In March, from 1st to 5th, the photo exibition "Rape as a weapon of war: Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo“ will be exposed in the European Parliament in Brussel. The exhibition shows a photo documentary by the photojournalist Cornelia Suhan who visited the Congolese women's rights organization PAIF (Promotion et Appui aux Initiatives Féminines) in Goma/Eastern Congo in September 2008. medica mondiale has been cooperating with PAIF since 2004. PAIF is one of the few organisations that care for raped women and girls in the Kivu Provinces. The photo exhibition will be held on Barbara Lochbihler´s initiative.

Elections will be held in Afghanistan on August 20 to choose provincial council members and a national president. For various reasons, many Afghans take little interest in the elections. Many are burdened with problems of their own. Many women who can’t even choose their own husbands can’t grasp the concept of choosing a president. And many believe that the United States has already fixed the presidential election in favor of the incumbent Hamid Karzai. They see the election as an exercise in futility. Ann Jones, an american jounalist spoke to a local team member of medica mondiale Afghanistan.

Against the background of worldwide protests against the signing of the Schiite Family and Personal Status law which debases women, medica mondiale demands that the German government gives womens’ rights a central role in their Afghanistan strategy. In an open letter to the Federal Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier medica mondiale insists on decisive intervention on the part of German politics, in order to prevent the passing of the Law in its current form.

On March 16, 2009, Immaculée Birhaheka, founder of the Congolese women’s rights organization PAIF (Promotion et Appui aux Initiatives Féminines), was awarded the 11th Bremen Solidarity Prize. As the Senate of Bremen explained: With this award, "we are honoring one of the leading human rights defenders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, for her tireless efforts on behalf of women’s rights."

medica mondiale commits herself in favour of traumatised women and girls in war and crisis zones and regards herself as advocate of the rights and interests of women who have survived sexualised war-related violence. medica mondiale offers gynaecological treatment to women, supports them by way of psychosocial counselling and legal advice, implements income-generating projects and pursues political human rights work. This year, Monika Hauser was awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize – a clear signal in medica mondiale’s commitment against sexualised war-related violence.

Gurcharan Virdee, a medica mondiale employee, summarized her experiences from five years of work in Afghanistan in an up-to-date training manual. The manual includes training modules for activists as well as for employees from organizations and institutions. The topics covered include: women-oriented counseling, family mediation and cooperation.

“Historic”, “long overdue”, “an important step forwards”, this is how United Nations Resolution 1820 of June 19 was received by many. And indeed, for the first time ever the use of sexualized violence is officially designated as a war tactic – a tactic used to degrade and humiliate people, dominate them, instill fear in them, force them to relocate. Also for the first time, it affirms that sexualized violence is a potential threat to world peace and international security.