Rape as a Weapon of War: Analysis of Crisis in Congo

The crisis in the democratic republic of Congo is considered one of the longest ongoing conflicts in the international arena. With more than hundreds of militant groups – mainly M23, CODECO, ADF, Mai Mai - fighting over natural resources and territorial control, the conflict in Congo is not only the largest running conflict but also the most neglected one (Walsh & Bashizi, 2023).

The recent escalation of events and rising tension in the region has brought the crisis under the limelight again. The root cause of the crisis can be traced back to DRC’s independence from Belgium in 1960 and the various post-colonial battles that came after. The civil war in the 1990s between the two ethnic communities – Tutsi and Hutu - which led to the 1994 Rwandan genocide is considered the main factor for the decade-old conflict that ultimately resulted in the first and second Congo wars (1996 – 2003) and the series of wars that continues even today (Lawal, 2024). In addition, the crisis is further deteriorated by the resource richness factor of the country with various armed groups fighting for control over the mining sites and other external actors seeing DRC as a strategic backyard for their national aspirations (Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2024).

It is approximated that around six million people have been internally displaced within the DRC and around the same number of civilians have been murdered in thirty years (Lawal, 2024). Throughout these years, it is the civilians who are caught in the spiral of multiple wars with health and labor concerns, and food scarcity adding to their misery. Another major solicitude within the crisis is the use of rape as a weapon of war which is the primary focus of this blog post (Walsh & Bashizi, 2023).

Contesting this issue within the security studies is not as easy as it may seem as the concept of security itself is ambiguous (Krause & Williams, 2018). The nuanced understanding of this crisis however challenges the traditional conception of security studies.  Although analysis from a nation-state perspective or as a broad event might yield a completely different result, my focus on conflict-based sexual violence directs attention to civilians (workers) as embedded individuals—whether women, men, or children—threatened by multiple power structures of capitalism, neocolonialism, patriarchy, and racism. These structures are perpetuated through various militant rebel groups and external actors. The theorization of these issues using critical theories like Marxism, feminism and post-colonial theory mainstreams the structural problems that have been invisibilized in the traditional conception such as the exploitation of workers in the mining fields and the gender-based sexual violence that is inflicted upon Congolese people.

The crisis in Congo has resulted in the violation of various humanitarian laws and many human rights abuses such as unlawful killing, honor killing, and mass rapes. As of the 2019 report by the Organization for World Peace, Congo is at the top of countries subjected to Conflict-based Sexual Violence (Mureithi, 2020).  The use of rape as a war strategy in Congo has been in practice for a long time and can be traced back to its colonial period (Mertens, 2022). The Feminist security studies and post-colonial theory complicates our understanding of the use of rape as a weapon of war.

  Feminist intervention has helped us to understand war as an expansion of everyday experiences by questioning the war–peace dichotomy. They brought out how violence against women became common sensical as it is an everyday experience for women. This can also be contextualized within the framework of ‘personal is international’ (Shepherd, 2009). The everyday experiences do impact how things are played out in the international realm as it also takes into account other experiences like domestic violence, civilian rape, child marriage, etc., which are undermined in the mainstream narrative of rape as a weapon of war (Parashar, 2017). Apart from analyzing the use of rape in terms of pleasure and desire, the evaluation of the ethnic and racial dimension uncovers the motive behind rebel groups to commit rape as a war strategy i.e., to humiliate the community and to capitalize on the insecurity and vulnerability of the victims and their families (Mukwege et al, 2010).

Further, this particular narrative of rape understood in an essentialist sense undermines the violence inflicted upon men and queer people. It is reported that one in every four men in eastern DRC gets raped which is very much connected to the social stigma of honor, dignity, and masculinity. Since homosexual activities are deemed illegal in many countries in Africa due to its colonial legacy, the men who get raped have to flee their homes and leave in disguise (Thust & Estey, 2020). The idea of purity and race further translates to concerns regarding sexual health and pregnancy. In addition, Feminist intervention challenges the conception of war as episodic – visibilizes the idea that victims of rape have to live with the experience of war even after an end to war itself.

The intervention of post-colonial theory brings in the gendered structure established by colonial power and their continued resemblance in the contemporary Congolese conflict. The theory suggests that Imperial history is an ongoing phenomenon where the colonial identity is embedded in the social memory, and they continue to reflect hierarchies that emerged during colonialism through colonial structures and neocolonial institutions (Barkawi, 2004). Even in Congo, colonialism did not disappear with the formal independence. The analytical focus of post-coloniality put forth the structural basis within which rape is used as a weapon of war. The colonial project in Congo has established the Victorian conception of sex, gender, and sexuality erasing the African understanding of gender as a fluid and flexible concept. They also established Christian monogamy as the norm and gave creation to a patriarchal gender regime that never existed in Africa before the colonial invasion (Mertens, 2022). Here we can see the knowledge power nexus coming into play due to the historicization of the conflict (Parashar, 2017).  

The violence and exploitation that takes place in coal mines in the present day is the continuity of the colonial experience. The slavery and the racialized and gendered division of labor that came into practice under the colonial regime continue to perpetuate in coal mines which enabled the exploitation and violence against black population still possible (Mertens, 2022). The intervention of the US and China in Congo reflects neocolonial tendencies that can be traced back to the colonial era (Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2024). Thus, neocolonialism and globalization have enabled the continuing repression of black bodies and the reinforcement of gendered inequalities.

In conclusion, addressing the crisis in Congo requires a holistic approach that tackles the root causes of violence, promotes gender equality and social justice, and addresses the legacy of colonialism and neocolonial interventions. This necessitates meaningful engagement with local communities, support for initiatives, and accountability for perpetrators of violence. Ultimately, lasting peace and security in Congo can only be achieved through a concerted effort to address the structural inequalities and injustices that underpin the conflict.

 References

Barkawi, T. (2004). On the Pedagogy of "Small Wars". International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), 80(1), 19–37.

Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (2024, February 21). Global Conflict Tracker. Retrieved March 17, 2024, from https://cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo

Estey, J., & Thust, S. (2020, April 14). ‘I heard the cries of my mother and sister being raped.’ Al Jazeera. Retrieved March 17, 2024, from https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/4/14/drcs-male-and-female-rape-survivors-share-their-stories

Krause, K., & Williams, M. C. (2018). Security and ‘Security Studies’: Conceptual Evolution and Historical Transformation. In A. Gheciu & W. C. Wohlforth (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Security. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Lawal, S. (2024, February 21). A guide to the decades-long conflict in DR Congo. Al Jazeera. Retrieved March 17, 2024, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/21/a-guide-to-the-decades-long-conflict-in-dr-congo

Mertens, C. (2023). In the ruins of empire: historicizing sexual violence in Congo. International Feminist Journal of Politics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2023.2198546

Mukwege, D. M., Mohamed-Ahmed, O., & Fitchett, J. R. (2010). Rape as a strategy of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. International Health, 2(3), 163–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inhe.2010.06.003

Mureithi, A. (2020, May 1). Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War. The Organization for World Peace. https://theowp.org/reports/sexual-violence-as-a-weapon-of-war/

Parashar, S. (2016). Feminism and Postcolonialism: The Twain Shall Meet. Postcolonial Studies, 19(4), 463–477.

Shepherd, L. J. (2009). Gender, Violence and Global Politics: Contemporary Debates in Feminist Security Studies. Political Studies Review, 7(2), 208–219.

Walsh, D., & Bashizi, A. (2023, December 17). The Overlooked Crisis in Congo: ‘We Live in War.’ The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/17/world/africa/democratic-republic-of-congo-elections.html