A Vicious Cycle

I really like Cynthia Enloe's writing style. She did a good job of addressing her readers and mixing her own beliefs with more factual, professional writing. I was intrigued by her chapter "The Surprised Feminist" and found myself really enjoying her writing style as I read through the chapter. Like Enloe, I was surprised about the subjects she was addressing. However, the most surprising part of the chapter was the short excerpt about a fifteen year old girl, Rachel Wesseh, joining one of Liberia's insurgent armies after her mother was raped (on page 15). She is quoted saying, "'I was hurting so deeply. So I became a fighter. What was I doing with my life here, anyway?'". At first I found it honorable she joined the army because of what happened to her mother. But as I read on I became more worried about this girl's choice. Her reasoning was that she was enraged by her mothers rape, and didn't really have anything else happening in her life. Like many of the writers in Leading The Way, personal reasons drove Wesseh to become active in fighting for women's rights and what she believed in. However, joining the army ended up seeming like the wrong choice for her.

The blurb continued on to say that there were a lot of instances of rape in the army and that Wesseh even had a man "looking after her" that referred to himself as her "boyfriend". This immediately raised my eyebrows. If this man is trying to protect her why wouldn't he choose a nickname that represented a more protective relationship than "boyfriend" (such as father or brother) and did not have any sexual connection. Wesseh tried to create change, but I fear by joining the army she just created a larger opportunity for her to get raped, like her mother. More and more reports of sexual abuse by men are appearing in these forces. It is a vicious cycle. Wesseh's mother gets raped, so she joins the army to help fight back; but by doing so creates an opportunity for her to get raped, re-living the pain and emotional trauma her mother must have went through. I am saddened to think that this is occurring. The government needs to take a more influential role in preventing these rapes and also should encourage citizens to fight against them as well. There should be a safe haven for girls and women who have been sexually abused and a safer way to fight this reoccurring tragedy.