Should countries be feminine?

Referring to countries in the feminine, as in: "The country has been declared a 'highly indebted poor country' (HIPC) by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, who structurally adjusted her into debt in the first place," indicates to me that the author is completely out of touch with how power operates and, indeed, how he serves it. How can we take anything he says seriously?

(The article to which this comment refers can be read at