ACTIVIST ON WOMEN'S DAY: CONGOLESE WOMEN MATTER!

Women in conflict zones worldwide face gender-based violence, and Congolese women are no exception amidst the three-decade, Western-backed war over minerals. 

On International Working Women’s Day on 8 March, African women from rights organisations in Washington DC organised a march in solidarity with the women of Congo. They trekked from the Rwandan embassy to the White House, condemning US support for Rwanda while also calling out Kigali for backing the M23 militia, one of nearly 120 armed groups destabilising the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

After M23 seized control of DRC’s Goma city in late January, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said nearly 500 cases of s*xual violence were reported in just one week. Of that figure, over 150 cases involved children. 

Additionally, according to Congolese authorities, between January and late February, the Rwanda- and Uganda-backed M23 militia killed more than 8,500 people.

Video credit: @chuckmodi1 (IG)

Sources

https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-briefing/2025/02/press-briefing-by-un-women-on-the-situation-of-women-and-girls-in-the-democratic-republic-of-congo

https://www.unfpa.org/press/unfpa-statement-sexual-violence-perpetrated-against-women-and-girls-eastern-democratic

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/over-8-500-people-killed-since-january-in-fighting-in-eastern-democratic-republic-of-congo/3495683

https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/drc-conflict-enters-dangerous-new-phase

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/03/1160746