By DPA,
Amsterdam : Dutch media reported Wednesday a controversial Dutch documentary has been awarded best film at the International Documentary Festival of Arab news company al-Jazeera in Doha, Qatar.
In the film, “Fighting The Silence”, by Dutch female directors Ilse and Femke van Velzen, women who experienced sexual violence during the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, speak openly about what happened to them.
The candidness of the women in the film is extraordinary for African standards. Sexual violence and particularly rape are not discussed in Africa. Many women do not disclose what happened to them out of fear if being banned from the community.
It is estimated some 80,000 women and girls became victims of sexual violence during the Congo war (1996-2002).
“Fighting The Silence” premiered in December 2007 at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam.