DRC's 'rape surgeon' among TIME mag's top 100 most influential people

The Congolese gynecologist, Denis Mukwege, popularly known as the ‘rape surgeon’ has been named by TIME magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people.

The 61-year-old is the founder of the Panzi Hospital in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He founded the hospital in 1999 to provide free and comprehensive care for female victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence during the conflict in the central African nation.

TIME editor, Nancy Gibbs in a statement said: “The people on the list, each in their own way, have lessons to teach. One way or another, they each embody a breakthrough: they broke the rules, broke the record, broke the silence, broke the boundaries to reveal what we’re capable of.”

Dr. Mukwege, a Nobel prize nominee has treated over 40,000 girls and women, victims of rape and other sexual violence.

Congo doctor Denis Mukwege named among TIME 100 most influential people https://t.co/yUrWCXU5z1 pic.twitter.com/WLHTfrV5Fk— CNBC Africa (@cnbcafrica) April 22, 2016

An assassination attempt on Dr. Mukwege’s life in 2012 prompted him to go into exile in Europe. He however returned to Bukavu in 2013.

He has received several awards include the UN Human Rights prize in 2008, the Clinton Global Citizen Award for Leadership in Civil Society in 2011 as well as the Sakharov Prize for the freedom of thought from the European parliament in 2014.

“The Man Who Mends Women”, a film about Dr. Mukwege’s life by French Filmmaker Thierry Michel, was finally screened in Kinshasa in January after an initial ban by the government.

Among the world’s top 100 influential people named by TIME are German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Pope Francis and rock star Bono.

Gibbs said of the top 100: “The influence of this year’s TIME 100, to my mind, is that down to the last person, they have the power to make us think. And they are using it.”