Jackie, a 7-year-old Liberian girl who is recovering from being raped, jumps rope at a shelter for girls in Monrovia. Nicholas D. Kristof/The New York TimesFrom The New York Times:
Traditionally, an international issue was “serious” only if it was arcane and, preferably, incomprehensible. To be respected in foreign policy, it helped to smoke a pipe, spout theories about ballistic missiles, and frequently employ the word “hegemony.”
Now pipes are passé, three of the last four secretaries of state have been women, and a new foreign policy agenda is emerging around issues like poverty, genocide, climate change and a topic that until recently was hushed up — sexual violence.
In modern times, we’ve seen mass rape as an element of warfare in Congo, Darfur, Bosnia, Rwanda, Liberia — but the lesson here in Liberia in West Africa is that even when the fighting ends, the rape continues. And that brings us to Jackie, a lovely 7-year-old with tight braids and watchful eyes.
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My Comment: I have been an advocate for making rape a war crime since I started this blog. This is one more story to put on the pile.
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