💭 Ethiopia:
Rusted screws, metal spikes and plastic rubbish: the horrific sexual
violence used against Tigray’s women.
Tens of thousands of Tigrayan women
report brutal wartime abuse by Oromo and Eritrean soldiers, such as
gang-rape and the insertion of objects into their uteruses. But
justice seems a distant prospect.
Tigray is often described as a
forgotten war. If it has been forgotten, it is not by those who
endured it, but by the global powers that looked away from one of the
most brutal conflicts of this century. It began in November 2020. The
fascist Oromo Islamic army of Ethiopia invaded, joined by forces from
the country’s then-ally, Eritrea, and militias from the nearby
Ethiopian region of Amhara.
Nobel Peace Laureate Oromo prime
minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali faces allegations of Genocide,
war crimes, crimes against humanity by his military forces but has
had no charges or sanctions laid at his door. The entire world
continues supporting and aiding genocidal Abiy Ahmed. The World Bank
just gave him one billion US Dollars so that he could by more drones.
A handful of soldiers have been charged for participating in
massacres or raping women. The genocidal ascist Oromo Islamic regime
repeatedly pushed to defund a UN-backed probe into the abuses, and
the commission was finally disbanded
in 2023 with no resolution to continue its mandate. Two advisers
to the joint UN-Ethiopian human rights investigation, Aaron Maasho
and Martin Witteveen, wrote
last year that the transitional justice policy had become a
“farce”, making it “all but certain that the Ethiopian
government will successfully sweep its atrocities in Tigray under the
rug”. The Ethiopian and Eritrean governments did not respond to
Guardian requests for comment.
While the war is officially over, the
violence in Tigray continues. Research since the ceasefire shows
sexual violence by security forces has continued unabated. According
to the Office of the UN high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR),
Eritrean soldiers continue
to occupy significant parts of Tigray, particularly eastern
regions, where they are “committing violations, including
abductions, rape, property looting and arbitrary arrests”. And now,
rising tensions between the Ethiopian government and armed groups in
Amhara and Oromio leave the entire
region vulnerable to toppling into civil war again.
Many of the women speaking to
the Guardian allege they were held and repeatedly raped at military
bases by both Ethiopian and Eritrean forces – reports that indicate
sexual violence against Tigrayan woman was systematic, and to some
extent condoned by military hierarchies.
All of the women being
interviewed by the Guardian have sustained significant internal or
external injuries, and most need ongoing medical interventions,
surgeries and medication. Yet their access to already-limited help is
being severed by huge cuts to aid from the US.
Nearly 90%
of the women who experienced sexual violence during Tigray’s
war have not received any form of medical or psychological
assistance, with about half citing a lack of medical facilities as
the reason.
For the women who survived the
insertion of objects, living with this kind of foreign body means
“severe and long-lasting adverse health consequences and injuries”,
says Dr Rose Olson, an internal medicine specialist and instructor at
Harvard medical school, who has reviewed and commented on X-rays from
the cases.
👉 Selected Comments from “The Guardian” readers
• Sarah
Jane wrote:
Ooof well that’s a tough
read. Poor women and girl, I can’t understand the cruelty. This
needs attention. So sad. No words. Where’s the outcry for these
women? The protests? Bless you all I hope more attention comes to
this..,
•Leena Maria wrote:
I read the article and
went to throw up. How could we help these
women and those small clinics when those in power are not interested?
•Louisa Downes wrote:
I have no words for this.
My heart breaks for these women. How anyone can do this to another
human being is beyond me. These people make me sick
•John
Wiede wrote:
Sounds
like something the UN purposely turned their back on, quietly
supported with their genocide agenda
•Sarah Christian wrote:
It’s time for these men
to experience what they put out into the world. Women and children are
sick of being used and abused.
•Ilona Marianna wrote:
I'm crying. Not because of
horror, but because I can't avenge those poor souls and do the same
to those inhumane scumbags who destroyed innocent lives.
•Thomas Gower wrote:
How do we get justice for
these poor women? This is absolutely horrific! This is heartbreaking!
•lexus Woroniecki wrote:
Please actually read the
article, so you can truly understand how bad (which is just the tip
of the iceberg) it really is.
•Freya
Normington wrote:
It's a shame that the BBC
is mostly focused on Gaza so there is little time to report on
Eritrea etc.
•Ken
Thornton wrote:
Horrific, did not hear The
Glastonbury bands or their hipster fans protesting against this. Not
fashionable enough
•Joan
Bennett wrote:
This is one of the most
harrowing articles I have ever read, the trauma, pain and suffering
these poor women endured at the hands of these “ men”. War is
brutal and I wish none existed, but sadly they do, and the use of
rape, sexual assault on girls and women in war is beyond abhorrent, (
as it is in every case on a daily basis without question), but what
these “men” have done is beyond words, beyond abhorrent!! Do
these “ men” not understand that they are birthed by women, their
mothers, how would they like this done to them, to their sister,
daughter, aunt, niece, wife, granddaughter!! I truly hope that each
and every “ man” who did this truly barbaric act is found, and
brought to justice and I hope that justice is harsh!!! Where has this
come from, why would you even think of doing this barbarous act
against a girl or woman, you are not a man, you are evil, pure and
simple, evil. I hope that when your days are done, you find yourself
in the kind of place you fear the most, your hell not your heaven
•Sue
Hughes wrote:
Thank you for putting this
in the public eye. There is not enough on
mainstream news to inform the public. They focus more on frippery and
repetition.
•Laurelie Lau wrote:
This is beyond atrocious
horrifying. There are no words to describe the suffering of these
women.
•Rasheed Kaytz wrote:
This is inhuman I wonder n ask myself
what's the role of the do called "UN"?
I READ acts of war crimes
happening in the presence of these people in EU, NATO, AU, G7, why do
they keep on putting on neck ties when these acts are happening? Why?
•Morris Tedd wrote:
Where is America? Are
there no resources to pillage there?
•
Natalie Monica Lottersberger wrote:
HELP the women, publish it
an take action against the perpetrators!
•Yasmin Wilde wrote:
Oh my god. I think this is
the worst thing I’ve ever read. I feel physically sick.
•Scott Frost wrote:
And no street marches by
the usual thousands of useful idiots...
• Davy
Anderson wrote:
Where are the mass
protests, the flag waving etc?
•
Harrison Scott wrote:
Davy Andersonthe
perpetrators aren't white or Jewish so nobody cares. Speaking our
against these kinda of atrocities don't get as many likes on
Facebook.
•Lily Pop wrote:
Admirations to The
Guardian for writing such an incredible article on a topic that none
speaks about - the horrors these people endure must be made public in
order someone to react. It is a real atrocity and human cruelty to
stages beyond limits that have to be stopped. Keep on being bold
journalists and caring to speak about what matters.
•
Sandra Vymetal wrote:
Oh my god. I got no words
for this horror…. Except: Hell is empty
because all the devils are here ( Shakespeare)
•Isabelle Efternamn wrote:
Barbaric and inhumane
behaviour. I hope justice finds them brutally.
•Ria
Parkinson wrote:
This is one of the most
horrific things I’ve ever read. Those poor women.
•Samera Chiad wrote:
God help these poor women
and bring them aid and peace.
•Giulia Caruso wrote:
This is an absolute
atrocity and unspeakable pain
•Girmay Gebremariam wrote:
Thank you for covering one
of the most horrific stories of the Tigray war. There was nothing
left undone in Tigray while the world chose to remain silent. This
and many more painful stories need to get attention.
•Yarima Muazu wrote:
While the world and super
powers are watching
•Angesom Gebregergs wrote:
Our struggle will continue
until the perpetrators of this atrocity are brought to justice.
•Ọnụọha Udochukwu Ebubedike wrote:
The animals that did this
shall not go unpunished, one way or the other. I pray the women get
all the help they need to recover from this evil act Done by Abiy
Ahmed Ali.
•Maria
Cosima Brandt wrote:
I would like to know how I
can help... both for the medical help, as well as pressuring
politicians ...
•The
Scouse African wrote:
I sent you an article I
wrote when I was in Ethiopia last year. I witnessed the Ethiopian
military bombing farms and civilians. I was in the Tigray and the
Amhara region. Munition of choice? Turkish drones. In the past month
alone I have been sent 3 videos of atrocities committed by the ruling
party.
•Jorge Legends wrote:
Where on earth could this
happen, particularly in the twenty-first century? All those who did
it are in absolute denial.
•Haftom G Gebre wrote:
The world we are living
becomes horror from time to time. Justice for Tigray women is justice
for all women in the world.
•Amelia TheCoach wrote:
Unfortunately, none of
this is reported or condemned in the mainstream media. For all the
talk of feminism in the West, there is horrific violence committed
against women of all ages and young girls in places like these. I
wish something more can be done.
I wonder n ask myself
what's the role of the do called "UN"?
