Rape as a Weapon during War

It has been observed that rape is commonly used as a weapon during wartime. Rape, used as a war tactic, is used to bring down morale and to desecrate and abuse another human being. In performing the activity, the rapist is able to have complete control over another individual and to mercilessly inflict pain and harm, without thinking twice about the hardships that the abused individual, and in some cases, her family, will continue to endure long after the abuse. This is similar to the effects that are faced by other individuals who have been subjected to other forms of torture during war. There are many theories as to why women are the subject of rape during war. “In some instances, however, it also can serve a strikingly sex-specific function, when, for example, it is committed with the intent of impregnating its victims”(Thomas, 82). This act of impregnating victims is another example of the humiliation that a rapist can impose upon his victim. Whereas rape is used as a weapon in many wars, I’ve decided to focus this entry primarily on the rapes against women that occurred during the civil war in Somali. After deciding to write my blog on the topic of rape and its use as ammunition against enemies during war, I researched countries that this practice had occurred in. I had heard many stories about rape during wartime in many parts of Africa, and when I found articles about Somalia, I was intrigued. I had never heard about the war that raged in Somalia, and in writing this blog, I wanted to learn something new during the process of writing.
The Somali civil war came to be in 1991 after the fall of its dictator, Siad Barre. Being a predominantly Muslim country; Somalia, pre-civil war, was very strict in its belief that the virginity of a woman was treasured and not to be sullied. Women wore traditional reserved clothing as well as headdresses to cover their heads and shoulders to promote their modesty. Rape was not a common occurrence, out of respect to religious and societal norms. However, during the civil war, many of its Muslim women were subjected to the ruthless forms of torture and abuse.
Many Somalis were killed during this war, and even more were displaced. Many were sent to refugee camps in Africa where women were unable to feel safe. There was minimal security at these camps and therefore many women were left feeling vulnerable. The camps that these refugees stayed at were in very remote areas, which only further increased the chances of being abused or raped. “About two hundred rape cases were reported in 1993. In the next four years, this dropped to between 70 and 105, but increased to 164 in 1998, dropping back to 71 in 1999, 82 in 2000, 72 in 2001, and 18 in 2002 (UNHCR 2003).” Though the occurrences declined in numbers reported over four years, women still had to live in fear. While in the camps, women were unable to defend themselves and as a technique to try protect themselves, would wear trousers under their traditional dress. A 35-year-old recalled the situation that occurred when she was a teen. “If a woman is wearing a dirac, it can just be pulled or torn off in no time; but if she has tight trousers underneath, then help may come in time" (Abdi). This quote, I feel, displays the helplessness of the situation and the desperation of the women to do whatever they could to attempt to protect themselves from the men who preyed on these women during the war.
Rape during wartime is a very real and very serious issue. In regards to the raping of numerous Somali women, Abdi stated that, “Violating their integrity and subjecting them to the extreme violence of rape and torture became a key weapon of the war.” (Abdi).” Some doubt the severity of the situation and have not considered it to be on common ground with other forms of war torture, according to Dorothy Q. Thomas and Regan E. Ralph, who wrote on the role of rape during war. “Rape has been downplayed as an unfortunate but inevitable side effect of sending men to war. It thus is ignored as a human rights abuse. Then when rape is reported and condemned… the abuses are called unprecedented and unique in their scale” (Thomas, 84). As an advocate for human rights, I believe that there should be more focus and more importance placed on the tragedy of rape as a weapon. Rape alone is one of the most demoralizing actions a person can inflict on another, but to downplay the seriousness of rape during war is almost a crime within itself.


Thomas, Dorothy Q. and Regan E. Ralph. “Rape in War: Challenging the Tradition of Impunity.” SAIS Review (Vol) (1994), 82-99.
Abdi , Cawo Mohamed. “Convergence of Civil War and the Religious Right: Reimagining Somali Women.” Journal of Women in Culture and Society . 183-207