Finding A Common Ground in Fighting to End Sexual Violence
underlying commonality in their extraordinary and crucial fight to shine a light on the brutality of sexual assault and the importance of human rights, particularly women’s rights. During our conversation, I could see the pain and trauma both have witnessed. Their work advocating for the rights of sexual abuse survivors has come at a tremendous personal cost. At the time of our interview in late 2018, ISIL was still enslaving more than 3,000 Yazidi women and girls. And armed groups across eastern Democratic Republic of Congo were continuing to attack and rape women at an alarming rate. When we asked Nadia what she thought Iraq’s new government should do to help the plight of her people, she replied “give us more rights.” A simple yet powerful answer. We know it is through empowering women and girls by giving them their rights, that they can fend for themselves and live their full potential. And when I asked Nadia why she became an activist, her answer struck a chord with me and the audience in the Oslo City Hall that December evening. She simply said “to become the voice of the thousands of Yazidi women survivors.” It is these kinds of stories in which Al Jazeera takes pride. They not only highlight the plight of different communities around the world, but also draw inspiration through the work of people like Dr Mukwege and Nadia Murad who have helped
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.
At the core of Dr Mukwege and Ms Murad’s efforts to tell the stories of the thousands of Yazidi and Congolese victims of sexual assault is their desire to give voice to those the world has forgotten. In a way, that has been our driving force at Al Jazeera. To tell the unheard stories. Raise the issues many either don’t care about or simply don’t want to hear. We work to challenge the accepted norms of Western-driven media narratives by providing stories like these - from two very different individuals from different regions who have one
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