Forced to fight in fear: the plight of girl soldiers
More than 100,000 girls – some as young as nine – are being forced to fight in wars all over the world. The girls are being abducted, raped and forced into service – and have fought in conflicts in 38 countries over the last two decades. Most have been forced into guerilla armies but some have also been used in government forces. In the Republic of Congo, 12,500 girls fought on both sides. The horrific exploitation is revealed in a report by children's charity Plan UK. Marie Staunton, its chief executive said: 'It is an international disgrace. Girls have the right to be safe and protected from the horrors of war. If we don't act now this horrendous legacy will continue into the next generation.' She said the situation is deteriorating as the number of 'low-intensity' conflicts involving child soldiers has doubled over 12 years, meaning that increasing numbers of girls will be conscripted. A total of 200million girls live in strife-torn countries. Plan wants the United Nations to give girls the right to bring complaints against their leaders if their lives have been damaged by war – in the hope that organisations will no longer ignore the situation. Plan UK supporter Cherie Booth QC, wife of former prime minister Tony Blair, said: 'These young women are looking to the international community for protection – and we must not let them down.' |
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Britain was not identified in the report but it has sent girls under 18 to war zones, it was revealed yesterday. People can join the armed forces at 16½ but cannot take part in campaigns until they turn 18. But at least four 17-year-old girls were deployed to Iraq between 2003 and 2005. The Ministry of Defence said it did not have any figures relating to young women in the armed forces.
Lucy's story: Aged 12, but taught to kill At just 12, Lucy was abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda and forced to walk to Sudan. 'We were used like slaves,' said Lucy. 'You get trained in guns and sent to battle, but most don't know how to fight, so they are killed.' At 13, a rebel commander made Lucy his wife. She suffered sexual abuse and beatings by her three older co-wives and considered suicide. Three years later she fled Sudan for Uganda with her 'husband'. He was killed by government soldiers who took her captive. She was taken to a centre for former combatants, where she had counselling and learned she was pregnant. Lucy's family welcomed her home, and she now studies medicine while her daughter, Winifred, now five, is cared for by Lucy's mother. Lucy said: 'I have one more year of study, then I can get a job and she will go to school. I think she might become a lawyer.' http://www.metro.co.uk/news/world/article.html?in_article_id=147516&in_page_id=64 |