Has anyone seen the news out of Tigray?

[MayYouLiveInInterestingTimes]

news.sky.com/story/ethiopias-conflict-in-tigray-women-describe-how-rape-is-used-as-a-weapon-12257465

Whatever goes on in the world women will always take the brunt of it from men. I dare say that if this was happening to a group that included men, it would be a good reason to invade.

It's horrific but mass rape against female populations is so endemic in wars that peoplle no longer want to think about it. There are so many investigations involving international courts prosecuting for war crimes.
I remember from the news:
Bosnia-Herzegovina during the Balkan conflict
Rwanda
Congo (Mr WR has been there in the course of his work)
Sudan

Trials take years.

More recently, the plight of Rohingya women when military action forced them to leave Myanmar.

These things happen in other countries far away from here. It's hideous and inhumane but people switch off the news, stop reading the press and imagine that it can never happen here, can never happen to them.

Rape as a form of terrorism and suppression has a long and ignoble history as military strategy for psychological suppression and humiliation.

I can't even begin to express my other thoughts around the issue and its persistence.

And it's not just the enemy who use it. I only found out about this a few years ago:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marocchinate

Atrocities carried out by the troops that were not even the enemy. It is absolutely sickening - I don't suggest reading it unless you have a strong stomach. It really brings home the fact that the real war is against women.

The interviews of these poor people, particularly the women, are horrifying.

I remember one of the reasons the world paid attention to ISIS was the brutality shown to MALE prisoners. Remember? Burning, dropping from buildings, slow beheadings, really nasty stuff, and it was reported with great prominence. The concurrent mass rape and murder of the female prisoners by ISIS was reported as lamentable but "one of those things", an expected part of war. As it is here.

I believe that if Tigrayan men were being brutalised in a similar or identical manner to the women, we indeed would be looking to intervene in some way - even if only sanctions/foreign asset seizures of senior political and military personnel.

Awful.

Yikono (local women’s rights group) seems to be on Facebook if anyone wants to look it up and the IFRC are active in that area, thank heavens.

This might be worth a read with it for some background, although it just goes to show again how power politics uses women’s suffering. blackagendareport.com/index.php/prominent-black-lives-matter-activists-stand-solidarity-deposed-tigrayan-puppets-us-imperialism

PicsInRed that is pretty much the same attitude on show here. The Yazidis told a similar tale.

Thanks for posting, OP. Not sure I'm up to reading about it today, but I will.

@ArabellaScott

Thanks for posting, OP. Not sure I'm up to reading about it today, but I will.

Same.

I am so shocked reading this. If anyone knows of any immediate practical ways we can help these poor women please post here.

@Gerla

And it's not just the enemy who use it. I only found out about this a few years ago:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marocchinate

Atrocities carried out by the troops that were not even the enemy. It is absolutely sickening - I don't suggest reading it unless you have a strong stomach. It really brings home the fact that the real war is against women.

You’re not kidding. I couldn’t read all of that, not in one go. Men really are male apes. Nothing more.

If our august leaders were capable of doing anything more pressing than helping men to pretend they were women, that might be one avenue to explore - asking for them to contribute more into the UN’s CERF. Other than that so far I’m only seeing the Red Crescent / Red Cross as a good route for help into that region. I would also be interested if anyone knows of any others.

Perhaps we need a dedicated female army for responses everywhere.

Is there anything we can do, any act of solidarity they are asking for?

That article was a hard but necessary read. When a doctor who is horribly very used to treating raped women comes across a case that's too horrible to describe without pauses - well.

The abuse of vulnerable women and girls was widespread in NI in the 70s by the army and police. There were huge human rights violations and killings but the women and girls are rarely mentioned. My own DM often talked of the soldiers searching them, ie groping them from primary school age.

Sorry, I posted too soon. I have come to the conclusion that most men with authority are psychopaths.

Bluntly, one of the doctors treating them said most of the women are pregnant from the rapes they have sustained and the hospital needs more medical capacity to provide terminations for the women.

I don't know how we could help, but I would donate to any charity which would step in to assist.

It’s horrific, it should be major news, every government around the world should be protesting but too many have soldiers that have done the same

💔
Maybe “rape” isn’t sufficient a word; would men listen more if these women were (accurately) described as being brutally tortured?

Grateful to the people helping

Yes Angelina Jolie has spoken up about this for years.

I remember an article with a statement by a woman which was basically "I'll rape you in front of your husband or I'll kill you in front of your husband, you choose"

^ let's not forget in some of these places adultery can have you stoned to death

Channel 4 news have been reporting on this the last couple of weeks. One of their reporters is there and has been interviewing women who have been raped and tortured. Including one poor woman who also had to watch her 12 year old son killed in front of her.
My 12 year old ds watched that report with me, it was extremely graphic and very distressing. Ds cried. We talked about it, I think it’s important our boys know what men can be capable of.

Oh god, MissyB1, I can't think of anything worse.