The peace prize

The Nobel committee has awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize to two campaigners working against the use of rape in warfare. This is a wise choice by a committee known for sometimes making some wildly odd choices. The decision is also a welcome one at a time when Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un were considered to be amongst the front runners for the prize. Such a decision would have been farcical. Instead, the Nobel Peace Prize has captured the spirit of our time and highlighted an issue that is relegated to an afterthought when we talk about restoring peace to the world. The year 2018 has been marked by women throughout the world taking bold decisions to fight sexual harassment and abuse head on in everyday life. By giving the award to Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi, and Dr Denis Mukwege, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Nobel committee has reminded us of another stark reality: rape remains a key tool in the many wars and violent conflicts that engulf our world. From Africa to South East Asia, and from Latin America to the Middle East, rape remains a part of the everyday impact of war throughout the world.

It is still shocking to note that rape during conflicts was not considered a war crime until 2008. This was despite the use of rape in the colonial wars of independence, the second World War, Rwanda, Bosnia, Bangladesh and the many civil wars seen during the 20th and early 21stcentury. Today, rape continues to be deployed in Burma, Syria, Iraq, Libya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kashmir to name just a few countries. This is where the work of Murad and Mukwege comes in. Murad is an Iraqi Yazidi, who was enslaved, raped and tortured by the Islamic State. She became the face of the campaign to free the Yazidi people. Dr Mukwege is a gynaecologist, who with his team has treated tens of thousands of rape victims. On receiving the award, Murad has reminded the world of the thousands still unaccounted for and the 1,300 Yazidi women and children which remain in captivity. Dr Mukwege was in the operating room when the prize was announced. This is a reminder that the award does not change the tragedies that these committed activists have fought, but is a recognition of continued suffering and continued barbarism. Rape remains a weapon of war in the 21stcentury. In celebrating Murad and Mukwege, the Nobel Peace Prize has indicted all of us for our failure to eliminate conflict rape.