Women in Warzones: The Aftermath of Redemptive Violence

The documentary Women In Warzones chronicles the journeys of two women in the Congo from their rape at the hands of rebel groups to their stays at a private hospital that specializes in treating women for physical and mental issues after rape.

Using animation to convey the flashbacks in this tightly bound story, Women In Warzones does not tell a story about redemptive violence as much as it tells the story of what happens because of redemptive violence.

The Congo has been beleaguered by the worst human rights situation in the world as rebel groups from the Rwandan genocide as well as internal rebel groups have fought a highly complicated civil war for the past ten years.  This is a world war, involving the interests and armed forces of many African nations, and the local people of the Congo are caught in the middle of it.  Add to this the industrial imperialism of international metals and mining companies that are using various rebel groups as proxies for illegal, unfettered extraction of natural resources that destroys the environment of the Congo without giving them the necessary money from tax revenues and permits to pay the high cost of environmental damage.

And add to this the largest death total since World War II, approximately six million people, which is higher than the Sudanese conflict.  This violence erupted in part because of the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, and the cycle of violence that continues because of the initial act of tribal violence is spiraling out of control.

The film highlights the long, painful, and disappointing path women must journey on as they try to balance their healing with their trauma and loneliness.  They are part of a culture that disowns rape victims, and their rape is both a personal and communal crime: it takes away their innocence and their family.  After rape they no longer have self-value, a common post-traumatic feeling, but within their culture they also no longer have any communal or marriage value.  The women are left to fend for themselves, injured, dejected, and unable to support themselves or seek help from their family.

There is no violence in the documentary footage.  Violence is only witnessed in the flashbacks.  This cinematic feature is telling: the repercussions of redemptive violence, an act that can take five minutes or less, catastrophically change these women’s lives forever.  Physically, there is no violence, only healing, at Panzi Hospital, but the marks of violence are everywhere.  Everywhere you can see the marks of violence, on women’s faces, legs, arms, demeanor, personality. The aftermath of violence is perhaps the most violent aspect of the film, a paradox of redemptive violence that cannot be broken until the cycle of violence is broken.

Women in War Zones: Sexual Violence in the Congo takes
an intimate look into the lives of two young women who become sisters
during their time at Panzi Hospital. Helene Wamuzila (22) and Bijoux
Mateso (13) support each other in their struggle to maintain hope and
dignity as they come to grips with their violent and tragic past. They
look for hope in each other, God, and the upcoming presidential
elections – the first in over 40 years.

To schedule a screening or learn more about the move please email the film crew.

This is the third post in the Redemptive Violence in Film Series cohosted by Everyday Liturgy and Through A Glass Darkly. The first two posts were Gunslingers, Quakers, and Redemptive Violence and Terminator: The Eschaton.