WOMANKIND
MEMORANDUM
PRESENTED
TO THE
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS & FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
NORTH EASTERN
Hubbie Hussein Al-haji
Programme Director
Womankind
P.O
Garissa
Tel: 254-46
2508
Cell P:
254-722788506
GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE
Somali community is a male dominated society that discriminates against the girl child and the women. Culture and misconception of religion are the basis of discrimination and violation of the rights of women and the girl child. Women are disadvantaged in the community because they have heavier workloads, lack direct access to finances, lack education and power (decision making).
The major problem facing women and the girl
child is lack of education. Their parents were even reluctant to teach them the
religious education which is mandatory for any Muslim community to teach their
children, under the pretext that the girl is a property of another family (the
family she will be married to). Stereotyping, “why educate a girl who would
leave the family after marriage to benefit another family”. Fear of promiscuity
if a girl goes to school leading to teenage pregnancies. (Empirical evidence
however, shows low teenage pregnancies in North Eastern girl’s
school)
Girls are married at an early age (13 – 18
years) which increases the school dropout rates and educated girls are seen as a
threat by many Somali prospective husbands. Women and the girl child have a
complex series of cultural obstacles that prevent them form enjoying the full
range of social, political, civil and legal rights.
Women and the girl child face domestic violence
which ranges from wife beating, marital rape to brutal battering of female
family members by male family members. Gender based violence such as practices
that force women and girls to have virginity tests or undergo female genital
mutilate (FGM), as well as the severe physical violence or murder inflicted on
women by male family members in the name of family honor are also a big problem.
The legal codes provide no serious protection of women against violence within
the family and treat a woman’s testimony as worthless than a man’s in cases in
which rape or domestic violence is brought before the legal authorities.
When a husband beats his wife severely and she
runs away then she gets a complimentary beating from her male relatives and sent
back without treatment or counseling. A major problem for women in the region is
lack of information about women’s global achievements. They also lack knowledge
of and access to the work of women’s advocacy international organizations.
Overwhelmingly, women in the region are unaware of their rights under the
constitution or laws of
The government does not feel obliged to inform their female populations of the available laws and policies that women could use to empower themselves. The media also largely fails to cover the injustices women suffer and problems specific to women. In addition to lack of information, cultural attitudes, predominant throughout the region treat women’s demands and protests as being in violation of women’s traditional, subservient role. Local women’s organizations have made significant headway in certain areas despite the impediments of cultural or traditional laws but women’s rights advocates do not have easy access to government officials to participate in women’s policy issues because of the regional marginalization.
They have no huge population to offer votes to
political parties hence any political party takes leadership in government
sidelines the region especially women.
The patriarchal attitudes sideline women in Islamic inheritance laws, a source of inequality for women. The Islamic laws instipulate that sisters get half of the share of the brother but women do not even get their half share of the inheritance because of their lack of access to the legal system and traditional council of elders who make decisions on inheritance. The government does not take aggressive steps to enforce women’s inheritance and property rights and often allow abuses to go unpunished.
Islam grant property rights to women but
culture denies them this opportunity. Even where a woman owns property decisions
regarding the property is made by her husband, father, son or brother. She
cannot dispose off her property without consulting the male relatives.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a deeply entrenched cultural tradition practiced by the Somali community and purpose ranges from cleanness, aesthetic, preserving virginity and stop measure against promiscuity.
Female genital mutilation has health
complications on the women and the girl child and psychosexual implications. The
complication include bleeding, urine retention, recurrent infections, severing
of important muscles such as the sphincter muscles, septic wounds, anaemia,
haemorrhage, shock and psychological trauma just to mention a few. Islam does
not promote the cutting of girls’ genitals but community mistake their culture
for religion and strongly emphasis on female circumcision. The Children Rights
Act 2000 out laws female genital mutilation but it lacks enforcement.
RECOMMENDATIONS
References