The presidents war on drugs takes an odd turn…
Rodrigo Duterte last week directed his soldiers to specifically target women rebel fighters by shooting them in the vagina, according to local reports.
Addressing a group of former communist rebels, the Philippines president said his armed forces should not kill female rebels but shoot them in their genitals because without them they are useless.
“Tell the soldiers. There’s a new order coming from the mayor. We won’t kill you. We will just shoot your vagina,” Duterte reportedly said. “If there is no vagina, it would be useless.”
An official government translation of the speech, given on Feb. 7, replaced the word vagina with a dash. The transcript says the audience laughed in response.
What kind of people laugh when Duterte says that soldiers should shoot women rebels in the vagina?
How come no official, not even congresswoman and women senators has spoken against this crude remark?
— Jim (@Jimparedes) February 12, 2018
Since taking power in June 2016 Duterte has presided over a bloody war on drug dealers and users, killing thousands of people, many in vigilante-style executions with the president’s approval.
The International Criminal Court said last week it was opening preliminary examinations into the war on drugs. However, given the ICC’s preliminary examinations into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan took more than a decade, there is little likelihood Duterte will face any immediate charges.
Philippine President Duterte says that female rebels should be shot in their private parts as punishment. This man is just beyond vile… https://t.co/6ildUfCfcW pic.twitter.com/xT1wKtxamG
— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) February 12, 2018
Duterte’s brief reign has been marked by a consistent stream of menacingly misogynistic comments.
In the past he has “joked” about raping an Australian missionary, made rape jokes about about Miss Universe, and told his soldiers they had permission to rape up to three women during conflict without being punished.
Last month in India Duterte said he would like to attract more tourists to the Philippines by offering “42 virgins.”
Duterte’s spokesman, Harry Roque, recently defended his boss’s misogyny, saying feminists were over-reacting and that the remarks were meant as humor. “I mean, that’s funny. Come on. Just laugh,” Roque said.
Unsurprisingly, the president’s recent comments have been widely criticized.
“Duterte’s latest nasty remark openly encourages violence against women, contributes to the impunity on such, and further presented himself as the epitome of misogyny and fascism terribly rolled in one,” Emmi de Jesus, a member of Congress representing the Gabriela Women’s Party, said in a statement.
Human Rights Watch researcher Carlos Conde called the comments “the latest in a series of misogynist, derogatory and demeaning statements he has made about women.”
“It encourages state…