How have the wars changed womens lives in the Congo Puechguirbal Essay

How have the wars changed womens lives in the Congo Puechguirbal argues that Congolese women must be a part of the peace process. Do you think this would change things If so, how If not, why - Essay Example During the war in Congo, men left their women and families and moved to the forests to defend their communities. The women were left to care for their families which proved very difficult without the companion of their husbands. No economic activity or farming was taking place during this time of war and the stored food run out. Women were faced by hunger and they were left in pain watching their children die out of hunger. A report from the UN showed that 12% of the deaths during the war were caused by lack of food. This war left many women childless and without husbands since most of them were killed in the forest during the war and this has brought the greatest social inequality that ever existed in the world. Sexual violation was rampant during this war as the women were forced to have sex since they were armless and at the same time harmless. Women were forced to have sex to protect their children from being killed and this led to traumatization among women and an increased spread of sexually transmitted diseases. No medical care was operating during the war and hence the women were not treated after the sexual assaults. The results were unwanted children leading to an end of the happy families that existed(Gettleman, 2007,p.7). The war has created a situation that has led to women living in fear and with no trust on their military. Women have also been burdened with the responsibility of taking care of their children since the number of men reduced massively and the report by UN showed that 41.3% of all the women in Condo are single mothers(Gettleman, 2007,p.7). Despite the severe impacts, the Congo people have been positive in rebuilding their nation through peace-making processes. The united Nation in conjunction with government has played a big role in the process that has involved not only the political giants but also the people on the ground. Puechguirbal