Military Review English Edition July-August 2014 | Page 88

Nigeria, married women had significantly higher rates
of depression and mental illness than married men: 46
percent versus 11 percent.
Of particular interest and value is Nadine
Puechguirbal’s article on the reduction of stigma associated with rape in African conflicts. Some African
countries follow a policy of comprehensive medical
treatment, synchronizing physical and psychological
aid. They understand the value of expressing trauma
to a qualified listener, providing “listening houses” with
trained psychological caregivers. The U.S. military
could achieve similar gains by placing similar emphasis
on mental illness care.
The most compelling article in the series was also
the most unusual. Tal Nitsán’s essay describes the
moral outrage over her master’s thesis on the lack of
rape during the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The
thesis won awards and was praised by Israeli military
leaders—yet morally driven, nationalistic journalists
attacked Nitsán. Her work did not argue that the moral
superiority of the Israeli people resulted in the lack of
rapes. Rather, it looked at institutional culture—how
the sense of place and occupation made Israeli soldiers
more aware of rape and therefore achieved objectives
“not by rape, but by rape avoidance.” Awareness rather
than morality prevented the rapes; for Israeli nationalists this was an affront to their sense of moral superiority. The author, by the circumstances of getting her

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doctorate in Canada and the misspelling of her name in
the original press source, was insulated from the highly
vitriolic criticism of a thesis that was complimentary of
the Israeli military. Some sources went so far as to wish
for someone to rape her, even erroneously providing a
picture of a different woman, though claiming she was
not attractive e