Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo today still struggle to gain positions of equality and power. They are prevented by laws that demonstrate a subordinate position of women in the society. Although, there has been progress towards women gaining more legal rights after the war, such as the right to own property, and the right to have a role in their government. Still, there are laws that restrict women and are demanding such as, a married woman must have her husband's permission to open a bank account and accept a job. Laws such as these that are still in effect today dramatically affect the lives of women. The degradation of women in this society is what made them victims of the war. Many women are still affected by it till today and bare the terrifying memories of it. In Ruined, Lynn Nottage shows the stories of these women through her characters in the book such as Salima.
Many may say Salima was just another victim of war. Throughout the play, it is shown that Salima is not just any character. She is the character that represents all the women that have faced injustice because of the war. Salima was kidnapped from her home and had her child brutally killed in front of her. She was used as a sex slave
…show more content…
He beat her senseless as if she planned on getting raped by multiple men and having their child killed. This sadly happens to a lot of women within the society Salima is in. Salima did not have control over her own being. Everything that has happened to her and continued to happen was out of her control. Her body and the bodies of many other women were used as a battlefield. Being that Salima is a woman, she did what everyone women would do: blame herself. This is why the iron pot has a huge significance within the play. It represents Salima’s pain and regret. She feels as, if she didn’t tell Fortune to go get that pot then they’d be a chance that she and her child would be