A Million Woman Walk For Congo - March 23 2013

When we read or listen to information about war from the media, the focus is usually on the war. Information on the soldiers who have been killed, the "terrorists" or the political implications of the war.

We hardly ever get proper insight into how these wars affect the citizens of the region....With schools and government infrastructures shut down. With chaos on the streets and no regulations, how are the citizens surviving?

What are the aftermaths of the war for the average person who is just an innocent bystander?

And when it comes to wars in Africa, everyone wants to talk about child soldiers.

But Nobody talks about the alarming rapes of women. Outside of organisations centered around women's rights/issues, you hardly ever hear a mainstream media cover the issue of rape during wars in Africa.

This is something the A Million Woman Walk for Congo hopes to change. 

Here's a little excerpt about the WALK from the website www.duniawomenwalk.org which will be taking place on March -23-2013 in Atlanta, Georgia World Congress Center.

_____________________________________________

“Forty-eight women are raped every hour in Congo … 12% of women in this country have been raped at least once,” finds a 2011 study by the American Journal of Public Health"...

The Atlanta Million Woman Walk for Congo is organized primarily to:

• Call attention to the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo which has been ongoing for over a decade, causing the greatest humanitarian crisis of our times.

• To urge the United States to hold its allies accountable for their role in destabilizing the DRC.

• To call on world leaders and members of Congress to actively engage in bringing this war to an end.

• To stand in solidarity with the Congolese civilian population in crying out at the plight of innocent victims of war, the most vulnerable of whom are Women and Children.

March 23 coincidence

The March 23 Movement, often abbreviated as M23, is a rebel military group , based in eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo locked in conflict with the government of the DRC that has recently led to deaths and killings of a large number of citizens. On 23 March 2009, the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) signed a peace treaty with the DRC government^, where it became a political party, and the M23 soldiers integrated into the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC). The M23 was formed on 4 April 2012 when nearly 300 soldiers, a majority of them former members of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), turned against the DRC government, citing poor conditions in the army and the government’s unwillingness to implement the 23 March 2009 peace deal. M23 takes its name from the date of these peace accords (March 23).
(Source: Wikipedia)

         ___________________________________________________________________________________

How can you become involved with this cause?

You can participate in the walk by becoming a volunteer, a partner or donating to their cause. More information can be found on their website www.duniawomenwalk.org

Date: Saturday MARCH 23, 2013 … come along with friends, family members, colleagues, neighbors. Let’s speak up with ONE voice for those women whose voices are being muffled and stifled by the monstrosity of raped. When Women Walk, the World Listens. SHE needs you. It’s the right thing to do.

Where: Georgia World Congress Center (downtown Atlanta).

Time: 10 a.m.