There is no shortage of speeches and conferences about women’s empowerment. We celebrate women’s achievements, push for equal opportunities, and demand a seat at every table. But for women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s east, and by extension, its neighbors, ever scared that the ongoing crisis there might spill over to us, this rhetoric feels like a cruel joke—one that has been on repeat for decades. Women’s Day? Empowerment? What do these words even mean when your home is a battlefield and your body, a collateral damage? This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Accelerate Action.” Great. Let’s accelerate the action to end women’s suffering in DR Congo because for all the time this crisis has raged on, women’s pain has never made the news—just like always. If women’s empowerment means anything, it should start with ensuring that women don’t have to survive hell before they get to live. But, of course, this is the part where all the so-called human rights advocates and self-proclaimed “we-know-betters” quietly exit the conversation. ALSO READ: FDLR 'General' linked to Queen Gicanda murder captured in DR Congo, repatriated Since the conflict in eastern DR Congo erupted decades ago, sexual violence has been systematically used as a weapon of war. According to the UN, hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped, with an estimated 48 rapes occurring every hour at the height of the conflict. The World Health Organization has called DR Congo “the rape capital of the world.” Yet, despite these staggering numbers, the crisis remains just another footnote in global discussions on gender equality. We are celebrating Women's Day yet women’s bodies continue to be battlegrounds. Decades after women’s empowerment became a global cause, how is it that women in DR Congo are still enduring unspeakable violence—while the world looks the other way? ALSO READ: DR Congo crisis: Russia condemns Western silence on captured European mercenaries This war is not just destroying the present; it is mutilating the future. Women do not exist solely as vessels for the next generation, but they do shape it. What happens when that next generation is born of war? Born from rape, from pain, from brokenness? Children conceived through sexual violence grow up in a society that either rejects them or cannot heal itself enough to embrace them. There is also one ugly reality that is rarely spoken about. Westerners don’t just come to DR Congo for minerals. Many come as mercenaries, contractors, or businessmen, and in the process, leave behind something else—children. Children born from fleeting affairs, from deception, from desperation. Young girls, vulnerable and naive, fall for the illusion of security offered by foreign men who seem wealthy. But what happens when these men leave? When they disappear back to their comfortable lives, leaving behind children who will never know them? ALSO READ: DR Congo: For the West, it's either minerals over humanity or sanctions Rwanda, too, once walked this dark road. Rape has long been a weapon of choice for FDLR — a UN and U.S.-sanctioned armed group, founded by the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. For decades, they have found refuge in DR Congo, shielded by Kinshasa, allowed to terrorize civilians while openly plotting their return to Rwanda to “finish the job.” Yet, against all odds, our healing was near-miraculous—hard, painful, unbelievably brave and most of all, continuous. But why should another nation have to endure what we did? Why should we always have to heal from wounds that should never have been inflicted in the first place? Prevention is always better than trying to piece a shattered nation back together. And it’s still not too late for DR Congo too. ALSO READ: Why Congolese army-FDLR alliance is an evil enterprise A society that values education builds a stronger future. But what future is being built when the education system in DR Congo is in shambles? When it barely functions, and worse—when it teaches propaganda and genocide ideology? And for the young girls who don’t even make it to those broken schools? Marriage is the alternative. The lucky ones, or so they think, get married off early instead of ‘wasting time’ in school. While women in Europe enjoy their right to decide whether they want to marry, have children, or simply live for themselves, girls in DR Congo are fighting for something far more basic—their right to exist beyond survival. ALSO READ: Video shows Congolese pupils reciting anti-Rwanda narrative Marrying off little girls doesn’t just rob them of childhood—it robs entire societies of progress. Girls who are educated raise healthier, wealthier families. They contribute to economic growth. They empower the next generation. But what future is there when a 12-year-old is expected to be a wife instead of a student? To the women of DR Congo: We see you, we are sorry To the women who have been raped, displaced, widowed, and orphaned by this senseless war—I am sorry. Sorry that the world still does not care enough about your suffering. Sorry that the men who rule over your home—your supposed sanctuary—are too busy betting on your life like it’s some sort of political gamble. I am sorry that even the women in your government, the ones who should have been your voice, have become nothing more than obedient “pick-me” puppets, nodding along to the agenda of their masters. On this Women’s Day, let’s accelerate action where it truly matters. Not in empty promises, not in panel discussions, but in real, urgent action to end the suffering of women in DR Congo. If we cannot stand for the most vulnerable, then everything else—all the policies, the declarations, the “empowerment” speeches—is nothing more than a beautifully wrapped lie.