Witchcraft in Tanzania

From the Daily Telegraph:

SOME 3000 people suspected of witchcraft, mainly old women, were lynched in Tanzania from 2005 to 2011, a leading local rights group said today.

"Between 2005 and 2011 around 3000 people were lynched by frightened neighbours who thought they were witches," the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) said in a report.

"On average 500 people... particularly old women with red eyes, are killed every year in Tanzania because they are suspected of being witches," the report said.

The provinces hardest hit are Mwanza and Shinyanga in the north of the country, LHRC said.

"In Shinyanga province for example 242 people were killed because of local beliefs in witchcraft between January 2010 and January 2011 alone," it said.

The rights group explained that red eyes are feared as a sign of witchcraft, even if they in fact often result from the use of cow dung as cooking fuel in impoverished communities.

See Also:
Witchcraft & Sorcery in Tanzania
Children Accused of Crime of Witchcraft

Women - Culprits of Domestic Abuse

From AllAfrica:

Abuse of women and children is gradually taking the better half of the society, and even the world today. Everyday there are reports about women and children being victims of either assault, defilement, rape, sexual harassment at workplaces, child trafficking, and exposure of children to burdensome labour.

According to research, one out of every three women has been abused once in her life time - all assumed to be by men.

Men are always being pinpointed as mostly the culprits of abuse, especially, that of women. Indeed, many of the incidents of rape, incest, and spousal abuse are mostly done by men. Yet, it rarely clicks the mind of society and gender group organisations that women are also contributors to some of the daily traumas their fellow women and children go through. Women are considered the weaker vessels, as certainly, the male power overshadows them at almost every instance, even at the workplace.

Rape In Wartime

From CNN - Listening to the Victims:

It began as a headache. Then her throat started to feel tight. A dull pain welled in her chest and her joints ached.

But Victoria Sanford continued to do the interviews. Even in the middle of the night, the women in Guatemala always managed to find her, the "gringa" they heard had come to listen to them.

It was the early 1990s, years before the international community would formally recognize the Guatemalan government's role in the systematic rape of its Mayan women -- and decades before the current violence in Libya and elsewhere around the Middle East would once again remind the world of the brutal effectiveness of rape as a weapon of war.

Editor's Note: This is the first of two stories focusing on rape as a tool of war. The second story, being published tomorrow, looks at the untold stories of rape in the Holocaust. Both stories contain graphic language; discretion is advised.

 

Ethiopia: Campaign Against Female Circumcision

From Ezega:

In recent months local and national initiatives have shown a clear intensification of the struggle against the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), also known as female circumcision.

The ancient practice of removing the outer female genitalia and “sewing” the vaginal opening shut has long existed in the region under the pretext of cleanliness and religious piety.

After years of United Nations and international NGO advocacy, recent “homegrown” campaigns have signaled a local increase in the struggle to eliminate the practice in Ethiopia. For example, recent Ethiopian Television programs have targeted the practice by assembling both religious scholars and traditional leaders to advocate against FGM.

Witchcraft in Modern Africa

From Afrik-News:

A human rights group in Malawi is causing a stir as it embarks on a mission to gather 10,000 signatures from locals to force President Bingu wa Mutharika free several jailed witches.

Association of Secular Humanism (ASH) says most of the convicts are women jailed for teaching witchcraft to children. Reports say some are doing jail time of up to six years.

“I’m asking you to sign this petition to help us reach our goal of 10,000 signatures. I care deeply about this cause, and I hope you will support our efforts,” a senior official of the association, Harold Williams is quoted saying.

The petition reads: “Belief in witchcraft is widely held in Malawi by people of all levels of education and stature in society. Whereas the law does not accept the reality of witchcraft, the Police and judicial authorities, many of whom share the belief, distort the law to punish those who are accused of witchcraft”

“It is mainly the elderly, men and women, who are accused of witchcraft and there are many very elderly and infirm imprisoned throughout Malawi - sentenced for up to 6 years without anything that would pass as substantive evidence in courts which do not accept superstition and suspicion as adequate."

And from the New York Times:

Accusations of witchcraft in Africa have gained increasing attention because of the severe impact they can have on the lives of those accused, including imprisonment, deprivation of property, banishment from villages and in some cases physical violence.

The human-rights law program I direct recently partnered with an N.G.O. in Malawi to run a mobile legal-aid clinic focusing on witchcraft cases in two rural communities.

Men, women and children flocked to our clinic seeking legal assistance. The cases were challenging and engaged the question of how to confront accusations of witchcraft, particularly when children and elderly women disproportionately bear the brunt of such accusations.

The persecution of accused witches has not historically been confined to Africa. Witch-hunts have occurred in Europe, America, ancient Rome, Aztec Mexico, Russia, China and India. But the practice persists in poor settings in part because witchcraft can be used in communities without routine access to modern medicine and science to explain seemingly inexplicable instances of death and misfortune.

The Fate of African Women & Children

From Mmegi Online:

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) last week published a report on core labour standards in the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.

"According to the USDoS Trafficking Report 2008, one local non-governmental organisation (NGO) received reports from Batswana women that they were forced to provide sexual services to tourists at some safari lodges.

NGOs report that Botswana is a transit country for the trafficking of eastern African women and children to South Africa. Botswana is a destination for Zimbabwean women who are employed as domestic workers.

The report further states that even though the Penal Code of Botswana prohibits involvement of girls or women in production of prostitution and pornography, child prostitution has been reported particularly at truck stops and transit points in the large towns. However, the law does not protect boys from the same crimes.

It highlights that child labour exists in Botswana as boys are reported to manage cattle herds in isolated areas, sometimes staying without proper food and shelter for days, "whereas girls are largely involved in domestic labour, usually taking care of other children".

Guinea: Women Victims of Warfare

From Associaled Press:

Women were brutally raped by soldiers during violent repression of an anti-junta demonstration in Guinea that left more than 120 people dead, according to opposition groups and witnesses.

"They were raping women publicly," opposition activist Mouctar Diallon in an interview with French radio station RFI. "Soldiers were shooting everywhere and I saw people fall. They were live bullets," Diallo added.

An opposition party led by former prime minister Sydia Toure said at least 128 people had died in the violence and the junta was removing bodies in a bid to hide "the scale of the massacre". The party also accused junta forces of rape.

The rapes began in the stadium where opposition supporters had gathered Monday for a demonstration, said Mamadi Kaba, the head of the Guinean branch of the African Encounter for the Defence of Human Rights (RADDHO), based in Dakar.

Asked who was carrying out these atrocities, Diallo said "it's the presidential guard" and "police officers."

The United Nations, African Union, European Union and leading powers all condemned the killings which the Guinea opposition said was a deliberate attempt to eliminate them.

Rwanda: Women Held Over Genocide

From AllAfrica:

Twenty seven women who were accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide were thrown into prison on Sunday by the Rwandan traditional court, gacaca, in the south-western Rwanda, it was learned from a local source on Thursday.

The women, who appeared before Kagano gacaca court, in Nyamasheke district, received sentences ranging from 19 to 30 years in prison, Hirondelle News Agency was told by a member of Rwandan association for the defence of human rights.

They were found guilty of having stoned to death several Tutsis who had sought refuge in the parish church of Kagano, added the source, who was speaking over the phone from Nyamasheke.

According to the Rwandan newspaper, The New Times, the court concluded that the women also burned Tutsi houses and looted their goods.

After the verdict, they were taken to the central prison of Cyangugu, in the same district, adds the newspaper.

On August 12, another woman, Elisa Mukanyangezi, 70, was sentenced to life in prison by a gacaca court of Huye district (southern Rwanda) after being found guilty of participation in the 1994 genocide.

Inspired by traditional assemblies during which village wise men, while sitting on the grass (gacaca in Kinyarwanda), settled disagreements, the gacaca courts are charged to try the alleged authors of the 1994 genocide, except for the "planners" at the national level.

They are not presided by professional magistrates but by "just" people elected from among the community.

Committed by Hutu extremists, the 1994 genocide resulted, according to the U.N. in nearly 800 000 people killed, primarily Tutsis.

Ghana: Forced Marriages

From Muhammed Suraj Sulley Jawando in Modern Ghana:

Although great scholars have classified marriage in Africa as arranged marriage, it is predominantly forced marriage because the women are coerced or threatened into those marriages. Normally the objection of the bride or bridegroom is ignored. Such marriages are arranged not based on love, but for economic reason, bogus religious reason and reputation of the family.

Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that, “men and women of full age have the Rights to marry and found a family. It should be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses”. I wonder if the government of Ghana knows this declaration and has started implementing it to stop this modern form of slavery that parents force their children into.

In recent times parents have disrupted and crumbled the relationship and education that took years to build, for economic reasons, to send their children into forced marriages. They tend to accept the men their children bring hope until someone approaches them about another man who is interested in their children and he is from a wealthy home or from abroad. The former becomes the enemy of the family, except the girl who still loves him, and the latter becomes the toast of the family, but an enemy to the girl he intends to spend the rest of his life with.

Religious connotation has been infused into the issue of forced marriage and cannot be differentiated from tradition. Yes a girl has to marry at some point in her life, but I'm yet to be shown a verse in the Holy Quran or Holy bible that teaches about forced, unhappy marriage or throwing our daughters into hot water to get them to accept the men we choose for them.

I cannot express my disappointment at the past and present government and legislators of the 4th Republic for not doing enough, by enacting laws that will protect these innocent and powerless girls.

Seychelles Womens' Rights

This week, women in the Seychelles attended workshops addressing their rights under the Africa Charter, ratified by the Seychelles in 2006.

The Chairman of the inaugural workshop, Bernard Elizabeth, was reported as saying:
".... that to ensure women’s rights are not only guaranteed but applied in their daily lives, women themselves must know what these rights are.

“Knowing your rights will enable you to take part more actively and effectively in the social and economic development process of your country.” "

Article: "Women’s groups learn of African Charter rights" as reported in the Seychelles Nation.


So, what exactly is the "African Charter". Simply put - this charter tackles the issue of "human and peoples rights" in Africa, looking particlarly into national identity, religious freedom and gender equality.

African Charter on Human & Peoples Rights - pdf
African Charter on Human & Peoples Rights - Human Dimension Program

From the Preamble:
"....to eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa, to coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa and to promote international cooperation having due regard to the Charter of the United Nations. and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Taking into consideration the virtues of their historical tradition and the values of African civilization which should inspire and characterize their reflection on the concept of human and peoples' rights;

Recognizing on the one hand, that fundamental human rights stem from the attributes of human beings which justifies their national and international protection and on the other hand that the reality and respect of peoples rights should necessarily guarantee human rights;

Considering that the enjoyment of rights and freedoms also implies the performance of duties on the part of everyone; Convinced that it is henceforth essential to pay a particular attention to the right to development and that civil and political rights cannot be dissociated from economic, social and cultural rights in their conception as well as universality and that the satisfaction of economic, social and cultural rights ia a guarantee for the enjoyment of civil and political rights;

Conscious of their duty to achieve the total liberation of Africa, the peoples of which are still struggling for their dignity and genuine independence, and undertaking to eliminate colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, zionism and to dismantle aggressive foreign military bases and all forms of discrimination, particularly those based on race, ethnic group, color, sex. language, religion or political opinions;

Reaffirming their adherence to the principles of human and peoples' rights and freedoms contained in the declarations, conventions and other instrument adopted by the Organization of African Unity, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the United Nations;

Firmly convinced of their duty to promote and protect human and people' rights and freedoms taking into account the importance traditionally attached to these rights and freedoms in Africa; "

Dovvsu And Domestic Violence Legislation

Another interesting report from allAfrica - this time in Ghana:

Dovvsu & Domestic Violence Legislation

Report by Jessica Mcelfresh

"Domestic violence is defined as a family member, a partner or an ex-partner physically or psychologically dominating through economic, sexual or emotional abuses. Domestic violence persists against men, women and children around the world.

The Domestic Violence Bill passed in February 2007 mandated financial assistance to fight domestic violence and set up a Victims of Domestic Violence Support Fund supported by voluntary contributions and Parliament. The fund is supposed to provide enough money for the DOVVSU to provide basic support to victims and assist with matters of rehabilitation and reintegration. But the funding has not come a year and a half later. The DOVVSU is understaffed and lacks supplies to effectively deal with all the cases that come its way.

Formerly known as the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU), the DOVVSU changed to its present name between 2004 and 2005 and now openly accepts male victims of domestic violence. The Domestic Violence Bill is gender-neutral. But, an overwhelming majority of the victims at DOVVSU are females.

In a report from 1999, the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre found that one in three women in Ghana experienced physical violence. According to Actionaid Ghana, two in three women do not report experiences of abuse, especially sexual violence, suggesting that reported cases grossly underestimate the prevalence of domestic violence.

When asked if the Domestic Violence Bill has helped operations at DOVVSU, Attipoe said yes and no because the bill is gender neutral so it is there to protect everybody, but without resources like education and money, the office can do little to make a real difference for victims of domestic violence in Ghana."

Lets hope this organisation receives the support it deserves - for all victims - regardless of age and sex.

Witchcraft In Kenya

In case you missed this last week, 15 women were recently burned to death after being accused of witchcraft.

Link: Press TV
"At least fifteen women accused of being witches have been burned to death by a rampaging mob in a village in western Kenya, police say.

A gang of about 100 people moved from house to house searching for the women in Kisii District late Tuesday, tied up their victims and set them ablaze, Local official Mwangi Ngunyi and witnesses said. They also torched 50 houses in Nyakeo village, located some 300 kilometers (180 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi.

Mwangi Ngunyi condemned the murders, saying a security operation has been launched to hunt down villagers suspected of killing the women. "People must not take the law into their own hands simply because they suspect someone," AFP quoted Ngunyi as saying.

The area has witnessed similar attacks in the past when people suspected of engaging in witchcraft have been killed or ostracized. Dozens of suspected people were killed in western Kenya in the 1990s, amid allegations of sorcery. "

Also: Herald Sun - Mob burns "witches" to death
"Several cases have also been reported in recent months in neighbouring Tanzania, forcing President Jakaya Kikwete to order special protection for albinos, who were murdered and mutilated for good luck by witch-doctors."