Raped
every day for nine months
Gang raped by seven men.
My name is Mado Nzigire, 33years old, from Bukavu district
from Democratic Republic of Congo, one evening I was busy preparing supper for
my family when armed men stormed my compound. They collected all my family
members together, and then they started raping me one by one until the seventh
rebel got his turn. Can you imagine I was raped in the presence of my children
and mother in law, and when my husband tried to stop them, he was killed
instantly? I passed out and only to wake up in the middle of nowhere surrounded
by bush. The rebels had taken me to be their wife. They fought amongst
themselves for me, and in the end the leader decided to have me. I would cook
food for them, clean around and sometimes fetch water at gun point. To make it
worse I was raped every day for nine months by the rebel leader. My private
parts got torn and now I cannot manage to hold waste. Fortunately one day I was
allowed to fetch water from the well on my own and there was an exchanged of
bullets between the government and the rebel, so I used that opportunity to
escape. I went to the hospital where I was treated. Now I work as a porter by
carrying people’s lugage and sometimes work as house help. I have to look after
my family and mother in law. Life is not easy because I have recto-vaginal
fistula, a very dangerous health problem with repeated pelvic infections and
the memories of those horrible days still linger in my mind.
Fortune to rape a virgin
My name is Yoles Kambele, 31 years from Bundibugyo. I was
abducted by Allied
Democratic Forces
rebels at the age of 13 and I was still a virgin the rebels tattooed all
virgins in the bush whom they believed it was a source of fortune to have sex
with them. I was gang raped by 9 men, one I tried to refuse to have sex with
the men then I was heavily beaten bushed in a trunk of a tree I still feel some
of scares. Unfortunately I became
pregnant I was operated by using the razor blade and a knife during labor, and
I was healed by going in cold water every early morning and giving me herbs.
But today I have heard complications during every delivery. This person who
operated me, I could not establish whether he was a medical personnel qualified
or not because everybody claimed to be expert especially when it came to crisis
and there was need to help somebody.
Forced to eat flesh fresh.
My name is Amina 25 years old. I was abducted by Allied Democratic
Forces rebels
when they attacked my village in
Ndughuthu Sub County in Bundibugyo. I was abducted together
with my sister and cousin. We walked for a very long period of time, when my
sister could not take it anymore; she complained and begged that we get some
rest. The rebel leader commanded his men to cut her body into pieces and this
was then mixed with goat meat. I was forced to eat my sister’s flesh; I was the
first to be given the piece of her flesh to eat, I had to eat it or else I
would lose my life. Sometime later my cousin could not take it anymore, she was
also killed and then her private parts were cut off and they forced me to eat
them too fresh. I was threatened, that in case I refused I would be the next on
the row, I simply ate. It was too
devastating, up to now I cannot forget the trauma I went through. Those were
the worst days of my life, seeing my family lose their lives and at the same
time being forced to eat their flesh fresh. I managed to escape and returned
home. Even though I have got counseling from women in Isis WICCE, the memories
are still fresh in my mind.
Those are some of the testimonies given by women from
war affected areas from different parts of the world, in the ongoing Isis-WICCE
leadership training for peace and security taking at Esella country hotel in
Najjera for a period of two weeks.
Africa is a witness to severe civil and political
conflict. These conflicts among other political, economic and social problems
have led to increased instances of complex forms of Violence Against Women
(VAW) including Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV).
Sexual violence against women shatters victims’
relationships with their families and society.
Violence and abuse in armed and post conflict
settings is rooted in gender inequalities, power dynamics, oppression and lack
of privilege for women. The humiliation that women go through results in loss
of pride, loss of voice and self-worth, indignity, fear, depression, trauma and
bitterness.
Koffi Annan, (1999) notes that violence against
women is the most shameful human rights violation and it is perhaps the most
pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. As long as
it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality,
development and peace. Yet further still, patriarchy and masculinities are used
to intimidate those trying t address indignity and injustices.
Consequently women are forced to be silent, their
presence is stigmatized and their rights as a productive economic force
collapse.
Despite the recent adoption of the UN resolution
1820 (2008) which calls for the cessation of war related sexual violence
against civilians in conflict zones, Africa continues to see some of the worst
cases of war related sexual violence including the mass sexual abuse of entire
rural communities particularly in the Great Lakes region. In addition to
calling for a complete halt to this abuse, there is a need for the systematic
study of the reproductive, surgical and psychological effects of war related
sexual violence in the African socio-cultural setting.
Long term health consequences of war related sexual
violence include reproductive health problems, surgical problems and
psychological health problems in the survivors. Reproductive health problems
have been reported to include: pain in both external and internal genitalia;
menstrual disturbances; urination and defecation problems; sexual problems such
as sexual dysfunction; rectal and vaginal fistulae and traumatic genital
injury; urinary tract infections; STDs including pelvic inflammatory disease,
HIV/AIDS; disturbance of reproduction including infertility; and precancerous
and/or cancerous cervical tumours. Destruction of breast tissue may result in necrosis of
the papillae so that a mother cannot breastfeed her infant, which is often the
only available source of nutrition for babies in situations of war.
Psychological
torture
According
to the international Health and Human Right research article about War related
sexual violence and it's medical and psychological consequences as seen in
Kitgum, Northern Uganda has suffered chronic warfare for the last 20 years,
with a conflict waged between the central government army (the Uganda Peoples
Defence Forces; UPDF) and a vicious rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army.
This conflict has led to the mass traumatisation of the population including
the abuse of human rights, and the forced displacement of over 2 million people
(80% of the population in the region) into internally displaced persons camps.
