. Tat is the only way to halt the suffering of women in the Congo.”


SHAILJA PATEL is a US-based Kenyan activist, writer and poet. She’s the author of Migritude.


“It is devastating to hear about the terrible ordeals women in the eastern DRCongo have to endure. It’s time the world names and shames those involved including


those illegally removing the mineral resources of the area which is the foundation for the conflict. Te leaders of the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda must be held accountable for their inability to end the conflict and to stop the LRA and the other militias operating almost with impunity within their borders. 5.4m people have died already in this conflict. If this was happening anywhere in the western world the response to the atrocities would not be so apathetic. Sadly in this conflict it is, yet again, the women who are carrying the heaviest burden.”


LAURI KUBUITSILE is a Botswana-based writer who has written over 10 books, including Anything for Money.


32 | NEW AFRICAN WOMAN | WINTER 2011


“Systematic rape and pillage have been used as weapons of war since time immemorial. In 2008 I met women victims of rape


in Bosnia. What struck me was that despite the horrendous psychological and physical damage inflicted on them during the Balkans war, many women chose to talk about their ordeal. Talking takes tremendous courage. It turns a victim into a survivor – a woman with agency and power to transform lives. What I do as a filmmaker and writer is listen attentively to what these brave women say. I listen, record their testimonies, and then broadcast their experiences to as many people as possible, so that we learn from their incredible resolve to live. We learn and, hopefully, we never forget.”


YABA BADOE is a filmmaker and author of True Murder.


“It’s important that the women of eastern DRCongo see themselves as people who have the power to change their circumstances rather than helpless victims.


Power comes from knowledge and women by nature are custodians of both knowledge and power. Te mothers, sisters and aunts of the Congo should resist local traditions that justify the violence, and must teach their young (right from the cradle!) that women should be treated and expect to be treated with respect, as well as the fact that violence does not resolve conflict. Women from the world over who write, speak or have the ability to influence an audience should support local charities that rehabilitate abused women, and encourage constructive conversations about this issue both on and off the internet. Violence against the women of DRCongo is violence to women everywhere.”


OGO OGBATA is the author of Egg-Larva-Pupa Woman.


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