In Sudan, authorities do little to combat rape as a weapon of war

[gottaB]

By Sudarsan Raghavan
Knight Ridder Newspapers

KALMA CAMP, Sudan - As she ran across the powdery soil toward her flimsy hut, praying her rapist wouldn't give chase, Awatif Abdallah's face was bloody, her left eye swollen and her clothes tattered, according to witnesses and a medical report.

She felt shame. She felt fear. But instead of keeping silent, she took a path that countless violated women in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region rarely take: She sought justice.

Abdallah, 19, filed a complaint against the soldier who brutalized her. What happened next opens a window onto how rape is being brushed aside by officials in Sudan.

Over the next days, Abdallah's claim would be dismissed without a proper inquiry, even though a doctor determined she was raped. The police and a judge covered up the matter by handing Abdallah $52 and some secondhand clothes, knowing she was too poor and powerless to refuse.

In Sudan, authorities do little to combat rape as a weapon of war....

[DuctapeFatwa]

1. There's big money in oil, that's for sure