‘Doctor Miracle’: Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege awarded Nobel Peace Prize for lifelong crusade to heal victims of sexual atrocity

He has spent more than two decades treating appalling injuries inflicted on women in the DRC

A father of five, the 63-year-old is an outspoken critic of the abuse of women in war and impunity for perpetrators

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Denis Mukwege from Congo and Nadia Murad from Iraq sign the Nobel guestbook. Both won the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Photo: EPA

Published: 11:57am, 10 Dec 2018Updated: 10:23pm, 10 Dec 2018

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, they call him “Doctor Miracle” for his surgical skill and dedication to helping women overcome the injuries and trauma of sexual abuse and rape.

Denis Mukwege is a crusading gynaecologist who has spent more than two decades treating appalling injuries inflicted on women in the DRC.

He has also emerged as an excoriating critic of President Joseph Kabila, set to be replaced in pivotal elections on December 23.

A father of five, the tireless 63-year-old is an outspoken critic of the abuse of women in war and impunity for perpetrators. He has repeatedly accused the world of failing to act.

“When one does not fight against an evil, it is like a cancer, it spreads and destroys the whole society,” he told AFP in a weekend interview.

The 2018 Nobel Peace laureate, who shares the prize with Yazidi activist Nadia Murad, has dedicated his award to all victims of sexual violence.

Denis Mukwege is the foremost, most unifying symbol, both nationally and internationally, of the struggle to end sexual violence in war

Berit Reiss-Andersen