Arsema Thomas Instagram – Viewed simply as pawns in this proxy war, the women of Congo have been one the true pressure points in this conflict. Since 1996, sexual and gender violence in the Eastern DRC has been used to torture and humiliate women and girls and destroy families. Advocates on the ground estimate that over half a million women and girls have been raped since the conflict began. At the intersection of race, colonialism, and gender inequity, the Congolese women lose their humanity in the eyes of the public. And for what? For the coltan in our phones, for the oil in Virunga, for the power of land. (Mind you, DRC was the only former colony that was fully privatized by Léopold…) Please watch City of Joy and donate to this sanctuary in Bukavu in Eastern Congo (link in bio). #silentgenocide #vday #cityofjoycongo