The World's Most Dangerous Place for Women
I watched a programme called 'The World's Most Dangerous Place for Women' yesterday (pretty much right before Doctor Who, it felt...odd) and I wanted to talk about it.
It's a documentary about a girl called Jude who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but was sent to live in England by her parents when she was 3. Twenty years later, she's going back to visit them, not having seen them for all that time. She's also going back to discover more about her country. Specifically, the conflict in the Eastern region and border with Rwanda.
In that part of the world women are being systemically raped as a weapon of war by rebels and soldiers from the Congolese army alike. Men are killed, women are made to watch and then they're raped to destroy their lives and spirit.
I keep reading, watching and finding things out about this situation and every time I do I feel so helpless. I feel like I should be doing something to help, but what can I do? The one thing I can do is spread the word, so that's why I wanted to talk about this. Jude visits women affected by the conflict and the women that are trying to help. I'm not an expert, by any means, but the programme seemed like a good introduction to what's going on in the Congo and I would recommend watching it earnestly. It's perspective.
Didn't get on the postgraduate course you wanted? Oh, that's a shame. There's a woman in the DRC whose community have completely disowned her because she was raped by Congolese soldiers.
Your brother hasn't done the washing up again? Oh, that's a shame. There's a three year old in the DRC who was raped and then her twin was killed. Then she was diagnosed as HIV positive.
Feeling lonely because everyone's got a boyfriend except you? Oh, that's a shame. There's a woman in the DRC whose husband refuses to let her back in their house because he thinks she's contracted HIV after being raped.
Sprained your ankle? Oh, that's a shame. There's a woman in the DRC who was raped so violently that she couldn't stop bleeding. Medical facilities were days away so she shoved grass up herself to stem the bloodflow. (This story wasn't in the programme, but I read about it through VDay and it's stuck with me ever since, as you can imagine.)
Jude is a really likeable young character through which to experience what's going on in the Congo and she never comes across as patronising, like the celebrities you see on Comic Relief or whatever. I really recommend watching the programme if you get a chance. Unfortunately it's only on iPlayer for a couple more days: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00rvbsj/b00rvbs6/The_Worlds_Most_Dangerous_Place_for_Women/.
It's a documentary about a girl called Jude who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but was sent to live in England by her parents when she was 3. Twenty years later, she's going back to visit them, not having seen them for all that time. She's also going back to discover more about her country. Specifically, the conflict in the Eastern region and border with Rwanda.
In that part of the world women are being systemically raped as a weapon of war by rebels and soldiers from the Congolese army alike. Men are killed, women are made to watch and then they're raped to destroy their lives and spirit.
I keep reading, watching and finding things out about this situation and every time I do I feel so helpless. I feel like I should be doing something to help, but what can I do? The one thing I can do is spread the word, so that's why I wanted to talk about this. Jude visits women affected by the conflict and the women that are trying to help. I'm not an expert, by any means, but the programme seemed like a good introduction to what's going on in the Congo and I would recommend watching it earnestly. It's perspective.
Didn't get on the postgraduate course you wanted? Oh, that's a shame. There's a woman in the DRC whose community have completely disowned her because she was raped by Congolese soldiers.
Your brother hasn't done the washing up again? Oh, that's a shame. There's a three year old in the DRC who was raped and then her twin was killed. Then she was diagnosed as HIV positive.
Feeling lonely because everyone's got a boyfriend except you? Oh, that's a shame. There's a woman in the DRC whose husband refuses to let her back in their house because he thinks she's contracted HIV after being raped.
Sprained your ankle? Oh, that's a shame. There's a woman in the DRC who was raped so violently that she couldn't stop bleeding. Medical facilities were days away so she shoved grass up herself to stem the bloodflow. (This story wasn't in the programme, but I read about it through VDay and it's stuck with me ever since, as you can imagine.)
Jude is a really likeable young character through which to experience what's going on in the Congo and she never comes across as patronising, like the celebrities you see on Comic Relief or whatever. I really recommend watching the programme if you get a chance. Unfortunately it's only on iPlayer for a couple more days: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00rvbsj/b00rvbs6/The_Worlds_Most_Dangerous_Place_for_Women/.