Nobel peace prize shines light on rape in conflict

Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and Yazidi activist Nadia Murad, an IS sex slave survivor, will be presented with the Nobel Peace Prize Monday, as they challenge the world to combat rape as a weapon of war.

Mukwege, dubbed “Doctor Miracle” for his work helping victims of sexual violence, and Murad, who has turned her experience into powerful advocacy for her Yazidi people, will receive the prize at a ceremony in Oslo.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee in October said the prize was for “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict”.

(Denis Mukwege and Yazidi activist Nadia Murad speak on the eve of the Peace Prize ceremony / AFP)

The laureates, who have dedicated their award to rape victims across the world, have said they hope the Nobel will raise awareness of sexual violence and make it harder for the world to ignore it.

“We cannot say that we didn't act because we didn't know. Now everyone knows. And I think now the international community has a responsibility to act,” Mukwege told reporters at a news conference on Sunday.

The surgeon has spent 20 years treating the wounds and emotional trauma inflicted on women in the DR Congo's war-torn east.

(AFP)