Credits: Human Rights Watch
Genuinely, why is there no one bringing attention to Congo? Since the beginning of the year, nearly 7,000 women have been raped just in Goma’s surrounding areas. Armed groups are simply not shooting weapons now, they’re using sexual violence and rape to terrorize civilians. Villages are burned, men are killed, women are treated like animals.
One wanted to kill me. The other said, ‘No, she’s beautiful, we’ll sleep with her.’ Since then, I haven’t been able to sleep. Every time I see an armed soldier, I go back there, to that moment.
Sure, there are some agreements for peace and talks to cease the violence, but what happens on the ground? The violence continues, and these women live with fear every day. The rest of the world? Pretty much sitting on their hands. The media has done a terrible job of covering the issue.
They told us to sit on the edge. Then they started shooting. I’m alive only because I fell into the water. She says, her voice broken by the memory.
Why is there no outcry over this like for Gaza? Women in Congo are literally living through a hellish nightmare. Their bodies are being used as battlegrounds. This is not a scenario far away you can just scroll on by.
The fact is, we cannot ignore this issue because it is not our problem. Women in Congo are suffering from this, and they need real help NOT silence or apathy!! If you care at all about fairness or equality, the time to pay attention is now! It is happening, and looking the other way does nothing to help anyone.
References:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/10/1166090
https://www.hrw.org/africa/democratic-republic-congo
https://msfsouthasia.org/sexual-violence-in-eastern-drc-a-persistent-emergency/