Bukavu, Democratic Republic Of Congo (CNN) -- Many of Congo's rape survivors took to the streets Sunday to speak out against sexual violence in a county where it has become a weapon of war.
"My heart is in pain, why are you raping me?" sang the rape victims, many of whom left hospital beds to join the march in eastern Congo.
"They have had enough, enough, enough, enough," said Nita Vielle, a Congolese women's activist, of the women marching. "Enough of the war, of the rape, of nobody paying attention to what's happening to them".
The United Nations has named the Democratic Republic of Congo the "rape capital of the world," with 15,000 women raped in eastern Congo last year. The attacks occurred in parts of the country where armed rebel groups moved into areas considered to be pro-government but lacking in army or police protection, according to the U.N.
Margot Wallstrom, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative on sexual violence in conflict, said recently that one distraught Congolese woman had told her that "a dead rat is worth more than the body of a woman".
"It was an expression of how human rights violations against women are still the lowest on a fool's hierarchy of war time horrors," she said.
Sunday's march was organized by the World March of Women in association with local women's groups. Organizers hoped the march would combat the stigma attached to rape victims and draw international attention to the problem of rape as a war tactic.
"It's just great to have so many women out on the streets," said Celia Alldridge, a representative from World March of Women. "We believe that women should not be made prisoners in their own homes".
CNN
