I recently read an article entitled “Religious Conflict in Burma” by Karen Kirk about rape in Burma and asked questions and provided answers to those same questions. Questions like “what does “rape” mean?”  “Is it a crime?” “Is it legal?” The legal definition says rape is a weapon of psychological warfare, recognized under the Geneva Convention s a war crime and a crime against humanity. On an inter-personal level, rape is an act of control. On a societal level violence against women could have the similar consequences. In this article Karen talked about the problems that occurred in Burma along with a few videos from women in the country. Burma endured violent military regime, censorship, ethic tension, and religious conflict that affected the minority populations and women.

In the videos each time a rape occurred the country was divided between people, gender, military, and ordinary citizens. The armed forces used rape to demean women, intimidate communities and fracture the country along ethic lines. There were always personal stories of both victims that were raped and people that know someone that were raped. If they change the perception of their women, Burma could minimize the inequalities between genders and heal the divisions between populations. I believe if citizens’ rights were protected thing like this would not be a factor. Rape is not a game and it should not be something that is done to demean someone because of race, sex, or religion.