Life
Denis Mukwege – a Congolese surgeon awarded Civil Courage Prize
Dr. Denis Mukwege. PHOTO/AFP
Dr. Denis Mukwege was a contender for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
He is the founder medical director of Panzi Hospital – a facility that provides sanctuary for women who have been raped.
A Congolese surgeon who has treated tens of thousands of women who were gang-raped has received a prize honoring his courage.
Denis Mukwege accepted the 2013 Civil Courage Prize on Tuesday night for his work at the Panzi Hospital, which he founded in 1999 in the Congolese town of Bukavu.
The U.N. has said various armed groups are behind rapes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Last year, Mukwege in a speech at the United Nations, lashed out at the international community for its inaction on his country’s civil war.
The Civil Courage Prize is awarded by the New York-based Train Foundation.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press