This Nobel Prize is dedicated for all the suffering women: Denis Mukwege

Bukavu, Oct 5: Congolese Gynecologist Denis Mukwege who won Nobel Peace Prize on Friday (Oct 5) for his efforts to end sexual violence as a weapon of war said he dedicates the award to women around the world who had gone through a lot of sufferings and those who are "confronted with violence every day".

"This Nobel prize is recognition of the suffering and the failure to adequately compensate women who are victims of rape and sexual violence in all countries around the world," he said, speaking outside his clinic in the eastern DR Congo city of Bukavu.

Mukwege was recognised for two decades of helping women recover from the violence and trauma of sexual abuse and rape in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. "It's an important step towards this long awaited reparation that we all owe to these women who have suffered so much," he said.

"For nearly 20 years I have witnessed war crimes committed against women, young girls, tots and babies," he said, adding that he had operated on some 50,000 women victims of rape and sexual abuse.

Mukwege, addressing women victims of violence, said the prize showed that the "world hears you... The world refuses to remain with their arms crossed while confronted with your suffering."

Denis Mukwege, a gynaecologist in Bukavu city which is a part of Democratic Republic of Congo has been working from two decades to treat women who have been molested during the war. He along with Nadia Murad was awarded Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end sexual violence in wars.

PTI