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Women, War and the Congo (1) After the end of colonial era, many African countries, including Congo, began to steadily descend into primeval savagery, despite the millions and millions of dollars that are being pumped in these countries in form of humanitarian aid annually. The grass grows on abandoned railroads, hospitals are being converted into stables, and schools are being closed as useless. In fact, Congo can serve as one of the best examples that illustrate inability of Black people in Africa to govern themselves effectively, after they were granted freedom. The history repeats itself when first European explorers set their foot on African continent, they found it being populated by cannibals, who were never able to advance beyond the Stone Age and who were indulged in never ending tribal warfare. After the brief period of law and order that were installed in Africa by European settlers, Africans now began regressing back to the natural state of affairs.
In other words, Congo, just like many other African countries, once again became the arena of tribal warfare. The article Congo Death Toll up to 3. 8 m, which can be found on the web site of Guardian News, provides us with the insight on the magnitude of humanitarian disaster in Congo, associated with Second Congolese War Six years of conflict in Congo have claimed 3. 8 million lives - half of them children - with most victims killed by disease and famine in the still largely cut-off east. More than 31, 000 civilians die each month as a result of the conflict despite peace deals (Guardian, 2004). This war was being rightly portrayed by Western Medias as such that did not make sense. Some experts would go even as far as suggesting, that war in Congo can be indirectly linked to countrys colonial legacy and that it is White people that should have been held accountable for the social chaos in Congo. However, the real explanation as to why Congo became engulfed in violence from 1998 to 2003 is much more banal.
Congo is artificially created geopolitical entity, because citizens in this country have absolutely no loyalty towards the state, as whole, but only to the tribe, they belong. It is being estimated that there are 250 different tribes in Congo that do not have much in common, except for the fact each tribe considers all other tribes as inferior. After the end of colonial era, the course of events in practically every African country proceeded according to the following scenario: independence, civil war, tribalism as state policy, corruption in governmental institutions, famine etc. This had happened in Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Chad, Angola, Mozambique - the ideology of tribal superiority plagued the whole continent. Under the colonial rule, the destructiveness of Black mentality was being dealt with by the mean of law. However, once African tribes were granted independence, they began to exterminate each other on industrial scale, just as it was the case, before Europeans came to Africa.
Thus, it would be naive to discuss civil war in Congo and its effects on women, outside of socio-political context. In this paper, we will explore different aspects of war in Congo and the degree, to which Congolese women are being affected by social instability in this country. We will also draw philosophical conclusions, during the course of analysis, because they will help us to understand what future holds for Congo and Africa, as whole. (2) Before we embark on analyzing the impact of Congolese civil war on women, we need to provide a brief historical retrospective on this war. After gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, Congo was being proclaimed a republic. Immediately after this, Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, who belonged to Mongo tribe, and President Joseph Kasavubu, who belonged to Tshiluba tribe, began quarrelling, because each of them considered its own tribal identity as such that would qualify them for an undisputed political power. In his turn, Joseph Mobutu, who was Congolese army's chief of staff, was growing increasingly critical of these two individuals being unable to find a consensus, not because he considered it as such that was hurting countrys well being, but because he thought that only representatives of his own tribe Swahili were worthy of holding governmental offices.
In 1965, he took over the political power in Congo with the mean of a coup. Immediately after that, Mobutu was proclaimed as father of the nation. The article Mobutu as Messiah, which is available on the web site of Time Magazine, leave no doubt as to the fact that nothing good ever comes out of African cannibals being dressed in European suits and proclaimed as presidents: Mobutu has gone so far as to ban Christmas as a national holiday. Some followers even printed hymns in newspapers that substituted Mobutu's name for that of Jesus Christ (Time, 1975). Just as any petty African dictator, Mobutu did not simply have a lust for power but also lust for blood.
It is during Mobutu's reign in Congo that the term ethnic cleansing was coined up. The reason he used to engage in acts of genocide against such tribes as Mamvu, Madi, and Magbetu is that people that belong to these tribes have narrower lips and nostrils, which was reminding Mobutu of his own racial inferiority. Western politicians make a big mistake when they suggest that the violence in Congo was inspired by reasons that can be rationalized. Such suggestion does not correspond to the objective reality the acts of violence that had taken place in Congo in the past, as well as the recent civil war, have no logical explanation.
They derive out of Black peoples existential mode. Mobutu regarded women as inferior beings who have no soul. During the time when he was in power, women who were raped could not even call police for protection, because the mentality of Congolese men prevents them from associating the act of rape with crime. In her article, The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo, Jessica Mosby suggests the anti-social behavior of Congolese men towards women is predetermined by their biological makeup: There is also a markedly misogynistic rationale behind the rapes: the soldiers express the deep-rooted social belief that women are inferior and therefore men can take what they want from them - including sex (Mosby, 2008). Thus, it would be wrong to regard the acts of violence against Congolese women as result of civil war alone. There has never been a civil war in South African Republic, for example, however the rape ratio in this country is the highest in the world.
In its turn, this is a direct result of White racists being removed from power in SAR. The Second Congolese war started in 1998 and ended in 2003. Just as everywhere in Africa, civil war in Congo consisted of gangs of Blacks, armed with AK- 47, ravaging the countryside, without any particular reason. Even though that warring factions, such as Rwandan Patriotic Front, Rally for Congolese Democracy, People's Redemption Army, Allied Democratic Forces and Movement for the Liberation of Congo had proclaimed that their ultimate goal was ending corruption in Congo, it is very doubtful that the members of these factions were concerned about anything but satisfaction of their anomalistic instincts. In July 1999, a cease-fire was signed, but it did not bring peace and war continued. Only the year 2003, when Transitional Government was formed, saw the levels of violence in Congo being slightly reduced.
However, the government has no control over 80 % of countrys territory and it is only the matter of time, before violence in Congo will escalate again. War in Congo is now being referred to as the bloodiest war in worlds history, since the end of World War II. More than five million of Congolese citizens have died as result of this conflict. However, UN officials continue to insist that in todays Congo, people continue to die at the rate of thousand a day, as immediate consequence of civil war, even though that it has ended five years ago.
United Nations Human Rights Council continuously expresses its concern over the fact that Congolese authorities do not even try to prevent violence against women in this country from taking place. In the next part of this paper, we will discuss the effects of institutionalized gender discrimination on Congolese women in social, economic, political and psychological context of this word. (3) Eighty percent of Congo's female population resides in rural areas. Namely, rural women were affected by civil war the most. However, the end of civil war did not bring the end to their suffering, because they still remain a subject to countless cultural prejudices, on the part of Congolese men.
The report Violence Against Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), prepared by African Association for the Defence of Human Rights states that: Violence against women in DRC occurs in different forms and in a context widely influenced by socio-cultural factors, discriminatory laws, ethnic conflicts, wars, bad governance, etc. Violence against women is perceptible at various levels, in the family, in society and at the State level (AADHR, 2006). We can say that the physical violence is the most common form of womens abuse in Congo. Apparently, the law of jungle still defines the socio-political reality in this country. Women are being beaten and tortured simply because they are physically weaker.
The domestic abuse of women often occurs as result of the lack of social stability in Congo. Men are being psychologically traumatized by the war and by the fact that they are unable to provide for their families. There are often as many as twenty children in average Congolese family even under the best possible circumstances, it would be impossible to issue their physical survival, not to mention anything else. Therefore, it is only natural for the men to look for the escape goats, while dealing with their existential inadequateness. Women represent easy target, because they cannot fight back. Many men also resort to physical violence as the way to assert their authority in the family.
However, it would be wrong to refer to this fact as such that it is strongly related to Congolese civil war. As we have mentioned earlier, participation in never ending tribal warfare is the normal way of life for majority of Congolese citizens. In fact, in many Congolese tribes, young men cannot attain an adult status, unless they bring the head of the enemy to tribes elders. Thus, the culture of violence is being embraced by men from very early stages of their life. To forcibly prevent men from physically abusing women in Congo would mean to deprive them of their right to celebrate their cultural uniqueness. In its turn, this would constitute even a bigger crime, in the eyes of Liberal politicians in Western countries, who actively promote the concept of multiculturalism.
The physical violence against women in Congo can only be stopped if White people come back and restore law and order in this country, which is very unlikely to happen, given the fact that people in Western countries are now being instilled with complex of historical guilt. Whatever ironic it might sound, but Congolese civil war had actually helped women to attain a higher social status. This is due to the fact many men got killed, during the course of the war, which resulted in women embracing their social responsibilities. The increased numbers of Congolese households are now being headed by women.
The degree of Congolese womens participation in agriculture has been increased drastically in last few years, even though it is doubtful that these women consider having to work in the field as such that benefits them immensely. In fact, it would be wrong to refer to Congolese women only within a context of them being victims of civil war, as they often acted as perpetrators of violence, while participating in tribal warfare in very active manner. Women played important role in military operations. It was even reported that many of them participated in the acts of ethnic cleansing. The motivations for Congolese women to get involved in the war were often the same with mens tribal loyalty, strive for revenge, the prospects of material enrichment.
In his article Women and Civil War: Impact, Organizations and Action, Krishna Kumar makes a perfectly good point when he suggests: Culture, ethnicity, class, and age affected the nature and extent of womens involvement in war, but like men, women [are] both the perpetrators and the victims of violence (Kumar). Congolese women were able to prove themselves as good fighters. For their lack of military professionalism they compensated with their fanaticism. The same can be said about Congolese children. Many people in Western countries consider it as unthinkable to use children in armed conflicts, despite the fact that children are actually the best soldiers, as they cannot fully comprehend the consequences of their actions. Child may be utterly terrified of darkness and yet capable of killing his parents in their sleep, because they did not buy him a bike.
Woman can be a loving mother and she can also turn into a merciless killing machine that only seeks revenge, if harm was being done to her children. It is a mistake to apply Western concepts of morality, when it comes to discussing events in Africa, just as it is wrong to associate war with definite evil. In regards to situation in Congo, we can say that civil war in this country also had many beneficial aspects. For example, Congo's population in 2007 was 62. 6 million, whereas in 1997, before the outbreak of the war, the population was only 46. 7 million.
If it was not up to the war, Congo's current population would have been 80 million all these people would be requiring food on daily basis, without knowing how to farm, how to make cars or how build computers. All they know is how to make babies. However, this type of skill does require the usage of brain power, therefore it is not redeemable. Nature has its own...
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