Next Tuesday, HBO is featuring a documentary exposing the scope of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo titled, The Greatest Silence, reports UN Dispatch.
The Enough Campaign and HBO are working together to coordinate house screenings across the country. You can even hold your own screening or take part in a conference call the following day with filmmaker Lisa Jackson, ENOUGH Co-Chair John Prendergast, and Director of Public Policy at the Family Violence Prevention Fund, Kiersten Stewart, to discuss the film and find out about ways that you can help end violence against women in the DRC.
Check out more background on violence against women in the DRC.
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My boyfriend says that most women are not feminists, they are humanists. And the only reason they agree with the feminists is because they did not yet make this distintion. And he says the only reason there is so much rape in the dveloping world is becase the men don't want the women to become feminists like in the US. I think he makes a lot of sense.
Oh boy.
I'm worried.
BIG-TIME worried.
I wish I'd known this was in production. Now it's too late to weigh in and get coverage of the corporate forces behind SO MUCH of the "overpowering-driven" violence (which therefore means rape ends up being a large part of the violent people's choices) into the movie.
Sh**.
I'm VERY worried that this is going to get the whole, "Talk about how awful the African guys are and pour money into orphanages, but ignore how awful the Western corporate leaders are and fail to pour money into campaigns to change their actions," paradigm BIG TIME.
There may be a distinction between feminism and humanism, but in my mind it's a very fine one and they're not mutually exclusive. Rape is connected to the attempt to subjugate and dehumanize women, but it's stretch to draw a direct connection between the fear of western feminism and rape. Plenty of western men also fear feminism, but I don't hear the theory being tossed around as explanations for their rapes.
It is a HUGE simplification and a misrepresentation to say that rape in the developing world is the result of fear of Western feminism.
The "developing world" is not a country, and is not homogenous. Rape everywhere has some common meanings and causes, but beyond that discussing a widespread rape crisis due to war in one country is different than discussing relatively high rates of rape in a country that is simply poor or has a bad record on human rights.
And since the US has high rates of sexual assault and rape compared to some other Western countries, I don't think we should throw stones and point at those uncivilized countries. There are women's groups and feminists in those countries, as well.
Feminism *is* humanism because WOMEN ARE PEOPLE.
Right on, Katie. Do you have links?
Wow. The trailer left left me speechless. I can't even begin to understand how to help...
The words of the male soldiers resonate as well. I've heard those things told many times before...Doesn't matter the culture, religion, country or economy. Rapists speak the same language.