The Dallas Morning News
As the Taliban extends its grip over Afghanistan and as Islamic State and other extremists continue to press their oppressive ideologies across the world, it is increasingly important that the United States leads on protecting and extending the natural rights of women and girls.
One important element of that leadership will be preventing and prosecuting cases of sexual violence in wartime.
Rape is often a weapon of war. Researchers and historians agree that just about every major military conflict in history has brought with it a rise in instances of sexual violence. That’s not just because war leads to lawlessness, though that is certainly true. Rape isn’t just a byproduct of war; it’s a tool of war. It is a strategy.
As the Biden administration is leaving Afghanistan, it should take the lead on the world’s stage to protect the rights of women.
First, the president should lead rhetorically. He should find a platform that will draw public attention to rape as a weapon of war, similar to how Ronald Reagan used the Berlin Wall to ensure his speech calling for its destruction drew an international spotlight.
Second, the Biden administration can press for specific regimes and even individuals to be identified as committing these crimes so they can’t continue to do so with impunity. Without pressure in the public sphere, prosecution is unlikely. The State Department should promote an awareness campaign along the lines of the 2012 effort that put a global spotlight on Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony.
This administration can also organize allies behind this cause much the way the U.S. government created an anti-proliferation initiative 20 years ago to enforce laws already in place related to sanctioned chemical and other weapons of mass destruction. If militia leaders perpetrating these crimes can’t cross international borders without risking arrest and prosecution, they will be less likely to commit these crimes and more likely to be held accountable.
Finally, the administration can expand asylum laws beyond those fleeing political or religious persecution to include people fleeing rape as a weapon of war. A change here could add pressure to an already overloaded immigration system, but it would also address other policy goals of the United States.
Biden’s withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan is likely to make women less safe there. And that is only one of many conflict zones around the world where women are exploited and subjugated for military ends.
For Biden, this is a choice. He can decide to lead here. We hope he works to ensure the U.S. remains a global leader in human rights and specifically in protecting women.
