[She's] A Weapon of War

The unseen devastation and strategic use of sexual violence in Sudan.

Let us imagine a weapon.

ARTIST UNKNOWN

Or, for the sake of today’s piece, I’d like you to imagine a weapon of war.

I’d expect that now a gun would come to mind, or a bomb or a missile. For those who’ll treat this thought experiment as if it were a trick question, you might think more abstractly, to where you’d create a mental image of a drone or some form of biological or chemical warfare, and you’d be right to guess one of the latter. Besides, we’re so often exposed now to images of war, violence, death and destruction that our imaginations are more than capable of listing one or two.

Common among these weapons, or their use lies in their sole command for murder, and where death as the antithesis of life is considered the most devastating event, it almost seems to verify what we are willing to call weapons in instances of war when we already know that the definition of a ‘weapon’ doesn’t require death as it’s ending. As such, when paired up against death as it occurs during warfare, other common tragedies tend to go overlooked. To me, this is some kind of grave mistake, because some of the most powerful weapons, which notably are not only reserved for war do not necessarily result in death in the way we understand it, but rather more acute tragedies, like microscopic tears in the fabric of a society, contributing to its assured destruction.

TW: Rape, Sexual Violence, Torture

“Rape is an integral part of the pattern of destruction that the government of Sudan is inflicting upon the target groups in Darfur”.

The ICC, 2005

-              A fact that is not new by any means, and has been the reality experienced by those caught in the Sudanese genocide alongside others of its kind throughout history.

And yet, we so often picture rape as a byproduct of war, where those with a sick inclination towards this behaviour perceive chaos and social upheaval as an opportunity to rape with little to no consequence, instead of perceiving this act for what it is in the context of war, a strategically used, deliberately instated weapon against one’s opponents. Of course, it is true when we acknowledge that men take advantage of war when it comes to committing sexual crimes. We might also examine the feelings of power and dominance created by gender-based sexual violence for men, where those within both oppressive and defensive parties might use rape as a means of wielding power in an unpredictable climate. Yet again, when we look at rape from within these contexts specifically, we limit our understanding of the extent of its potency.

The violence in Darfur, having begun in 2003, had been fuelled by the Sudanese government's marginalisation of non-Arab communities, leading to a rebellion by non-Arab groups against a government primarily concerned with its economic relationship with the UAE, as a powerful entity in the business of mining, transportation and resources. In response, the government-armed Arab militias known as the Janjaweed (who have since developed into becoming the RSF, aka ‘Rapid Armed Forces’), have not only fought the rebels but have since committed violent atrocities against non-Arab civilians, exacerbating ethnic tensions, and constituting a genocide. Despite international interventions by the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), their progress was hindered by the Sudanese government's resistance and complex regional dynamics, complicating their efforts. Consequentially, non-Arab populations like the Masalit people, who have long suffered violent oppression, have become the active targets of genocide as of 2023.

-              And in November of that same year, UN human rights experts highlighted the use of ‘widespread sexual violence’ as a tool of war designed to “subjugate, terrorise, break and punish women and girls, and as a means of punishing specific communities targeted by the RSF and allied militias”.

ARTIST UNKNOWN

We recognise a sad truth when we realise we have grown too accustomed to hearing about gender-based violence. I find that rape is no longer considered an inconceivable crime, and is rather positioned as an unfortunate but inevitable fact. But if we choose to imagine rape for being a weapon as dangerous as all others, we’d find ourselves asking ‘Why rape specifically?’, in place of physical violence, where mass violence inflicted on civilian populations is surely enough to force submission. Mona Rishmawi, a UN official, highlighted that sexual assaults are prevalent and target women fleeing displacement or detained during migration, where the violence is a deliberate tactic to punish and control women, exacerbating their suffering in the conflict.

The Mental Effects of Sexual Violence:

-              Shock, fear, anger, shame, self-hate.

-              Depression, anxiety.

-              CPTSD

-              OCD

-              Sleep disorders

-              Body dysmorphia disorders

-              Suicidal Ideation

The Physical Effects of Sexual Violence:

-              Sexually transmitted infections

-              Gastrointestinal issues

-              Cervical cancer

-              Gynaecological trauma

-              Sexual dysfunction and disorders

-              Unintended pregnancy and it’s complications

-              Unsafe abortions

Source: ‘@Sudanisnotafootnote’ on Instagram

But the intention here extends beyond terrorising the female targets of the RSF.

Sexual violence also exists as a weapon designed to terrorize and control entire populations. It serves to humiliate and degrade the ‘enemy’, breaking the morale of communities, and disrupting social cohesion. In this way, women are used as the vessel through which widespread violence is enacted. By targeting women, who are often seen as bearers of cultural and familial honour, perpetrators aim to inflict deep psychological and social damage, in addition to the horrific sexual violence and torture that is enacted.

-              Rishmawi highlights that due to social stigma and shame culture, many women do not report assaults due to fear of social ostracization.

When women are dehumanized through these processes, they are reduced to mere objects or tools for exerting control and spreading fear, in a way similar to our conception of other ‘weapons of war’.

There is this idea in the West when we think of war, whereby men go off to fight in wars and women are mere bystanders to the devastation they cause. The image of the 40’s housewife comes to mind, where she waits by the window for signs of his life, affected by the war in a strictly emotional sense. Instead, the reality for most women faced with violent oppression in the global south, is that her body is the place where war is waged, and even her abuse is overlooked, as a mere means of crippling the society she is a part of.

Even where death may not occur (though it is highly possible), who’s to say there are no casualties?

The collapse of Sudan's healthcare system due to the ongoing conflict only exacerbates her pain. With hospitals bombed and health workers fleeing, access to basic medical care, especially for women, has become extremely difficult. The lack of organized healthcare worsens the complications faced by survivors of sexual violence, and so this war appears never-ending for her when systemic breakdowns compound her suffering.

“Khartoum is not Safe for Women!”

Still, members of this system revealed the data in an 88-page report titled ‘Khartoum is Not Safe for Women’, the rights watchdog recorded testimonies from 42 healthcare workers on sexual violence and forced and child marriage since the war erupted in April 2023 between the SA (Sudanese Army) and the RSF.

“The RSF "have raped, gang raped, and forced into marriage countless women and girls in residential areas in Sudan's capital,"

- Laetitia Bader, HRW's deputy Africa director.

The 88-page report describes conditions as being akin to sexual slavery, and most crucially, it was identified as a ‘systemic' weapon’ used by the RSF.

So let’s look beyond death when we’re considering war and all its casualties, and begin to imagine more than machinery when we picture ‘weapons of war’, as a soldier walks toward the violence,

wielding nightmares of brutalisation.

Asisa

Sources

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/sexual-violence-weapon-of-war-in-sudan-conflict/3306222 Sexual violence weapon of war in Sudan conflict

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/29/africa/sudan-sexual-violence-women-intl/index.html CNN “Women and girls in Sudan subjected to widespread sexual violence by warring parties, report finds”