Congo: The Doctor Who Saves Women

Senegalese filmmaker Angèle Diabang's powerful and deeply disturbing documentary serves up a portrait of a contemporary medical hero working in one of the world's most hostile war zones. Dr. Denis Mukwege is a gynecologist in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the founder of Panzi, a hospital dedicated to helping women who were raped during the country's seemingly never-ending civil war. The wide prevalence of rape perpetrated by Congolese soldiers and insurgent militias has created a reign of terror that has no equivalent elsewhere in the world—conservative estimates place the number of victims well into the tens of thousands. Mukwege and his hospital staff—consisting of specially trained doctors, nurses, and psychologists—provide the only genuine sanctuary for war-damaged women, a place where staff labor to heal the physical and emotional scars left by brutal assaults. Several Panzi patients have been rejected by both their families and communities after being raped, but Mukwege works to create a new social enclave among the patients by assigning seemingly quotidian tasks that actually serve as tools for reestablishing normal and active lives. The Congolese war and its horrendous impact on civilians have been mostly ignored by the U.S. mainstream media, but Congo joins the growing list of urgent documentaries addressing this heartbreaking situation. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)