Monday, 04-12-2010

Women of Congo: Finding Hope in the worst place on Earth to be a Woman

How has the world's deadliest war affected women in Congo? While the United Nations identifies Congo as having the worst sexual violence in the world, what role should the international community play in combating rape as a tool of warfare? How have individual women and families transcended the violence in their communities and why is it important to share their stories?

The war in Congo, also known as Africa's World War, began in August 1996 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire. The war officially ended in July 2003, but violence has persisted until this day. Over 5.5 million people are estimated dead as a result of the conflict and related disease and famine. The war has involved eight African nations, leaving over 2 million people internally displaced and more than 300,000 Congolese refugees in neighboring countries. In recent years, international attention has been paid to the high rate of sexual violence in war-torn Congo, with the United Nations recording at least 200,000 cases of sexual violence in eastern Congo alone since the conflict erupted in 1996. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, in August 2009 to highlight what she called "truly one of mankind's greatest atrocities" and the urgent need to combat gender-based violence as a weapon of war.

The World Affairs Council presents Author and Founder of "Run for Congo Women" Lisa Shannon. Run for Congo Women is a global effort to raise awareness and support the women of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They have sponsored more than a thousand war-affected Congolese women through Women for Women International. These women are raising more than 5000 children. She traveled solo into Eastern Congo's South Kivu province for five and half weeks in January- February 2007, and again in May 2008.

Prior to Lisa's travels through Congo, she was named a "2006 Hero of Running" by Runner's World Magazine and O, The Oprah Magazine wrote, "Lisa Shannon read our report-and started a movement." Lisa presently serves as an ambassador for Women for Women International and is currently working in Congo. She previously owned a photography production company, where she served as art director and producer. She lives in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. Her first book, "A Thousand Sisters," is available April, 2010. "A Thousand Sisters" is a portrait of the world's deadliest war through the intimate lens of friendship. It chronicles Lisa's personal story working with and for the women of Congo.

This event is co-sponsored by Intiman Theatre, which will produce Lynn Nottage's Ruined, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play inspired by the real stories of Congolese women, on stage this July as the inaugural production of its new International Cycle.

Resources:
A Thousand Sisters Resource Page