21 Rohingya Women Recount Rape By Armed Forces
1 min read
This combo photo comprises of portraits of some of the Rohingya Muslim women taken during an interview with The Associated Press in November 2017 in Kutupalong and Gundum refugee camp in Bangladesh. They said they were raped by members of Myanmar's armed forces. The use of rape by Myanmar's armed forces has been sweeping and methodical, the AP found in interviews with 29 Rohingya Muslim women and girls now in Bangladesh. They were interviewed separately, come from a variety of villages in Myanmar and now live spread across several refugee camps in Bangladesh. The military has denied its soldiers raped any Rohingya women. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
It is not known how many Rohingya women have been raped by Myanmar soldiers in recent months, but aid workers fear only ‘a fraction’ will ever dare to speak out about the horrific abuse.
An investigation by Associated Press has found that rape of women and teenage girls by Myanmar’s security forces has been’ sweeping and methodical’ with survivors recalling horrific tales, including such brutal gang rapes that pregnant victims have miscarried their babies and girls as young as 13 being abused at gunpoint.
These sexual assault survivors, ranging in age from 13 to 35, from several refugee camps in Bangladesh comes from a wide swath of villages in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and described assaults between October 2016 and mid-September.
