Denis Mukwege, 2014 Inamori Prize Recipient

The International Journal of Ethical Leadership

Volume 5 Article 9

2018

Ellen Kendall

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Recommended Citation Kendall, Ellen (2018) "Denis Mukwege, 2014 Inamori Prize Recipient," The International Journal of Ethical Leadership: Vol. 5 , Article 9. Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/ijel/vol5/iss1/9

This Biography is brought to you for free and open access by the Cross Disciplinary Publications at Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in The International Journal of Ethical Leadership by an authorized administrator of Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons. Kendall: Denis Mukwege, 2014 Inamori Prize Recipient 30 The International Journal of Ethical Leadership Fall 2018

Denis Mukwege, 2014 Inamori Ethics Prize Recipient Ellen Kendall

Working as a physician at the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Democratic Repub- lic of Congo (DRC), Denis Mukwege is known by the locals as “the man who mends women.”1 After his medical training at the Lemera Hospital, Mukwege was called to action seeing the insufficient medical care provided to female patients. In 1999, Mukwege founded the Panzi Hospital as a clinic for gynecological and obstetric care. Mukwege hoped to address maternal health issues in his clinic, but due to the violence against women during the armed conflict in the DRC, the Panzi Hospital has emerged as the treatment facility for the survivors of sexual violence.2 The armed conflict in the DRC began in 1995, and sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war against the women of the community since the beginning. Mukwege’s first patient was a female who had been violently raped by men in uniform, and while he thought this case would be an exception, it has become his life’s work.3 Over time, the Panzi Hospital has treated over fifty thousand victims of sexual violence using their five-pillar holistic healing model. This model includes physical care, psychological support, community reintegration services, legal assistance, and education and advocacy.4 In an interview, Mukwege detailed a case where he operated on a young mother, then fifteen years later, on the daughter, and three years after that, on the granddaughter. After this case he was quoted saying, “by the time I was sewing up the second generation, I said to myself: ‘the answers won’t come from the operating theater.’”5 Mukwege remains an active surgeon on staff at the Panzi Hospital, but he splits his time between the hospital and advocating for women’s rights around the world. In 2012, Mukwege spoke at the United Nations, where he denounced the armed conflict in the DRC and sought justice for those who had violated the women of the community. Shortly after the speech at the UN, Mukwege was violently attacked, and his family was held at gunpoint at his home in the DRC. After a brief recovery period in Europe, Mukwege returned to the Panzi Hospital to work with his patients in spite of ongoing safety threats.6 In a landmark ruling in December 2017, eleven Congolese militia mem- bers were convicted of crimes against humanity for the rape of thirty-seven young children, ages eighteen months to eleven years old. This trial was

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historic for the victims of Kavumu, the organizations like the Panzi Hospital that have been supporting these rape victims, and the greater community of the DRC, who are seeing justice served to those who committed sexual violence. This trial was the first time that a sitting government official in the Congo was found guilty for crimes that he and his militia committed, and the defendants could not have been proven guilty without the medical evidence collected by Mukwege and his team while they treated these young victims at the Panzi Hospital.7 Mukwege has brought hope to the women of the DRC and awareness to the global community. He has dedicated his life to serving his community, to healing the women, and to advocating for change at an international level. He serves on the advisory committee for the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict,8 is one of the founders of the International Centre for Advanced Research and Training (ICART),9 and is a research collaborator of the Female Empowerment in Eastern DRC Project.10 For his fearless pursuit of justice for the women of the DRC, Denis Mukwege has been awarded many honors in addition to the Inamori Ethics Prize (2014), such as the UN Human Rights Prize (2008), the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (2014) from the European Parliament, the Top Fifty World’s Greatest Leaders (2016) from Fortune Magazine, and the Seoul Peace Prize Laureate (2016). He has been the subject of at least one major documentary film, The Man Who Mends Women: The Story of Dr. Denis Mukwege, and has reportedly been nominated multiple times for the Nobel Peace Prize. Mukwege is leading the charge to end sexual violence in wars, and he is showing the rest of the world that justice will be served.11

Notes 1. Jackson Sinnenberg, “A Doctor Who Treats Rape Survivors Seen As Nobel Peace Prize Contender.” NPR, Oct. 6, 2016, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/ 2016/10/06/496893413/doctor-who-helps-rape-survivors-is-shortlisted-for-nobel-peace -prize. 2. “About Dr. Denis Mukwege–Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation.” Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation, www.mukwegefoundation.org/about-us/about-dr-denis-mukwege/. 3. Aryn Baker, “Platon: Portraits of Sexual Assault Survivors in Congo.” Time, time.com/ platon-congo-denis-mukwege/. 4. “The Panzi Model.” Panzi Foundation, www.panzifoundation.org/the-panzi-model-1/. 5. Eliza Anyangwe, “Rape in DR Congo: An Economic War on Women’s Bodies.” CNN, Cable News Network, Jan. 19, 2018, www.cnn.com/2017/10/19/africa/denis-mukwege -congo-doctor-rape/index.html. 6. “About Dr. Denis Mukwege.” Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation. https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/ijel/vol5/iss1/9 2 Kendall: Denis Mukwege, 2014 Inamori Prize Recipient 32 The International Journal of Ethical Leadership Fall 2018

7. “Justice Is Delivered for the Children of Kavumu.” TRIAL International, TRIAL Interna- tional, Dec. 13, 2017, trialinternational.org/latest-post/justice-is-delivered-for-the -children-of-kavumu/. 8. “Physicians for Human Rights.” Physicians for Human Rights–International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict, physiciansforhumanrights.org/issues/rape -in-war/stop-rape-in-conflict.html. 9. “About.” ICART, International Center for Advanced Research and Training, icart-bukavu.org/about/. 10. Ragnhild Nordås, “Female Empowerment in Eastern DRC.” PRIO, Peace Research Institute Oslo, Jan. 2014, www.prio.org/Projects/Project/? x=1094. 11. “Dr. Denis Mukwege.” Panzi Foundation, www.panzifoundation.org/dr-denis -mukwege/.

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