This article explore the magnitude of some of the most common and severe forms of violence against women, including murder, rape, sexual assault, physical assault, genital mutilation, and deprivation of fundamental freedoms. The article also outlines the possible way forward in the fight against this cataclysm.
Comrades, this is not an extract from an imaginary tale or one of those conjured fairy-tales that you used to read from the Parade a local magazine published during Zimbabwe’s heydays. This is untainted! One in every three… the austere figure sums up the predicament brazen out on women throughout the world. One in three girls walking home from Mawaba Primary School in Lobengula West, Bulawayo’s high density suburb, will suffer violence directed at her simply because she if female. Of the three women selling vegetables along Lobengula Street in Bulawayo, will be attacked – most likely by the Municipal Police from the Bulawayo City Council or by members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, and have her stock impounded and runs for dear life, hurt so sternly that she can no longer provide for her family.
It is of overriding importance to underscore that violence against women has become much a pestilence as HIV/AIDS. Violence against women attacks right to bodily integrity, value, poise and self worth. Victims can be left feeling less than human with shattered pliability and confidence to work themselves out of poverty. As a panelist at one of the workshops in Bulawayo during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, I got a shocking disclosure from commercial sex workers that they get nabbed for loitering as early as 8pm by police officers who now know them by names, instead of taking then to the police station the officers take the women to lodges and demand sex as ransom for loitering. At times when nabbed the commercial sex workers would bribe the officers with cash ranging from $5 to $10.
Some commercial sex workers revealed that they know of their colleagues who have been trafficked and held for the purpose of sex and some were swindled by mere promises of huge amounts of money and acted in pornographic films and some who have been forced into other forms of involuntary servitude. When yours truly was scrutinizing the Thomas Jefferson Law Review of 2001 he leant that provision or obtaining a person for the purpose of a profitable sex act or any form of non consensual sex work is called ‘forced prostitution’ and constitutes violence against women, a violation against women’s right to self determination. Great piece of legislation, isn’t? I am craving for such laws in my beloved Zimbabwe. Yours truly was also going through Journals of Gender and Laws by AD Jordan and picked the following statement, “we are living in a world in which commercial sex workers are poor women who have limited choices, their acts of selling sexual services to the rich, middle and working class men who have more economic opportunities and power must be viewed as a form of violence against women.” I know pretty well that the issue of commercial sex workers is a controversial, contentious and litigious issue especial in my beloved country, Zimbabwe, but we all have to recognize that they are human beings and need protection, especially those that are forced into this odd profession. Violence against them is a violation against human rights and symbolizes a trend of violence against women; I do not have a soft spot for them but I believe that, surely this claptrap has to stop!
It is of supreme significance to note that women are twice as endangered as activists and as women for their works and as well as their identity. They are attacked by the state and society, not only because they expose violence against women, but also because they expose patriarchal power structures, social and cultural conventions that suppress women, gender discrimination and facilitate gender violence. I have leant that violence against women in Africa remains one of the gravest and most common human rights abuses today. It is a sad realism that billions of dollars are being spent on fighting the war on terror but there is no political determination to fight sexual and political terror against women. I was young by then, if my memory serves me well, I was beginning my primary education in the 90s when I learnt of the universal indignation against racial apartheid in south Africa, but as my mind is engulfed by the reincarnation of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa I shudder to imagine why there is no universal outrage against gender apartheid in Africa today.
Yours truly is obliged to academics and experts in this field who have made his task an easy stroll in the park by coming up with a number of definitions of violence against women, which I will use in this article. Haise (1991) posits that, “at its most, violence against women includes any acts of force or coercion that gravely jeopardize the life, body, psychological integrity and freedom of women.” The United Nations General Assembly defines violence against women as, “any act of gender based violence that is likely to result in physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts as coercion, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.” Conwell (1996) puts it this way, “… the term violence against women has been used to describe a wide range of acts including murder, rape, sexual assault, emotional abuse, battering, stalking, prostitution, genital mutilation, sexual harassment and pornography.” Watts (1994) is of the view that, “… violence against women include a host of harmful behaviors that are directed at women and girls because of their sex, including wife abuse, sexual assault, dowry related murder, marital rape, selective malnourishment of female children and forced prostitution”
My study of conflict in Africa has taught me that violence against women target specific groups with a victim’s gender as the primary motive. During conflict, in-flight and in refugee camps women and girls are exceedingly susceptible to sexual violence, sexual maltreatment and exploitation. As the community structures disintegrate and violence escalates, there are few measures in place to guarantee safety and security for women. In the war-torn parts of Africa, rape has widely been used as a weapon of war whenever armed conflicts arise; it is used as a weapon to terrorize and humiliate a particular community and to achieve a particular political end. In such situations, gender interests, with other parts of a woman’s identity, ethnicity and religion as well as social class and patriarchal attachment are the prime targets. The rape of a woman is translated into an assault upon the community through the accent placed on every culture on women’s sexual integrity. The ignominy of rape humiliates the family and those associated with the survivor. People who rape women especially in armed conflict overtly link their acts of sexual violence to the broader sexual degradation. It is imperative to note that in the upshot of such abuse the harm done to the individual is often compounded by the perceived hurt to the community.
I will use the example from my beloved country, Zimbabwe, the Gukurahundi epoch in the 1980s saw thousands of women individually and gang raped. Rape was sometimes followed by sexual mutilation, including mutilation of the virginal and pelvic area with bayonets, gun barrels, boiling water and at times acid. These crimes were frequently part of a pattern in which mostly Ndebele women were raped after they had witnessed torture and killing of their relatives and the destruction and looting of their homes. I was a toddler by then, my grandmother always tell me whenever we discuss the genocide, she was a teacher at Danangombe Primary school in Midlands, on that fateful afternoon, she said, ‘the dogs of war’ arrived. They frog marched all the teachers whom they referred to as ‘enemies of the state’; to an assembly point where they were asked to lie on their stomachs… let me not continue with the story. I am told that in some areas ‘the dogs of war’ would pin women to the ground, tear off their clothes and rape them.
The genocide in the tiny city of the central African country of Rwanda was one of the most rigorous slaughter campaigns in human history. One million people were killed in 100 days which means that about 10 000 people were killed in a day and about 533 people were killed per hour. Women were slaughtered and held for personal sexual service, the militia would force women to submit sexually with threats that they would be killed if they refused to comply. The sexual violence during the genocide was perpetrated by members of the villainous Hutu militia known as Inter Rahamwe, by other civilians, soldiers of the Rwandan Armed Forces and the Presidential Guard. This is a deplorable fashion in Africa’s war torn countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, the conflict in Darfur, and in Uganda where threats of violence against women remain very high particularly in the North where young girls and women have been abducted by the Lord Resistance Army rebels to serve as wives and slaves for combatants. Girls and women are taken into the bush where they are indoctrinated into the ways of Joseph Kony the Lord Resistance Army leader and self acclaimed prophet. As I was going through the Amnesty International Report of 2007 I noted with immense annoyance that in Uganda women were allocated from line ups, selected by commanders or given the chance to choose their men by picking up shirts from a pile on the ground. Joseph Kony, an ordained Seventh - day Adventist elder, once claimed that he drilled his soldiers not to kill people or rape women on Sabbath but when the Sabbath is over they have to continue with the struggle. God forbid!
Enough about armed conflict and violence against women lets me move to women as victims of gender. When I first heard about what my late grandfather referred to as ‘gender equality drivel’ I thought women were just overzealous, I am penitent about that. A fellow Comrade in the struggle democracy and good governance, let me call him Dlolo, at one workshop organized by Women’s coalition argued that, “if God wanted women to be empowered, he would have empowered then through creation, the fact that God had to remove my rib to form a woman means that we were never, never meant to be on the same level.” I would like to applaud with delight, my sister and fellow comrade in the struggle, a wordsmith, Delta Milayo Ndou whose writings have stirred me to change my stance concerning the issue of gender equality and emancipation of women. In one of her writings she posits that, “… my premise has always been clear that women are people too and that human beings are born equal and that the genitalia they posses should not be a basis upon which discrimination can be tolerated in any given society.” For the benefit of my fellow Comrade Dlolo and other people who also think that gender means women and that women were meant to play second fiddle to their male counterparts I will quote Kweba (2000) who argue that, gender refers to those characteristics that are socially defined. It is people who define certain characteristics as being masculine or feminine, identify certain activities as being appropriate for men or women in a specific society. Kweba further asserts that gender characteristics are based on social and political relationship and are anchored at home or in family relationships. I have leant that society’s top down structural organization have created inequalities across class and gender lines. Women are put on the lowest structure as they are denied most of their rights and fundamental freedoms. It is a sad veracity that women are marginalized as they live with men at the top influencing the itinerary social order should take. Women are denied most if not all opportunities to augment their positions by the male attitude of ‘stay where you are’.
Societies in Africa are often described and dominated by patriarchal models, practices and ideals. It is a fact that patriarchy and socio-economic changes have benefited men at the expense of women. Both customary law and some socio economic and political change have put women in disadvantageous and subordinate positions. Moreover the possibility for girls and women change discriminatory patriarchal laws remains limited because their participation in active politics low. I had the privilege of observing the COPAC led constitution making process in Zimbabwe in 2010 and at one outreach meeting in Insiza district, a stronghold of ZANU PF, to my utmost disbelief, only one woman contributed, and as a way of silencing women the Chief’s Aide sat in the middle of women. In Mberengwa West Constituency (Midlands) at Vubwe Secondary School a woman was told to sit down when she attempted to contribute at an outreach meeting, the headman said, “akhula mfazi okhuluma amadoda ekhona!” Meaning there is no woman who can contribute at dialogue in the presence of men. There were a number of talking points which requisite the participation of women, for example, there was a talking point which read “Do you think there should be reserved seats for women?” few or no women contributed much in such areas. This is a sad embodiment of the belief that men are the mouthpiece of women.
A fellow comrade attended a seminar on ‘The Portrayal of Women in mass Media Language’ and learnt that most of the obnoxious terms have a female sloping in which parts of women’s anatomies are mentioned overtly. In Zimbabwe for example, the abusive language is used by certain facets of the society like vendors and street kids. Recently I was walking with a colleague along Basch Street (Egodini) in Bulawayo; she was wearing a mini skirt. Men started whistling in our direction; suddenly it was a big group mainly of vendors and omnibus operators. They began advancing to the lady who was later stripped naked in full view of the public, thanks to one of the vendor who offered her cloth for the lady to cover herself. Such incidents have increasingly become a common aspect of South Africa were women are abused by taxi drives for wearing miniskirts. Such practices have caused a lot of affliction and degradation to women who experience it, because few women have the courage to fight back.
Yes I have seen it happening in my country, women who are employed as farm workers are habitually denied wages which would ensure then a decent living and are vulnerable to other human rights abuses. The ZANU PF party has permitted discriminatory distribution of maize seeds in both rural and urban areas areas as part of its stratagem to retain its political support base since the emergence of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Over the past years, Zimbabwe African National Union, Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) politicians have used maize sold through the state-owned Grain Marketing Board (GMB) as a tool to silence alleged opponents. In order to buy maize and maize seeds from the GMB, needy households particularly in rural areas are registered at the local level. The registration process is conducted by councilors who are, in the majority of cases, members of ZANU-PF. These councilors exclude names of perceived and known MDC supporters, reportedly stating that the "government should not be feeding its enemies." Women human rights defenders have been labeled MDC supporters and are also discriminated against in the sale of GMB maize.
Women are also arrested during peaceful demonstrations and detained some with children while some will be pregnant. These women are not allowed to change the nappies or freely breast feed their children and some are exposed to worst conditions like overcrowded, filthy cells and very cold conditions for a period ranging from a couple of hours to days before being taken to court or are released. Some women would have left their children at home who need to be breastfed.
When I was making a cursory perusal through the Convention on the Rights of the Child I learnt that it requires that: "In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration." Yes I took it as it is. My contemplation was also captured by the following statement, “… for the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents." (Article 3) I risk ending up quoting the entire convention, but this one is fundamental, “… states have to ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child." (Article 9). Brilliant piece of legislation isn’t? But how many countries have ratified and domesticated these laws? Very few, I wobble to imagine why!
conceding that women most of the time have major responsibilities for children, the United Nation Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, for that reason recommended that states should "ensure that the woman offender is treated fairly and equally during arrest, trial, sentence and imprisonment, particular attention being paid to the special problems which women offenders encounter, such as pregnancy and child care". (Article 47) the United Nations Human Rights Committee has also noted that Pregnant women who are deprived of their liberty should receive humane treatment and respect for their intrinsic dignity at all times and in particular during the birth and while caring for their newborn children." Perpetrators of violence against women violate this international laws and nothing is done to ensure that impunity for violence against women is abridged.
It is also imperative to note that, women are also targeted by traffickers and recruited into sex work for example dancing in strip clubs, performing in pornographic films and other forms of spontaneous servitude. Women are recruited by traffickers through the use of coercion, trickery and bondage.
I have been mull over what can be done to ensure that this blight of sadism is exterminated.
The United Nations Secretary General admitted that violence against women have reached horrifying and pandemic proportions especially in societies attempting to recover from conflict. The Secretary General then launched a campaign to end violence against women in armed conflicts and political violence. in one of his speeches Mr Ban-ki- Moon posits that, “… clearly we all have to do more to prevent human rights violations against women and girls in situations of armed conflicts, do more to punish the perpetrators and end impunity for war crime violations.
I have heard of and seen people in positions of public trust getting away with cases of violence against women my country, Zimbabwe. I think that as a nation and as a continent and perhaps the world over we need to bear in mind that whether the perpetrator is a member of a political party, or a prominent businessman, a community leader, whether the violence is officially endorsed by the powers that be or condoned by culture and custom, the state cannot duck its responsibility to protect women and girls. it is of supreme importance for nations to note that, It is the responsibility of the state to safeguard women’s freedom of choice, not restrict it. Governments and religious leaders have a duty to create a safe milieu in which women can live without the threat of violence or duress.
With my partial familiarity with the responsibilities of governments I noted that, states have an compulsion to hold the perpetrators liable and provide justice and remedies to the victims. The failure to meet these obligations is deplorable. When the state fails to hold the perpetrators and society accountable or deliberately condones violence against women, impunity will encourage further abuses and also gives the message that violence against women is tolerable and normal. The result is the refutation of justice to the individual victims or survivors as well as the reinforcements of the prevailing gender inequality. Every African has a duty to bear and prolong a political and social environment where cruelty and prejudice against women is not tolerated, where friends, family members, neighbors, men and women arbitrate to prevent perpetrators to go unpunished.
We have to admit although not so dogmatically that culture has done a substantial scale of harm to women, patriarchal influence militate against women especially those in rural areas. There is therefore a need to reject specific legal, cultural or religious practices by which women are systematically discriminated against, excluded from political participation and public life, segregated in their daily lives, raped in armed conflicts, beaten in their homes. Women are shorn of equal divorce and inheritance rights, forced to marry, assaulted for not being in compliance with gender norms and sold into slavery or forced labour.
It is regrettable that in some facets of the Africa society there are people who view culture as permanent, what one can refer to as an irreducible heart of race, that if ‘tainted’ will robotically imply Africa’s demise. These people have to accept that the word view from which their ‘so called’ culture sprang is transient, so what holds their culture from adjustment? Comrades, let me be precise, I strongly believe that is a need to dismantle cultural norms which argues that there are no universal human rights and the rights are culture specific and culturally determined because these are still a redoubtable and mordant challenge to women’s rights to equality and dignity in all facets of their lives.
There is also a need to fight against the de-humanization and marginalization of women, to promote equal rights and human dignity. All Africans should unite in solidarity to end traditions and laws that harm women. It is a fight for freedom to be fully and wholly human and equal without excuse or acquiescence.
Some of the laws that we have particularly in Africa trample of the fundamental freedoms of women and children. Hence modern laws should be enforced to shield women from negative or demeaning cultural practices.
I have realized especially in my region, Southern Africa and in my country, Zimbabwe that women are not adequately represented in prominent positions in the government. In Zimbabwe the Inclusive Government (which is not inclusive after all), women are not adequately represented the same can be said about her neighbors Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Leotho. As a result, Africans in particular and the world in general should execute policies that spell out what percentages of women should be in decision making positions in the public and private sectors. There are few Africa countries that have done well in this regard for example, South Africa, Uganda and Rwanda where a sizeable number of women are in the Houses of Assembly and government offices. Other African countries still have a long way to go. I like familiarizing with the law, so when I was practicing this pastime of mine I came across Article 11.1 of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development which states that, “Member states shall put in place measures to ensure that women have equal representation and participation in key decision making in conflict resolution and peace-building processes by 2015…” to authenticate my point I will extort Article 11.3 which reads, “ member states shall ensure women’s participation in post conflict peace-building processes particularly in security sector reform, demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration programmes as well as democratization and governance processes including constitutional reviews and electoral reforms.” SADC member states, which include my beloved Zimbabwe, are still miles away from implementing the protocol’s requirements.
Parting shot: violence against women, is an example of the quintessence of the beliefs that women are expected to adhere to narrow standards set by culture and are defined as the property of men. This is rubbish and it surely has to stop!
