War or not, women suffer most

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War or not, women suffer most 

Paris, Oct. 20: Sexual violence as a weapon of war and as an outcome of turmoil and disaster is inflicting a terrifying toll on women, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

“Women rarely wage war, but they too often suffer the worst of its consequences,” the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said in its annual snapshot of the state of the world’s population.

“Gender-based violence, including rape, is a repugnant and increasingly familiar weapon of war. The immediate toll it takes extends far beyond its direct victims, insidiously tearing apart families and shattering societies for generations to come,” the report said.

The report is issued in the run up to the 10th anniversary of the UN Security Council resolution 1325, which condemns violence against women and girls in armed conflicts and calls for women to be given a greater role in policing and peace building.

It also coincides with growing international outrage at the evidence of mass rapes — by rebel militia and government troops alike — in a strife-torn region in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). More than 15,000 rapes were committed there in 2009, the head of the UN force in the DRC, Mr Roger Meece, said last week.

The UNFPA executive director, Ms Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, said conflict today was less and less about soldiers confronting each other on the battlefield and more about seeking to break the will of civilians.

“In many of today’s conflicts women are disempowered by rape or the threat of it, and by the HIV infection, trauma and disabilities that often result from it,” she said.

The 116-page report says the outlook is not entirely grim, highlighting the experiences of grassroots workers and self-help groups in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Haiti, Liberia, the West Bank, Uganda and the DRC among other locations.