I reread the comment after publishing and noticed some grammatical errors. This is the revised version (i'm sure there are still many errors, however, the ones that annoyed me the most personally have been removed)
In regards to the blog on rape in the Congo...
This is all evidence of a self perpetuating system where all factors are directly responsible for the propagation of rape. On the psychological level, this has been happening in this region for generations, which as time passes becomes the social norm. The men who are raping these women undoubtably have mothers who themselves were at one point victims of rape. When the matriarchal system is broken within the confines of the family, which is the basic building block of one's adult personality, it is no surprise that the male children later become adults who exhibit feelings of superiority coupled with hatred towards women. The fact that there is a social stigma in the region regarding rape further perpetuates the problem. These women not only have to deal with feelings of trauma, but shame and guilt. This, along with the fact that it is such a common occurrence, over time begins breaking down the sense of security and safety to the point where the women become subordinate both physically and psychologically. This is akin to a puppy who is raised by an abusive family; when the puppy grows, it will usually exhibit behavioral evidence of its subordination such as bowing its head or sticking its tale between its legs. For women, this manifests as fear towards men and a sort of quiet acceptance of the role they have been forced into. When the young males grow up observing their mothers exhibit these tendencies, it instills in them an image of women as weak. It also brews a subtle hatred; a frustration with one's parental figure who is too psychologically deteriorated to serve as any kind authoritative power in the child's life. I believe this factor combined with the reality of a society in constant civil dispute and all out warfare is ultimately expressed in violence towards women. We are products of our surroundings as well as the force that shapes them.
What is there to say about something like this? Horrific, devastating, even guilty. The main aspect I get from events this unfortunate is to whole heartedly thank my lucky stars. Rape in concept, the act, is empowering for these men. Some I would assume are pressured into such hostility, but most are heartless, tracing back to how each of them was raised. These women speak with courage. These women do not realize there is a different world among them. They are not exposed to anything better than the hell they experience. These women are hopeless, they are emotionally broken. Nothing there is to feel but sadness for this infliction and humiliation, and what is there to do? Look upon with sympathy and compassion? What is the aiding action? Or do we just learn to appreciate the conditions of our lives more sufficiently after knowledge of such brutality? In the end it’s all a shame, just simply shameful.
Since the beginning women have been subject to abuses or to say more precisely they have been considered inferior to man. For example, in some past societies women should stay home to take care of children; they were not allowed to be educated. The fact that the man is considered superior to women; they created different ways to manipulated women. I believe that this is how man came up with this very unpleasant abuse such as rape. It is well-know that men, in general, are more violent than women. In fact, violence on women is not new to this world; therefore, we must say that women are the victim of all that can be bad in a society which is weird because without us there would be no society at all. Now, if we look at rape regionally we would notice that it is more common in certain place than others. For instance, it is more common in poor countries like Congo than it is in America. I think that in a poor country like Congo_ where job is scarce and people most of the times rely on archaic farming to survive_ people spend more time doing nothing. In other to make time more appreciable they find something more appealing to do which is sex. In reality, for them that's a resource that will not end and that’s the only thing that they can do in other to forget about their problems. Consequently, more infant are born which makes the situation worst. Hunger is more frequent and when people are hungry they become more violent. Since man is more violent and is place in a higher rank than women; they profit this situation to violate women and exercise the power that the society gave them. I believe the reason why man wants to destroy women is because they envy them for something that they do not want to tell them.
After reading this article, I can relate to the reaction of any sane human being. The actions that these men forced upon these women are insane. It is simply a brutality. Man is not born with hate, man is not born to kill, so why are these men the way they are? One wonders what kind of development these gang members had throughout their childhood. Perhaps they themselves have been victims of abuse as well. The truth is many of these African countries have suffered abuse as a whole. The brutality of this recent event is the product of a national change that happened about 60 years ago. During the 60’s, Belgium gave the Congo their independence, and the Congo entered a state of upheaval. The people could not adapt from a society completely controlled by their white superiors, to a society belonging to the civilians. Mostly because they were not educated to lead a country. When the Belgian government reigned, they were treated like inferiors, and were given little to no rights (including education.) and not to mention racial hatred. Belgian forces controlled the streets with arms and violence, generating fear in the people. Surely when the Congo regained what was theirs, they adopted these same mannerisms towards their own people; hence civil war began. Different regions and political groups tried to gain control over the country and its resources. The hatred that boiled for years and the state of poverty that the country was left in, was too strong to attain any sort of balance within.
One cannot ignore the burden that Belgium left on the Congo. And one certainly cannot assume that these gang members choose to be the “faces of evil”. They have no choice but to live with this reality because it is the reality that was created for them. The real evil roots from the selfishness of powerful nations that took advantage of the Congo as well as many other undeveloped nations for their own economic interest.
This unfortunate plight that is impacting women in the Congo can be attributed to a variety of causal factors. Generally, these governments that are responsible for the security of its citizens are kleptocratic in nature. This breeds a level of social unrest in where individuals are often forced into exhibiting ruthless tendencies. When the immediate family collapses in its functionality, we are faced with an inevitable cluster of entities who seek a contrastive yet conceptually congruent source of solidarity. In order to reinforce their sense of safety, and to further bury their shattered personal nightmares--these afflicted souls meander about catalyzing pandemonium. These women are unfortunately prized as a grotesque form of sexual trophies, whereby the repudiation of morality further breeds victimization and persecution. Ever-present is the forceful subsistence under the iron grip of abusive and explicitly villainous syndicates. They are emotionally, physically, and psychologically distraught.
I felt really surprised when i finished reading this article. I cant believe what these women are passing through. I remeber hearing someone talking about women in Congo, but only about the religion. After reading this I feel someone should do sometihing about it. These women shoud have right like anyother women in the world. Like it says in this article, women may loose a lot of self-esteem, they can get easily depressed or have many different traumas. They may even feel nothing has any sense anymore which causes frustration. This is the same as killing their psycological health.
I felt really moved by this article. I cant believe what women are going through on the other side of the world. I think, psycologically, they might feel depressed, anxious, and helpness.They may not have anyone to talk to about this, because, like this text says, they feel mostly embarrased and frightened by what others may think or say about it. I believe when somebody rapes a person, this person changes completely, in a bad way. In this case, those women may feel that sex could damage them, by recalling their awful experience. In the other hand, Id to believe how a human being can be so destructive, and selfish to do something like that. All I can figure out is they must be sick in some way, mentally for sure. I try to compare this rapes with the ones that happen here in the USA, and i came with the conclution : in Congo there is not the same beliefs, education,or even lifestyle. Over there I imagine everythiaround religion more than around rights.
This is a dreadful and perplexe situation for the women of Congo.When being raping,they will have many problems.Some wiil get pregnant,others will lose their minds,get sick-AIDS,or they will event commit suicide.I find those men very wicked:tough they raped the women,they do not have to shoot them in their vagina.This is an uncivilised action.If these gangs have 30 members,so all of them raped one girl,wheter she is a child or an adolescent.This is a horrible crime.This a shame for Congo and Africa because neither of them cannot stop these evil events.It is also a shame for the United Nations.They aimed to maitain peace in the world but they cannot help Congo to get out of this perplexe situation.If tose men were educated,I do not think they will do such thing.They do it becase they do not know how much indispensable and pleasant are women.They also do it because in this country the do not give the women any rights.Therefore the government of Congo must do the best it can to defend the women because the is no society without women.
This devastating act of violence can be seen not just in Congo, but throughout most of the entire continent of Africa. Man is born through a woman, nurtured by a woman, and raised by a woman, which is why I do not understand why men rape women. “Manliness” does not come from raping women, it is worked for when a man goes out and hunts, or takes care of his wife, or protects the tribe. A man is not a man until he proves himself and for every culture the tests are different. Some cultures look down upon woman and see them as weak. Any male can rape a woman and certainly a caveman can do it as well, but this does not show “manliness”. Rape in Africa will only deteriorate its people mentally and physically. During the interview with Christine Karumba, she mentioned how after being tortured and raped several times, your body is almost as if it is no longer alive; instead, you are but a ghost waiting to be set free from the earth. Not only are the women being raped, but the children and father are caught in this as well. The new generation of Congo will live with hate and misery and the disappointing and the woman in Congo will be seen as peasents. We can only hope for the best and hope that help will be sent. Rape was used during war to rub it in the opponents face of there victory, but war is usually between two countries, and the rape going on in Congo is between its own people.
The war on rape in Congo…. I’m neither stunned nor shaken by this story; these events are obvious weapons of war. We sell toy guns, knives, army action figures to our youth, on which they can collect and pretending to shoot others, and kill others. I believe nowhere in the world has peace, and of course in our perception we will find these events in Congo both tragic and appalling, because of our beliefs. I’m positive that we “in our so called civilized world” and the Congolese have completely different views particularly on their weapons of choice in war. Are we better when we sent troops to Iraq? Are we better with our nation’s history of participating in every major war? Are we better? Violence is violence and peace is peace, I’m sorry I have no thoughts at all on the war on rape in Congo. I simply see it as another manmade weapon and we “not excluding animals and any other life forms on earth” have no boundaries of evil when our way of life and belief are in question. We are all wrong including me, and how can we change others if we do not first change ourselves? Therefore I cannot judge them and no one else should; however, I will applaud you brave people who has judged them and currently under the impression that you are superior. I do pity your ignorance…. Naw I’m only kidding lol u guys are all right.
Until a few years, the world showed indiferene to abuses in the Congo and other countries. For people living in these countries taken as normal sexual abuse and mistreatment, especially towards women, "the inferior race." As we can see that they are violated in different ways, without any respect to them. And terrible that children see as they kill their families helplessly, so causing psychological problems for victims and their families. It is terrible that we are in 2010 and has not been able to do anything about it and that it still exists.
In the Congo the violence isn’t just because of war, but is also to degrade women. These men are savages, who can’t be compared to an animal because that would be a compliment. Women aren’t physically stronger than men, so these monsters feed off the weaker one who can’t defend themselves. Women have die because they don’t have anyone to help them. What really infuriates me is that this women who are the victims have to feel guilty of themselves because rape brings dishonored to the family. The problem starts here, because if you are rape it’s not your fault it’s not something you can control. The victims have to keep silence because according to society they should feel worthless. In a country like this they need education, so they don’t live in ignorance. For centuries men are taught to be violent, this violent education starts when they are just a few years old. The families of these evil monsters are to be blame for teaching their sons to be so heartless. The government is as bad as the people who do these crimes because the government ignores these problems.
Women suffrage and sub-categorization in society is unacceptable. Not only do they have to cope with the abusive behavior of men, but they have to strive to withstand the society which now rejects them. It is striking to see how a culture can view the victim as guilty of a cruel act they did not seek. Women are minimized to nothing, not by their abusers; They are minimized by the deaf hears of the police who do nothing when they hear these women‘s screams and cries. I value that some women who have survived rape have formed a group to support each other. It is sad that some families and friends see these women as worthless because they lost their purity. The society views them as the provokers of these rape gangs that are common in Congo. Those women need some psychological support, the society needs to study and reflect upon their values and ideas, and the government or some type of law enforcement needs to happen in that area.
It seems since the beginning of time females have been subjected to an array of inadequacy, degradation, and in this case, blatant violence. In Congo, a state in Central Africa, it has been around an entire decade now that women of all ages have been being raped and tortured by men of different stature. Instead of the problem diminishing, the amount of rapes and brutality has only since been escalating in the recent months, and it doesn't seem to be getting better anytime soon. How is it that people have the time to document this kind of information for the masses without stepping in there to really do something about it? What does it take for we, the people living in this so-called "functioning society", to do something about all the terrors and the suffering these women are going through? How much longer are we going to watch these poor women being both used and corrupted at a many man's relic-like expense?
I knew rape was happening and was a problem over in the congo but i never realized the actual impact that it had on the society. I feel the organization (women for women) is setting a great example and the effort that they are putting in is seriously needed. With more education that is being taught to the youth they can learn to prevent and not to shame on woman for events happening that they had no control over. I find it really devastating and injustice the way the woman are being raped and the effect after the incident which is not even their fault.
What is happening in the Congo is despicable, but it is not the only time such things have happened. Women have been looked on as the lesser or inferior sex for generations. These raped women are conquered by the men who raped them, which is a victory for the man and as a war tactic really serves to send a terrifying message to those that they are fighting against. The social implications of the rape give a further victory since the rape victims are no longer accepted in society and they are unable to care for their families. It is amazing to see that some of these women can return to society and get passed the negative social view they were given.
Basically I feel that women has been object to rape for many centuries ever since slavery first started with our ancestors. But however sadly but true how men are still rapping women til this day.In my opinion what's the purpose of rapping women in general? Its obvious that these men don't have morals or values to respect women instead of rapping them like a piece of property. They fail to remember even though we are women we still appear as human that deserve the up most respect just like men but somehow men that rape women fail to realize that.
RAPE. The word alone makes me shiver. The webster definition for rape is "the unlawful compelling of a woman through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse." Its unbelievable how strong these women are to have gone through what they have gone through and be ok with life. Their stories are very inspiring. Rape is just filthy, nasty, dirty, and disgusting ! As much Law and Order as i watch i still cant understand what would make a man snap and rape a woman ! Is it the control they feed on? is it because they have needs? I dont get it ! My heart goes out to these women in congo. And you know what they say, what goes around comes around. Those men will get theirs one day.
It is unfortunate what is happening in Conga with the rape of women, but that does not surprise me at all because this distasteful happens not only in Conga but the entire world. Like the article said rape is spreading not only in Congo. Of course it angers me that after it’s done that these innocent women and being slather to death senselessly even burned beyond recognition. Also is bad to think that rape is dishonor to their family and community because that shames the women to point of depression. This article just verifies how cruel the world may be.
Almost 200 of women were rape. Why is that? Is it due to the government ignorance? Why haven’t they done anything to end the war on women? Tens of thousands of women and girls have suffered rapes in Congo for the past decade. It leaves them physically and emotionally damaged. For the past days, I’ve been thinking “why does rape exist?” Is it for the sensual pleasure and the feeling of control? Even if that was correct, the injection of bees or penetrations of machetes or sticks are not necessary. They are already humiliated in front of their families and friends. I came to the conclusion that even if they are still breathing, they are already dead; those victims are living in a contradiction situation. How can you both alive and dead simultaneously. Physically the women in Congo are alive but their spirits and soul ceased to exist. All they seem to do now is incarcerating themselves in their own minds. They might be able to forgive those men but they will never forget about that despicable journey. I pray out to the Congolese. Don’t be a victim but a survivor! Hopefully, the UN or the government try to reduce those crimes soon.
Can we TRULY blame these men for their sins?....what you and I consider to be sin, is simply the norm for these people...what are we to do? can we change generations of beliefs in a tribe that we are strangers to? i think not, and unfortunately, not any time soon, if ever....we can not change or reverse religion, beliefs, or culture because we will never control the human mind....all we can do is educate, offer refuge, and at most expose these tragedies to the world....these woman are the victoms of traditional beliefs along with the children that are stoned and abandoned for being accused of witch craft(in Nigeria, i think).....I suppose the defense here would bare the question, Would you stop praying to god if you were told to do so? if you were told it was not right to hold this belief?....we are pleading to these people to stop doing what they believe in, though truly horrible in so many ways, how could they agree with us?
Since the dawn of time, women have been treated as objects, it comes to me as no surprise things like this are allowed to happen. Even in our modern society women are looked upon differently from men- equality is merely an idealistic view. Ever flip through an issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, watch a porno, or go to a sex shop? The idea of objectifying women transcends cultural boundaries, I believe it is something ingrained into our most primitive instinct. The problem, I believe, is not just that rape is wrong, or about the thousands of lives rape destroys, it's about the struggle between the starving and desperate people, the women just happen to be a "soft" target as mentioned in the original post; this makes them an instrumental tool for the soldiers to instill fear with. I don't believe much will change in DCR or any impoverished nation for that matter- until the poverty line is diminished and basic human needs can be fulfilled, the horrors will continue.
I am amazed how strong these women are after being raped and their whole community turning their backs on them because they don't have respect for those women that have been raped. I can't even believe that even their own husband and children would turn their backs too. I try imaging if that would happen to my mother I would try and get revenge and help my mother the best I can. To those who rape, probably don't see all the trauma they leave those women, I am sure they wouldn't like it if their mother were being raped. I just don't understand how there can be so many people in this world that are so malicious. They don't notice that they are destroying the future this way. The United Nations should take action and stop this madness. Their are to many women suffering from being raped all around the world. Its really time to take action some way or another this can really affect us in the future.
To me the inhumanity and brutality of war has many faces. Unfortunately, in the Congo the most affected are the women. What these men are doing is simply horrible, how can they be the cause of so much brutality, suffering, pain, and trauma to these women. And what amazes me the most is that not only are they being raped, but they are also fighting to be accepted by their family and their society because rape brings dishonor to families and their community. So I ask myself can the abuse stop if their own people make them look, and feel guilty. This article only reassures me of one thing and that is the strength, power, courage, and dignity that women posses to keep on with their lives.
I don't really think that the best solution to this problem lies in the hands of the government because If th governement was going to do something to change the horrific deed being done down there,they wouldn't have waited till this decade or generation to do it. They would have done it a long time ago. It's so unfortunate for these women to have to go through such changes but just like society empower men unsconsciously to be better and manly, just like that the women in Congo can empower each other to create change for change starts with the self. I loved when the woman speaking stated that "one woman can change anything but all women can change everything." I t couldn't have been stated in any better way. These men of course only act the way they do because they have to reinforce the idea that they are in charge and what better way to do it then attacking and abusing the "weak". I strongly think that women are stronger than men and with their created organization, they can voice their fear and weakness to make changes for those who do not have enough courage to step up and speak about their ardeous life obstacles. Yea life may seem over or it might feel like there's no reason to live when your own kids can't even look at you because you've been degraded and use in ways worst than animals but staying "silent" doesn't change the facts but doing something to imrpove the situation can bring some kind of hope. I hope that these women follow the footsteps of those who have become part of the organization and earn their righful and respected place among their men society.
After reading this article and watching the videos, I am in complete shock and disbelief. What makes this so unfortunate and sad, is the fact that this is reality and that it is happening every single day. I believe that the people here in America should feel grateful and lucky that our situation here is nothing like these suffering countries around the world. It's so sad how these rapes occur in front of family members and how many of these women are murdered after being raped violently. I can only imagine how difficult these problems can be for a family and for villages who deal with this on a daily basis. It's also crazy how heartless the rapers are, violating women of all ages. I imagine the same thing you mentioned today in class, I doubt they will rape again if it was one of their own family members being attacked. Even though we do not know for sure the circumstances of the men raping, we can only assume that they were either trained for these acts and/or they are being forced to against their will, for the sake of keeping their own life. It seems like now though, more women are standing up to fight this bizarre disaster and I strongly believe that if many more stand up and fight, they will succeed. The government should step up and do something about it instead of looking the other way every time this happens. I quote the woman at the end of the first woman, "one woman can change anything, many woman can change everything." I agree with what she said 100%, the more people aware of this depression, the more help will surface and this ordeal will no longer happen as often.
For Many years men have felt the need to hurt women by raping them. And its sad to see that they are using this as a method of torture during times of war. As a women I feel there pain, not just because I am a women but because I am a victim of rape. Once a women is raped the shame and embaressment a women feels is overwhelming. Now in countries like Africa most soldiers are forced to rape the women. It’s the way they show who is in charge. The soldiers really don’t have a choice it’s either rape the women or be killed. Now I’m not saying all the soldiers have reservations about raping these women but it should be taken into consideration. As for the soldiers that are ok with the rape, it is a "manly thing”. For some reason men feel a sense of accomplishment or a sense of honor when raping a woman. To hear their cries of help and their no's excites them. It is disgusting but it is a reality. And it need to change we need to find a way to reverse the feelings men have after a rape. They should feel ashamed or disgusting and even not worthy of living. It’s a shame to know that in our society the women are outcast and ridiculed for being raped, when it should be the other way around.
There are several factors we can evaluate. This situation in Congo and other places is speaking about deep psychological convictions in society. This can be observed from many points of view (rapers, women, the villages, government, etc). I understand the complex case we are dealing with. Rapers can do this for many reasons, mostly linked to political views, creating terrorism is their own country to scandalize society and maybe get some kind of pleasure around the rape action, putting women again in the weakest position. Women can't do much about it, since rapers entered their homes violently, and were victims in front of their families. Is even more alarming that women don’t speak about this. Furthermore, not only women have no scape from this at the moment, but also in their own villages are subject to humiliation. The whole scenario here is wrong. About the question if this stereotype of manliness actually serves an exploitative, well yes, man here use their ‘power’ to impose their strength regardless of any psychological damage caused to the entire society and with a perverse objective. Because is not only the woman’s body being objectified, is the families also traumatized, taking them to a level of confusion and unconsciously put through wrong values that only circles the problem and perpetuates it.
I’ve read many articles such as this one about similar occurrences all throughout Africa. Many women experience the same atrocities in Nigeria and Sudan, and still, not all are given an understanding ear. In a society where women have lost their voices, it cannot be expected they are given much help. Women have always been objectified, and have always been seen as “less” than men in their society. What makes these women’s struggles all the more heartbreaking is that they, unlike their European or American counterparts, haven’t been given a chance to break free from this outdated perspective. While a lot of sexism does occur in Europe and the Americas, women still maintain rights, and are to some degree seen as equal. This mold has yet to be broken in Africa. Many countries in this unfortunate continent still retain the mentality that women are objects; that they can easily be taken as loot. In fact, they have become nothing more loot. Rape has become another way to demoralize the enemy, and a slap to the face for those involved. It’s a matter of pride and superiority, not that of even perverse pleasure. And sadly for the women who have to feel these horrible abuses, unless they break silence and throw away public opinion, there cannot be an uprising to finally move the current of domination.
Reading this article just opened my eyes to how bad it was over there. I knew that women are mistreated but I didn't know the extent of how abused they were. Women are looked at as trash and toys that the men can pick up and play with and when they are tired of them, they leave them somewhere and find another. Women are human beings and have feelings and emotions that leave them scared for life. Women there are not respected and the men are superior, it has been that way since the beginning even-thought their mothers and sisters and daughters are women. If these rapist can do this to these women then why can't they mistreat and rape their families.
Rape is one of the lowest forms of violence man can use to attack their enemy. In Congo rape is not a rare occurrence, and it makes me wonder what is going to happen to the next generation. The way these torture victims are treated after being raped is torture in itself. Their husbands don’t respect them, their children don’t respect them, and they are considered outsiders of the community. No one should have to go through the stress and demoralization that these women have to go through everyday. It is impossible for these children to grow up like a normal child so the more these rapes happen the more messed up the next generation is going to be, and the worse the country is going to be. I hope these women get help and the animals that do these horrendous crimes should be put to justice.
37 comments:
Big Bang!
I need more than this.
I reread the comment after publishing and noticed some grammatical errors. This is the revised version (i'm sure there are still many errors, however, the ones that annoyed me the most personally have been removed)
In regards to the blog on rape in the Congo...
This is all evidence of a self perpetuating system where all factors are directly responsible for the propagation of rape. On the psychological level, this has been happening in this region for generations, which as time passes becomes the social norm. The men who are raping these women undoubtably have mothers who themselves were at one point victims of rape. When the matriarchal system is broken within the confines of the family, which is the basic building block of one's adult personality, it is no surprise that the male children later become adults who exhibit feelings of superiority coupled with hatred towards women. The fact that there is a social stigma in the region regarding rape further perpetuates the problem. These women not only have to deal with feelings of trauma, but shame and guilt. This, along with the fact that it is such a common occurrence, over time begins breaking down the sense of security and safety to the point where the women become subordinate both physically and psychologically. This is akin to a puppy who is raised by an abusive family; when the puppy grows, it will usually exhibit behavioral evidence of its subordination such as bowing its head or sticking its tale between its legs. For women, this manifests as fear towards men and a sort of quiet acceptance of the role they have been forced into. When the young males grow up observing their mothers exhibit these tendencies, it instills in them an image of women as weak. It also brews a subtle hatred; a frustration with one's parental figure who is too psychologically deteriorated to serve as any kind authoritative power in the child's life. I believe this factor combined with the reality of a society in constant civil dispute and all out warfare is ultimately expressed in violence towards women. We are products of our surroundings as well as the force that shapes them.
Thanks, Jose.
What is there to say about something like this? Horrific, devastating, even guilty. The main aspect I get from events this unfortunate is to whole heartedly thank my lucky stars. Rape in concept, the act, is empowering for these men. Some I would assume are pressured into such hostility, but most are heartless, tracing back to how each of them was raised. These women speak with courage. These women do not realize there is a different world among them. They are not exposed to anything better than the hell they experience. These women are hopeless, they are emotionally broken. Nothing there is to feel but sadness for this infliction and humiliation, and what is there to do? Look upon with sympathy and compassion? What is the aiding action? Or do we just learn to appreciate the conditions of our lives more sufficiently after knowledge of such brutality? In the end it’s all a shame, just simply shameful.
Kristy Lopez
Since the beginning women have been subject to abuses or to say more precisely they have been considered inferior to man. For example, in some past societies women should stay home to take care of children; they were not allowed to be educated. The fact that the man is considered superior to women; they created different ways to manipulated women. I believe that this is how man came up with this very unpleasant abuse such as rape.
It is well-know that men, in general, are more violent than women. In fact, violence on women is not new to this world; therefore, we must say that women are the victim of all that can be bad in a society which is weird because without us there would be no society at all. Now, if we look at rape regionally we would notice that it is more common in certain place than others. For instance, it is more common in poor countries like Congo than it is in America. I think that in a poor country like Congo_ where job is scarce and people most of the times rely on archaic farming to survive_ people spend more time doing nothing. In other to make time more appreciable they find something more appealing to do which is sex. In reality, for them that's a resource that will not end and that’s the only thing that they can do in other to forget about their problems. Consequently, more infant are born which makes the situation worst. Hunger is more frequent and when people are hungry they become more violent. Since man is more violent and is place in a higher rank than women; they profit this situation to violate women and exercise the power that the society gave them. I believe the reason why man wants to destroy women is because they envy them for something that they do not want to tell them.
After reading this article, I can relate to the reaction of any sane human being. The actions that these men forced upon these women are insane. It is simply a brutality.
Man is not born with hate, man is not born to kill, so why are these men the way they are?
One wonders what kind of development these gang members had throughout their childhood. Perhaps they themselves have been victims of abuse as well.
The truth is many of these African countries have suffered abuse as a whole.
The brutality of this recent event is the product of a national change that happened about 60 years ago.
During the 60’s, Belgium gave the Congo their independence, and the Congo entered a state of upheaval. The people could not adapt from a society completely controlled by their white superiors, to a society belonging to the civilians. Mostly because they were not educated to lead a country. When the Belgian government reigned, they were treated like inferiors, and were given little to no rights (including education.) and not to mention racial hatred. Belgian forces controlled the streets with arms and violence, generating fear in the people.
Surely when the Congo regained what was theirs, they adopted these same mannerisms towards their own people; hence civil war began. Different regions and political groups tried to gain control over the country and its resources. The hatred that boiled for years and the state of poverty that the country was left in, was too strong to attain any sort of balance within.
One cannot ignore the burden that Belgium left on the Congo. And one certainly cannot assume that these gang members choose to be the “faces of evil”. They have no choice but to live with this reality because it is the reality that was created for them. The real evil roots from the selfishness of powerful nations that took advantage of the Congo as well as many other undeveloped nations for their own economic interest.
This unfortunate plight that is impacting women in the Congo can be attributed to a variety of causal factors. Generally, these governments that are responsible for the security of its citizens are kleptocratic in nature. This breeds a level of social unrest in where individuals are often forced into exhibiting ruthless tendencies. When the immediate family collapses in its functionality, we are faced with an inevitable cluster of entities who seek a contrastive yet conceptually congruent source of solidarity. In order to reinforce their sense of safety, and to further bury their shattered personal nightmares--these afflicted souls meander about catalyzing pandemonium. These women are unfortunately prized as a grotesque form of sexual trophies, whereby the repudiation of morality further breeds victimization and persecution. Ever-present is the forceful subsistence under the iron grip of abusive and explicitly villainous syndicates. They are emotionally, physically, and psychologically distraught.
I felt really surprised when i finished reading this article. I cant believe what these women are passing through. I remeber hearing someone talking about women in Congo, but only about the religion. After reading this I feel someone should do sometihing about it. These women shoud have right like anyother women in the world.
Like it says in this article, women may loose a lot of self-esteem, they can get easily depressed or have many different traumas. They may even feel nothing has any sense anymore which causes frustration.
This is the same as killing their psycological health.
I felt really moved by this article. I cant believe what women
are going through on the other side of the world.
I think, psycologically, they might feel depressed, anxious, and helpness.They may not have anyone to talk to about this, because, like this text says, they feel mostly embarrased and frightened by what others may think or say about it.
I believe when somebody rapes a person, this person changes completely, in a bad way. In this case, those women may feel that sex could damage them, by recalling their awful experience.
In the other hand, Id to believe how a human being can be so destructive, and selfish to do something like that. All I can figure out is they must be sick in some way, mentally for sure.
I try to compare this rapes with the ones that happen here in the USA, and i came with the conclution : in Congo there is not the same beliefs, education,or even lifestyle. Over there I imagine everythiaround religion more than around rights.
This is a dreadful and perplexe situation for the women of Congo.When being raping,they will have many problems.Some wiil get pregnant,others will lose their minds,get sick-AIDS,or they will event commit suicide.I find those men very wicked:tough they raped the women,they do not have to shoot them in their vagina.This is an uncivilised action.If these gangs have 30 members,so all of them raped one girl,wheter she is a child or an adolescent.This is a horrible crime.This a shame for Congo and Africa because neither of them cannot stop these evil events.It is also a shame for the United Nations.They aimed to maitain peace in the world but they cannot help Congo to get out of this perplexe situation.If tose men were educated,I do not think they will do such thing.They do it becase they do not know how much indispensable and pleasant are women.They also do it because in this country the do not give the women any rights.Therefore the government of Congo must do the best it can to defend the women because the is no society without women.
This devastating act of violence can be seen not just in Congo, but throughout most of the entire continent of Africa. Man is born through a woman, nurtured by a woman, and raised by a woman, which is why I do not understand why men rape women. “Manliness” does not come from raping women, it is worked for when a man goes out and hunts, or takes care of his wife, or protects the tribe. A man is not a man until he proves himself and for every culture the tests are different. Some cultures look down upon woman and see them as weak. Any male can rape a woman and certainly a caveman can do it as well, but this does not show “manliness”. Rape in Africa will only deteriorate its people mentally and physically. During the interview with Christine Karumba, she mentioned how after being tortured and raped several times, your body is almost as if it is no longer alive; instead, you are but a ghost waiting to be set free from the earth. Not only are the women being raped, but the children and father are caught in this as well. The new generation of Congo will live with hate and misery and the disappointing and the woman in Congo will be seen as peasents. We can only hope for the best and hope that help will be sent. Rape was used during war to rub it in the opponents face of there victory, but war is usually between two countries, and the rape going on in Congo is between its own people.
The war on rape in Congo….
I’m neither stunned nor shaken by this story; these events are obvious weapons of war. We sell toy guns, knives, army action figures to our youth, on which they can collect and pretending to shoot others, and kill others. I believe nowhere in the world has peace, and of course in our perception we will find these events in Congo both tragic and appalling, because of our beliefs. I’m positive that we “in our so called civilized world” and the Congolese have completely different views particularly on their weapons of choice in war. Are we better when we sent troops to Iraq? Are we better with our nation’s history of participating in every major war? Are we better? Violence is violence and peace is peace, I’m sorry I have no thoughts at all on the war on rape in Congo. I simply see it as another manmade weapon and we “not excluding animals and any other life forms on earth” have no boundaries of evil when our way of life and belief are in question. We are all wrong including me, and how can we change others if we do not first change ourselves? Therefore I cannot judge them and no one else should; however, I will applaud you brave people who has judged them and currently under the impression that you are superior. I do pity your ignorance…. Naw I’m only kidding lol u guys are all right.
Until a few years, the world showed indiferene to abuses in the Congo and other countries.
For people living in these countries taken as normal sexual abuse and mistreatment, especially towards women, "the inferior race." As we can see that they are violated in different ways, without any respect to them. And terrible that children see as they kill their families helplessly, so causing psychological problems for victims and their families. It is terrible that we are in 2010 and has not been able to do anything about it and that it still exists.
In the Congo the violence isn’t just because of war, but is also to degrade women. These men are savages, who can’t be compared to an animal because that would be a compliment. Women aren’t physically stronger than men, so these monsters feed off the weaker one who can’t defend themselves. Women have die because they don’t have anyone to help them. What really infuriates me is that this women who are the victims have to feel guilty of themselves because rape brings dishonored to the family. The problem starts here, because if you are rape it’s not your fault it’s not something you can control. The victims have to keep silence because according to society they should feel worthless. In a country like this they need education, so they don’t live in ignorance. For centuries men are taught to be violent, this violent education starts when they are just a few years old. The families of these evil monsters are to be blame for teaching their sons to be so heartless. The government is as bad as the people who do these crimes because the government ignores these problems.
Women suffrage and sub-categorization in society is unacceptable. Not only do they have to cope with the abusive behavior of men, but they have to strive to withstand the society which now rejects them. It is striking to see how a culture can view the victim as guilty of a cruel act they did not seek. Women are minimized to nothing, not by their abusers; They are minimized by the deaf hears of the police who do nothing when they hear these women‘s screams and cries. I value that some women who have survived rape have formed a group to support each other. It is sad that some families and friends see these women as worthless because they lost their purity. The society views them as the provokers of these rape gangs that are common in Congo. Those women need some psychological support, the society needs to study and reflect upon their values and ideas, and the government or some type of law enforcement needs to happen in that area.
It seems since the beginning of time females have been subjected to an array of inadequacy, degradation, and in this case, blatant violence. In Congo, a state in Central Africa, it has been around an entire decade now that women of all ages have been being raped and tortured by men of different stature. Instead of the problem diminishing, the amount of rapes and brutality has only since been escalating in the recent months, and it doesn't seem to be getting better anytime soon. How is it that people have the time to document this kind of information for the masses without stepping in there to really do something about it? What does it take for we, the people living in this so-called "functioning society", to do something about all the terrors and the suffering these women are going through? How much longer are we going to watch these poor women being both used and corrupted at a many man's relic-like expense?
I knew rape was happening and was a problem over in the congo but i never realized the actual impact that it had on the society. I feel the organization (women for women) is setting a great example and the effort that they are putting in is seriously needed. With more education that is being taught to the youth they can learn to prevent and not to shame on woman for events happening that they had no control over. I find it really devastating and injustice the way the woman are being raped and the effect after the incident which is not even their fault.
Michael Brown
What is happening in the Congo is despicable, but it is not the only time such things have happened. Women have been looked on as the lesser or inferior sex for generations. These raped women are conquered by the men who raped them, which is a victory for the man and as a war tactic really serves to send a terrifying message to those that they are fighting against. The social implications of the rape give a further victory since the rape victims are no longer accepted in society and they are unable to care for their families. It is amazing to see that some of these women can return to society and get passed the negative social view they were given.
Basically I feel that women has been object to rape for many centuries ever since slavery first started with our ancestors. But however sadly but true how men are still rapping women til this day.In my opinion what's the purpose of rapping women in general? Its obvious that these men don't have morals or values to respect women instead of rapping them like a piece of property. They fail to remember even though we are women we still appear as human that deserve the up most respect just like men but somehow men that rape women fail to realize that.
RAPE. The word alone makes me shiver. The webster definition for rape is "the unlawful compelling of a woman through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse." Its unbelievable how strong these women are to have gone through what they have gone through and be ok with life. Their stories are very inspiring. Rape is just filthy, nasty, dirty, and disgusting ! As much Law and Order as i watch i still cant understand what would make a man snap and rape a woman ! Is it the control they feed on? is it because they have needs? I dont get it ! My heart goes out to these women in congo. And you know what they say, what goes around comes around. Those men will get theirs one day.
It is unfortunate what is happening in Conga with the rape of women, but that does not surprise me at all because this distasteful happens not only in Conga but the entire world. Like the article said rape is spreading not only in Congo. Of course it angers me that after it’s done that these innocent women and being slather to death senselessly even burned beyond recognition. Also is bad to think that rape is dishonor to their family and community because that shames the women to point of depression. This article just verifies how cruel the world may be.
Almost 200 of women were rape. Why is that? Is it due to the government ignorance? Why haven’t they done anything to end the war on women? Tens of thousands of women and girls have suffered rapes in Congo for the past decade. It leaves them physically and emotionally damaged. For the past days, I’ve been thinking “why does rape exist?” Is it for the sensual pleasure and the feeling of control? Even if that was correct, the injection of bees or penetrations of machetes or sticks are not necessary. They are already humiliated in front of their families and friends. I came to the conclusion that even if they are still breathing, they are already dead; those victims are living in a contradiction situation. How can you both alive and dead simultaneously. Physically the women in Congo are alive but their spirits and soul ceased to exist. All they seem to do now is incarcerating themselves in their own minds. They might be able to forgive those men but they will never forget about that despicable journey. I pray out to the Congolese. Don’t be a victim but a survivor! Hopefully, the UN or the government try to reduce those crimes soon.
Can we TRULY blame these men for their sins?....what you and I consider to be sin, is simply the norm for these people...what are we to do? can we change generations of beliefs in a tribe that we are strangers to? i think not, and unfortunately, not any time soon, if ever....we can not change or reverse religion, beliefs, or culture because we will never control the human mind....all we can do is educate, offer refuge, and at most expose these tragedies to the world....these woman are the victoms of traditional beliefs along with the children that are stoned and abandoned for being accused of witch craft(in Nigeria, i think).....I suppose the defense here would bare the question, Would you stop praying to god if you were told to do so? if you were told it was not right to hold this belief?....we are pleading to these people to stop doing what they believe in, though truly horrible in so many ways, how could they agree with us?
Since the dawn of time, women have been treated as objects, it comes to me as no surprise things like this are allowed to happen. Even in our modern society women are looked upon differently from men- equality is merely an idealistic view. Ever flip through an issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, watch a porno, or go to a sex shop? The idea of objectifying women transcends cultural boundaries, I believe it is something ingrained into our most primitive instinct. The problem, I believe, is not just that rape is wrong, or about the thousands of lives rape destroys, it's about the struggle between the starving and desperate people, the women just happen to be a "soft" target as mentioned in the original post; this makes them an instrumental tool for the soldiers to instill fear with. I don't believe much will change in DCR or any impoverished nation for that matter- until the poverty line is diminished and basic human needs can be fulfilled, the horrors will continue.
I am amazed how strong these women are after being raped and their whole community turning their backs on them because they don't have respect for those women that have been raped. I can't even believe that even their own husband and children would turn their backs too. I try imaging if that would happen to my mother I would try and get revenge and help my mother the best I can. To those who rape, probably don't see all the trauma they leave those women, I am sure they wouldn't like it if their mother were being raped. I just don't understand how there can be so many people in this world that are so malicious. They don't notice that they are destroying the future this way. The United Nations should take action and stop this madness. Their are to many women suffering from being raped all around the world. Its really time to take action some way or another this can really affect us in the future.
Evil has a face: gang-rape in Congo
To me the inhumanity and brutality of war has many faces. Unfortunately, in the Congo the most affected are the women. What these men are doing is simply horrible, how can they be the cause of so much brutality, suffering, pain, and trauma to these women. And what amazes me the most is that not only are they being raped, but they are also fighting to be accepted by their family and their society because rape brings dishonor to families and their community. So I ask myself can the abuse stop if their own people make them look, and feel guilty. This article only reassures me of one thing and that is the strength, power, courage, and dignity that women posses to keep on with their lives.
I don't really think that the best solution to this problem lies in the hands of the government because If th governement was going to do something to change the horrific deed being done down there,they wouldn't have waited till this decade or generation to do it. They would have done it a long time ago. It's so unfortunate for these women to have to go through such changes but just like society empower men unsconsciously to be better and manly, just like that the women in Congo can empower each other to create change for change starts with the self. I loved when the woman speaking stated that "one woman can change anything but all women can change everything." I t couldn't have been stated in any better way. These men of course only act the way they do because they have to reinforce the idea that they are in charge and what better way to do it then attacking and abusing the "weak". I strongly think that women are stronger than men and with their created organization, they can voice their fear and weakness to make changes for those who do not have enough courage to step up and speak about their ardeous life obstacles. Yea life may seem over or it might feel like there's no reason to live when your own kids can't even look at you because you've been degraded and use in ways worst than animals but staying "silent" doesn't change the facts but doing something to imrpove the situation can bring some kind of hope. I hope that these women follow the footsteps of those who have become part of the organization and earn their righful and respected place among their men society.
After reading this article and watching the videos, I am in complete shock and disbelief. What makes this so unfortunate and sad, is the fact that this is reality and that it is happening every single day. I believe that the people here in America should feel grateful and lucky that our situation here is nothing like these suffering countries around the world. It's so sad how these rapes occur in front of family members and how many of these women are murdered after being raped violently. I can only imagine how difficult these problems can be for a family and for villages who deal with this on a daily basis. It's also crazy how heartless the rapers are, violating women of all ages. I imagine the same thing you mentioned today in class, I doubt they will rape again if it was one of their own family members being attacked. Even though we do not know for sure the circumstances of the men raping, we can only assume that they were either trained for these acts and/or they are being forced to against their will, for the sake of keeping their own life. It seems like now though, more women are standing up to fight this bizarre disaster and I strongly believe that if many more stand up and fight, they will succeed. The government should step up and do something about it instead of looking the other way every time this happens. I quote the woman at the end of the first woman, "one woman can change anything, many woman can change everything." I agree with what she said 100%, the more people aware of this depression, the more help will surface and this ordeal will no longer happen as often.
For Many years men have felt the need to hurt women by raping them. And its sad to see that they are using this as a method of torture during times of war. As a women I feel there pain, not just because I am a women but because I am a victim of rape. Once a women is raped the shame and embaressment a women feels is overwhelming. Now in countries like Africa most soldiers are forced to rape the women. It’s the way they show who is in charge. The soldiers really don’t have a choice it’s either rape the women or be killed. Now I’m not saying all the soldiers have reservations about raping these women but it should be taken into consideration. As for the soldiers that are ok with the rape, it is a "manly thing”. For some reason men feel a sense of accomplishment or a sense of honor when raping a woman. To hear their cries of help and their no's excites them. It is disgusting but it is a reality. And it need to change we need to find a way to reverse the feelings men have after a rape. They should feel ashamed or disgusting and even not worthy of living. It’s a shame to know that in our society the women are outcast and ridiculed for being raped, when it should be the other way around.
There are several factors we can evaluate. This situation in Congo and other places is speaking about deep psychological convictions in society. This can be observed from many points of view (rapers, women, the villages, government, etc). I understand the complex case we are dealing with. Rapers can do this for many reasons, mostly linked to political views, creating terrorism is their own country to scandalize society and maybe get some kind of pleasure around the rape action, putting women again in the weakest position. Women can't do much about it, since rapers entered their homes violently, and were victims in front of their families. Is even more alarming that women don’t speak about this. Furthermore, not only women have no scape from this at the moment, but also in their own villages are subject to humiliation. The whole scenario here is wrong. About the question if this stereotype of manliness actually serves an exploitative, well yes, man here use their ‘power’ to impose their strength regardless of any psychological damage caused to the entire society and with a perverse objective. Because is not only the woman’s body being objectified, is the families also traumatized, taking them to a level of confusion and unconsciously put through wrong values that only circles the problem and perpetuates it.
I’ve read many articles such as this one about similar occurrences all throughout Africa. Many women experience the same atrocities in Nigeria and Sudan, and still, not all are given an understanding ear. In a society where women have lost their voices, it cannot be expected they are given much help. Women have always been objectified, and have always been seen as “less” than men in their society. What makes these women’s struggles all the more heartbreaking is that they, unlike their European or American counterparts, haven’t been given a chance to break free from this outdated perspective. While a lot of sexism does occur in Europe and the Americas, women still maintain rights, and are to some degree seen as equal. This mold has yet to be broken in Africa. Many countries in this unfortunate continent still retain the mentality that women are objects; that they can easily be taken as loot. In fact, they have become nothing more loot. Rape has become another way to demoralize the enemy, and a slap to the face for those involved. It’s a matter of pride and superiority, not that of even perverse pleasure. And sadly for the women who have to feel these horrible abuses, unless they break silence and throw away public opinion, there cannot be an uprising to finally move the current of domination.
Reading this article just opened my eyes to how bad it was over there. I knew that women are mistreated but I didn't know the extent of how abused they were. Women are looked at as trash and toys that the men can pick up and play with and when they are tired of them, they leave them somewhere and find another. Women are human beings and have feelings and emotions that leave them scared for life.
Women there are not respected and the men are superior, it has been that way since the beginning even-thought their mothers and sisters and daughters are women. If these rapist can do this to these women then why can't they mistreat and rape their families.
Rape is one of the lowest forms of violence man can use to attack their enemy. In Congo rape is not a rare occurrence, and it makes me wonder what is going to happen to the next generation. The way these torture victims are treated after being raped is torture in itself. Their husbands don’t respect them, their children don’t respect them, and they are considered outsiders of the community. No one should have to go through the stress and demoralization that these women have to go through everyday.
It is impossible for these children to grow up like a normal child so the more these rapes happen the more messed up the next generation is going to be, and the worse the country is going to be. I hope these women get help and the animals that do these horrendous crimes should be put to justice.
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