‘Raise your voices… help your sisters’
The increasing number of rapes against women and children around the world has sparked outrage and condemnation. A recent fund-raiser in Durban placed the spotlight on current issues and the need for victims, families and friends to speak out, writes NADI
THE brutal gang rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in India’s Kashmir state has sparked outrage among women, activists and international children’s rights organisations.
The girl was kidnapped, drugged and repeatedly raped over five days at a Hindu temple before being strangled and beaten with a rock, allegedly by eight men, including a retired government official and two police officers. The case is expected to be heard in court this week.
To highlight issues which are often swept under the rug, the non-profit organisations, Salaam Foundation, the South African National Muslim Women’s Forum (SANMWF) and the Caring Sisters Network, hosted a “Rape is a Weapon of War” awareness campaign and fund-raiser at the Mariam Bee Centre in Overport on Thursday.
About 100 women attended. They were encouraged to spread awareness and help make a difference to the lives of thousands of women and girls living in countries including Myanmar, Central African Republic and Syria, where they are held in captivity, in jails and secret locations, and raped, beaten, impregnated and killed every day.
British journalist Yvonne Ridley said rape was a subject regarded taboo for many years.
“Rape is a word that just slips off the tongue, but recently it has been in the headlines and conscience of many after the brutal rape and murder of… (the little girl in India).
“Her horrific death shone a terrible spotlight on the underbelly of India where a woman is raped every 15 minutes. Those statistics are shocking.
“However, the attraction to her death was even more shocking after a demonstration in Jammu to protest in favour of these men who were arrested and those included two members of parliament. This is the reason that many women fail to report rape.”
Ridley added that more than 7 000 women and children were being detained in Syrian prisons without trial or charge.
“Many of those women and children will be raped today. What is happening to those locked in prisons in Syria is on an industrial scale that is virtually unprecedented, and it is the shocking reality of these women.”
The chief executive of SANMWF, Shamshad Sayed, said women were meant to be loved and nurtured, but were being sexually violated by those supposed to be their protectors.
“Women are supposed to be considered prized possessions. As a daughter, they should be loved and nurtured. As a wife, they must be loved and nurtured with kindness, food, shelter and clothing. When a woman’s husband dies, it the duty of her brother or son to take care of her.
“Women are fragile crystals that need love and care, but around the world they are being invaded by the unknown and those known to them. They are being disrespected.
“In 2001, during the month of Ramadaan, more than 40 women were raped and then urinated on by their offenders. Where is the humanity? Women are being destroyed. That is why women from across the world need to band together and put an end to these crimes. Women are being raped as a weapon of war to dishonour or humiliate the enemy.”
International relations activist and researcher Zeenat Adam added: “When our sisters are hurting, we have to hurt with them to help them. It is impossible to lead normal lives when our sisters in the DRC, Yemen and Bosnia are suffering, and our babies in Kashmir are being brutally raped and killed. It is impossible to live normal lives and not be on guard every minute.”
She said: “It is ugly to talk about, ugly to think about, but we need to know what is happening. We have the responsibility to do something about it.
“The UN security resolutions keep saying over and over that they need to stop sexual exploitation and gender-based violence in war times, but they have done nothing. It is getting worse and we are facing a global epidemic.
“What is going on in Syria is beyond comprehension. Our silence is our complexity. The longer we remain silent, the more we are being supportive of the perpetrators. It is high time we do something about it.
“We need to support the initiatives by the organisations in developing and setting up trauma units. We have to talk about what is happening to family, friends or anyone who is willing to listen. Women must raise their voices to help their sisters.”