The Power of Women: A Doctor's Journey of Hope and Healing

by Denis Mukwege

Overview

A Nobel laureate's powerful clarion call to end sexual violence and harness the strength, resilience, and leadership of women globally.

In The Power of Women, world-renowned doctor and human rights activist Dr. Denis Mukwege amplifies the voices of sexual violence survivors he has worked with for years. Through their stories, he shows how survivors can heal and thrive with proper care and support, even if psychological scars remain.

Dr. Mukwege's own dramatic journey is woven throughout as he exposes the overlooked reality of sexual assault in war, advocates for supporting women who speak out, and calls for governments to recognize and compensate victims. He draws connections between the decades-long conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Western patriarchy, and economic colonization.

Tying the global economy to violence against women, Dr. Mukwege reveals striking parallels in women's experiences from Congo to Korea, Latin America, the Middle East, and Western college campuses. He calls on men to develop "positive masculinity" and become allies in the battle against sexual abuse.

The Power of Women illuminates women's enduring strength in the face of trauma and offers hope for a tide-turning, inclusive future where empowered women are political and economic decision makers. This transformative book is a beacon of progress toward a safer, more equitable world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250769268
Publisher:	Flatiron Books
Publication date:	11/16/2021
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Dr. Denis Mukwege was born in the Belgian Congo in 1955. As a child and young man, he was a first-hand witness to racial prejudices, as well as to the economic and moral decay of the Democratic Republic of Congo under dictatorship. Now a world renowned gynecological surgeon, he is recognized as the world’s leading expert on treating rape injuries, and his holistic approach to healing has inspired other initiatives around the world. In 2014, he was invited to the White House by Barack Obama. In Europe, he was awarded the prestigious Sakharov human rights prize award, earning him major public recognition for the first time. In 2018, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Yazidi human rights activist and sexual violence survivor Nadia Murad.

Table of Contents

Map ix

Introduction xi

1 Maternal Courage 1

2 A Women's Health Crisis 23

3 Crisis and Resilience 44

4 Pain and Power 74

5 In His Words 101

6 Speaking Out 127

7 Fighting for Justice 156

8 Recognition and Remembrance 187

9 Men and Masculinity 212

10 Leadership 236

Conclusion 263

Acknowledgments 279

Notes 281

Index 289

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Best of 2021

"I call him the Mother Teresa of the Congo."
— Oprah Daily

"The book we all need to be paying attention to now. The voices of women in Eastern Congo reverberate throughout Dr. Mukwege's moving account of the causes and consequences of sexual violence. Weaving together their stories with accounts from across the world, he calls on us all to emulate the strength of women for the sake of the world."
— Emma Watson, actor and activist

“There are real heroes out there. There’s Denis Mukwege.”
— Michaela Coel, creator of I May Destroy You and author of Misfits

"Dr. Mukwege is a beacon calling men everywhere to a new consciousness. He risked and continues to risk his life to break ranks with a patriarchal culture that licenses violence towards all women. He is an ally, a brother, a visionary of the heart, a healer and a true friend to women across the world."
— V (formerly Eve Ensler), award-winning playwright and bestselling author of The Vagina Monologues and The Apology

"An important, deeply affecting account of the invaluable work of a devoted humanitarian."
—Kirkus, starred review

"A vital record of the suffering and resilience of Congolese women and a powerful exhortation to dismantle rape culture."
— Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2021 Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

EBOOK COMMENTARY

★ 2021-08-26
The Congolese gynecologist who won the 2018 Nobel Prize for aiding rape victims during the civil wars in his country depicts his inspiring journey.

A self-proclaimed feminist who often has to justify his chosen profession and life’s work to officers at the U.N. and elsewhere, Mukwege offers an impassioned argument for women’s health care and basic universal human rights. He bases the narrative on his experiences with the ravages of war, colonization, poverty, and ignorance in his own country. The author opens in his hometown of Bukavu, near the border with Rwanda. He chronicles his childhood with parents who largely eschewed the traditional roles ascribed to boys and girls, roles that devalued women’s work in the home and fields. Once he began to work with patients, Mukwege soon recognized the enormous need for women’s health care in a country with few medical doctors but high maternal and child mortality rates. After training in France, he returned to direct a hospital and then build another one in the countryside to address the catastrophic toll of rape during the civil wars that began in the late 1990s. Mukwege became an expert in obstetric fistula, and thousands of women came to him for life-saving treatment after suffering sexual violence. In his moving account of his courageous work, the author spares no detail, demonstrating the indispensable assistance he and his colleagues provided to traumatized survivors. As he writes, he sought out this work in order to combat the stigmatization and isolation of rape victims, despite the threat of death to himself and his family. “Breaking the silence about sexual violence in all its forms—harassment, rape, incest—is the essential first step in tackling the problem,” he writes. All along, he argues forcefully for the necessity of changing the education and mindsets of men throughout the world.

An important, deeply affecting account of the invaluable work of a devoted humanitarian.

Kirkus Reviews