Mama Colonel

Synopsis

For decades, but especially after the Continental War ripped Central Africa apart beginning in the 1990s, sexual abuse has been a facet of life for many people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (a country labeled by some human rights organizations as the “worst place in the world for women”). Indeed, rape was, and continues to be, used as a weapon of war, often at the hands of security force members (including the Congolese army and other military groups) who abduct women and children as sex slaves. Victims of abuse have been denied opportunities to report their traumatizing experiences, or have simply remained silent for fear of recrimination and stigmatization. One woman, the fortysomething Honorine Munyole, confronts this crisis head-on, hunting down perpetrators — some of them high-ranking government officials — who have long been shielded from investigations and prosecutions by corrupt politicians. As the titular hero in director Dieudo Hammadi’s documentary Mama Colonel, this mother of seven children and full-time police officer has seen her share of rights violations as the head of a unit protecting minors in the eastern city of Bukavu, where she first earned the respect of her peers fifteen years ago. Now that she is transferring to Kisangani, however, a new set of obstacles awaits Munyole, who remains resolute in her commitment to bringing perpetrators to justice. Hammadi’s film — a loving tribute to a heroine as courageous and inspiring as any fictional superhero — arrives in the midst of the #TimesUp Movement, giving U.S. audiences a more global perspective on the issue of sexual violence and focusing our attention on a tireless champion of children’s rights and women’s rights who refuses to remain silent.