Rape: A Weapon of War

Seventeen year old Aisha of Darfur, Sudan was violently raped last week by a troop of Arab military men. Along with five other women, Aisha barely escaped back to her shelter with her life.

War has been raging in Darfur for a while now, and rape, being one of the most popular war weapons, is the "least condemned war crime" of all. The Sudanese government, however, refuses to prosecute their soldiers even though they acknowledge what is happening. Instead, they completely deny that the rapes occurred. Also adding to the difficulty of rape being recognized as a serious crime is the fact that in Sudan, men are considered superior to women. Not only are their problems "much worse" than those of women, but they would never be brought to court, let alone be charged for a crime by a woman.

According to U.N. expert Pamela Shifman, "no woman or girl is safe". The government will continue to do nothing to stop these horrific crimes.