Finding A Common Ground in Fighting to End Sexual Violence Folly Bah Thibault | Senior Presenter, Al Jazeera English
In December 2018, my colleague James Bays and I travelled to the Norwegian capital, Oslo. We were there for a very important event: An interview with that year’s Nobel Peace Prize recipients, Dr Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad. On the surface, these two individuals could not have been more different. She is a Yazidi survivor of rape and captivity by ISIL – who became an international activist against sexual assault. He is a Congolese gynaecologist who has dedicated his entire life to treating and helping survivors of rape in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo – where according to
experts nearly 50 women are raped every hour. What struck me most about these two Nobel Laureates who’ve come from very different backgrounds was their absolute determination to stop the brutal act of sexual assault during conflict. We spoke to them shortly after they received their Nobel Peace Prize medals during a lavish ceremony attended by the Norwegian royal family. One of the biggest reasons why this interview has stuck with me since then is because it’s quintessentially Al Jazeera.
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