Nobel for Peace goes to anti- rape activists
■ Nadia Murad, 25, a former ISIS sex slave, first Iraqi to win
Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and Yazidi campaigner Nadia Murad won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their work in fighting sexual violence in conflicts around the world.
The pair won the award “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict”, Nobel committee chairwoman Berit ReissAndersen said in an announcement which won international praise.
One a doctor, the other a former Islamic State sex slave, both have come to represent the struggle against a global scourge which goes well beyond any single conflict, as the # MeToo movement has shown.
By recognising the pair’s work, the Nobel committee has placed a spotlight on the use of sexual violence in war as a global problem.
Dr Mukwege, who was in surgery at his hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo when the winner was announced, dedicated his award to all women suffering sexual violence in war. “This Nobel prize is a recognition of the suffering and the failure to adequately compensate women who are victims of rape and sexual violence in all countries around the world,” he said outside Panzi hospital in Bukavu.
The Nobel committee also honoured Murad, a 25- yearold Iraqi woman from the Yazidi community who in 2014 was kidnapped by Islamic State militants and endured three months as a sex slave before managing to escape. Reacting to the award, she said it was a significant victory for all women suffering from sexual violence.
Oslo, Oct. 5: Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and Yazidi campaigner Nadia Murad won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their work in fighting sexual violence in conflicts around the world.
The pair won the award “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict,” Nobel committee chairwoman Berit Reiss- Andersen said in unveiling the winners in Oslo.
“A more peaceful world can only be achieved if women and their fundamental rights and security are recognised and protected in war,” she said.
One a doctor, the other a former Islamic State sex slave, both have come to represent the struggle against a global scourge which goes well beyond any single conflict, as the # MeToo movement has shown.
The prize was announced as # MeToo marks its first anniversary after a year in which allegations of sexual abuse, rape and harassment have toppled dozens of powerful men.
By recognising the pair’s work, the Nobel committee has placed a spotlight on the use of sexual violence in war as a global problem.
Mukwege, 63, was recognised for two decades of work to help women recover from the violence and trauma of sexual abuse and rape in the war- torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Women, children even babies just a and few
months old, Mukwege has treated tens of thousands of victims of rape at Panzi hospital which he founded in 1999 in South Kivu.
Alongside Mukwege, the committee honoured Murad, a 25- year- old Iraqi woman from the Yazidi community who in 2014 was kidnapped by Islamic State militants and endured three months as a sex slave before managing to escape.
She was one of thousands of Yazidi women and girls who were abducted, raped and brutalised by jihadists during their assault that year
on the Kurdish- speaking minority, which the United Nations has described as genocide.
“The first thing they did was force us to convert to Islam”, she said years ago. “After conversion, they did whatever they wanted.” After her escape, she quickly became a figurehead for efforts to protect the Yazidi community.
The Nobel committee said Murad had shown “uncommon courage” in recounting her own sufferings and speaking up on behalf of other victims.