International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 3; May 2016 Australian International Academic Centre, Australia Wartime Women Rape: A Means of Moral Attack and Emasculation in Lynn Nottage’s Ruined Elaff Ganim Salih (Corresponding author) Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia E-mail: elafganem@yahoo.com Hardev Kaur Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia E-mail: hardevkaur@yahoo.com Wan Roselezam Wan Yahya Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia E-mail: roselezam@gmail.com Received: 29-11-2015 Accepted: 07-02-2016 Advance Access Published: March 2016 Published: 01-05-2016 doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.3p.113 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.3p.113 Abstract Women rape at warfare was considered a consequence of war in the social, literary and political world for a long period of time. Some criminals of rape escaped justice and others were persecuted on the basis that they were involved in mass rape because it was a natural consequence of war. But, women are targeted with rape in time of war because they are the symbolic representation of a culture, ethnicity, and the unifying fabric of their people and nation. The objective of this paper is to show that war rape is not a result of war; instead it is a means of human destruction through moral attack and emasculation. It aims to show that women rape in warfare is neither a misogynist act nor a sexual violence but it is a pre-planned weapon used strategically and systematically to fulfill certain political and military agenda. The study focuses on the sexual abuse of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo in time of war in Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize play, Ruined (2007). The study applies Jonathan Gottschall’s Strategic Rape theory, which highlights war rape as a pre-planned military strategy. The enemy emasculates men and attacks them morally by raping their women. Consequently, men’s failure to protect their women causes them to give up resistance, leave their lands and families because of shame and humiliation. The study concludes that women rape in time of war is a tactic followed by conquerors intentionally to facilitate and guarantee the achievement of certain pre-planned goals as was the case of mass rape in the DRC. Keywords: women rape, strategy, emasculation, moral attack, strategic rape theory The problem [of rape] is destroying our households and families, foreigners are coming and raping our wives, devastating them. Since you are not God or an angel, you will stop loving her. That is why we say those people are ruining our communities. Man, Bukavu Characterizing Sexual Violence in the DRC. 1. Introduction Lynn Nottage’s Ruined (2007) treated the problem of women rape and sexual violence in the civil war of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This deadly war, occurred between 1998-2003 was waged to control the DRC’s natural minerals and fortunes. The death toll according to reports by the International Rescue Committee was estimated at 5.4 million, making it the deadliest war since World War II. Despite the staggering death toll, sexual violence is considered as one of the main devastating features of this war. Even after the end of the second Congolese war in 2002, killing and sexual violence continued steadily. The continued violence and human rights abuses, particularly rape, had been largely connected to issues of ethnic violence and disputes over the control of Congo’s natural mineral resources like, coltan, gold and diamonds. The main feature of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo was its brutality. Many victims suffered many physical damages like fistulas and sexually transmitted illnesses like HIV/AIDS. (Victoor, 2010:6) A shift has been observed in warfare tactics, especially after the recent civil conflicts of the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and the DRC whereby mass rape of women became a fruitful instrument of war, instead of fighting on the front lines. This shift caused a critical change in the theorization of rape in times of war. It came to be perceived as a weapon of war and no longer as a feminist issue related to gender and patriarchy. (ibid,7) Flourishing Creativity & Literacy