Maybe you have no idea but in the next article we want to talk about the situation of women in North Korea . North Korean officials are committing sexual abuse against women with virtual impunity , according to a report by the human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Human Rights Watch says in a report that this abuse has become part of the daily life of females in North Korea. This report is based on 62 interviews made to North Koreans who one day fled the country and have provided detailed testimonies on violations and sexual abuse.
The situation of women in North Korea
This group of people consulted revealed a culture of open and uncontrolled abuse and that women in North Korea were completely subject to the power position of men.
One of the testimonies is Oh Jung-hee, a merchant of about 40 years who declared in those reports that:
"They consider us sex toys. We are at the mercy of men. There are times when, out of nowhere, you cry at night and you do not know very well why. "
These testimonies have been possible because those people were no longer in the country, since gathering information from within would have been extremely difficult, hence the importance of this report.
According to HRW, some of these women say that the sexual abuse had become normalized in such a way that There is even the feeling that it is something "normal" Nothing unusual and that even some women in North Korea have accepted it as a part of everyday life, although as the previous testimony points out, the consequences of the trauma caused by these abuses appear when one least expects it.
Part of this problem in North Korea is the lack of sexual education and that there is an abuse of power without any control on the part of the commanders, who are usually men, and who has led the country to this unjust and terrifying situation.
When we talk about "those who rule" we are including high-ranking party officials, prison facility guards, police officers, and even soldiers.
Some of those interviewed explained that when an official "chose" a woman, she would have no choice but to comply "with her obligation." This is what happened to a North Korean woman, who was being interrogated by a police officer in a pre-trial detention center, since she was captured while trying to flee the country.
"He made me sit very close to him, he also touched my legs. That happened several times on different days. My life was in his hands, so I did everything he wanted. " Said Park Young-hee.
HRW has called on North Korea to "recognize the existing problem of sexual violence" and to ensure that it is "treated as a crime."
According to a 2014 UN report, it had been concluded that the government of North Korea was committing "systematic, widespread and serious violations of human rights". They also added, in that report, that forced abortion, rape and sexual violence had taken place in prisons or in simple arrests.
That abuse of power is not only applied to women in North Korea. The men in power in North Korea operate with total impunity and the United Nations estimates that between 80,000 and 120,000 political prisoners are detained in four large political prison camps in North Korea. The historic UN report detailed cases of:
"Extermination, murder, slavery , torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortion, sexual violence, persecution for political, religious, racial and gender reasons, the forced transfer of populations, the forced disappearance of people and the inhumane act of consciously causing prolonged starvation. "
Even knowing all that, women are still the most vulnerable group in the country, where the police, market inspectors and soldiers are mostly men.
Although the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, has committed to base his efforts on focusing more on the development of the economy of North Korea , the black markets, which have become a vital source of income for many families and are a place where sexual violence is widespread.
Unfortunately, human rights are not respected in all parts of the planet and we are often witnesses of these constants of their violation. Not in vain, there are numerous organizations that try to watch over the most disadvantaged.
This has been our article about the situation of women in North Korea. What do you think? Leave us your comments about all those injustices we are talking about and that you have surely read in an article more than once. We will be happy to read you!