Dr. Denis Mukwege, founder of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, raged against his community, international NGOs, the government and Congolese men—all of whom in his view do nothing to prevent the atrocities and devastation still being perpetrated on women in Eastern Congo today. “Why is no one standing up to protect the women and children? Where […]
Author: Diana Buckhantz
Diana Buckhantz is a Jewish World Watch board member.
A True Hero
The word “hero” is used far too often today. It seems as though we bandy the word around for actions that should be considered normal human behavior. In my travels to Congo with Jewish World Watch, however, I have had the honor to meet several of the real heroes in the world. Some of these […]
Rape as a Weapon of War: What Happens to Pregnant Survivors?
The war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is formally over, but women and girls remain targets for violence. Still today, all warring parties in Congo routinely use sexual violence as a weapon of war and a tool of social control. The rebels know that women are the center of the community. They learned […]
Where Women Fill More Than 50 Percent of Government Seats
We always talk about the fact that in order to really change attitudes and behavior towards women and to correct gender inequity in Congo, there need to be women leaders. It seems like a pretty obvious statement, but as we know, this is far from an obvious truth in many countries around the world (including […]
Fighting Back Against Rape in War
“Sexual violence.” We hear these two words over and over in Congo. They have become a part of the vernacular—and in many ways are a symptom of a highly traumatized society. In every meeting, sexual violence is mentioned and everywhere we go, we meet girls, women and children who have survived rape and assault. And […]
Congo’s Women Turn from Atrocities to Hope
Part 3 of a series … Rosine is 15 years old and intends to be the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo one day. In fact, she already has an action plan which she reels forth with very little prompting. She tells us that first she knows she must do well in school, […]
Rape Crisis in Congo: Impunity for Men Must Stop
She was raped by a man claiming to be a pastor. He was newly arrived in her village, so when that she felt she needed help with her husband and his refusal to provide for her, she went to see the “pastor” to pray. Instead, he robbed her and raped her and then fled the […]
Solar Cookers and Darfuri Women’s Empowerment
The author, a board member of Jewish World Watch–which fights genocide and mass atrocities worldwide–is currently at the Farchana refugee camp in eastern Chad, home to approximately 25,000 Darfuri refugees. Along with her is Janice Kamenir-Reznik, JWW’s cofounder and president, as they make a site visit to the JWW Solar Cooker Project. When we at […]