By Leonida Odongo – Kenya
The Maputo Protocol[1] outlines various rights in relation to women. These include Non discrimination against women where it calls for equality between men and women and integration of gender perspective in policy decisions, legislation, development plans and activities. Article 27 of the Constitution affirms the right of all persons to equality and to be free from discrimination. The State or a person may not discriminate against anyone directly or indirectly based on, among other grounds, sex. The Protocol further stipulates the Right to dignity and the recognition a protection all women’s human and legal rights. This includes protection from violence including sexual violence. The Protocol also calls for protection of women from harmful cultural practices, human trafficking and mandates state parties to provide accessible. Sadly, across Africa women and girls continue to be victims of human trafficking. Often disguised as greener pasture, everyday women and girls are crossing borders to go to other countries to work. Many are subjected to overwork and various forms of violence. The media for example is awash with stories of women who went abroad in search of work but are now being denied food, sexually abuse, beaten and bruised. Some find themselves in countries in the middle east, others after being lied to that they will work as domestic help, end up working in brothels. As noted by Global Organised Crime Index, Kenya is a high risk country for human trafficking and the country serves triple roles that of being a destination, source and transit country for victims of trafficking[2].
According to the Maputo Protocol, women and men should enjoy equal rights in marriage and regarded as equal partners, furthermore, the Protocol notes that no marriage shall take place without free and full consent of both parties. Additionally, the Protocol puts the minimum age of marriage to be marriage age at 18 years [3]. Child marriage is a global issue. It is fuelled by gender inequality, poverty, social norms and insecurity, and has devastating consequences all over the world.[4] Child marriage is rooted in gender inequality and the belief that girls and women are inferior to boys and men. It is made worse by poverty, lack of education, harmful social norms and practices, and insecurity. Its drivers vary between communities and it looks different across the world.[5]Many cultural practices contribute to child marriage. The beading process among the Samburu where morans[6] select girlfriends for sexual activity by giving them beads[7]. Beading process is in essence booking girls for marriage. This deprives children of the right to growth and development. They are wives now and cannot engage in child related activities such as playing with other children. As wives, their bodies are not ready to bear children because they are not yet mature. And many a times child brides are married off to men three or four times older than them. These girls become dependent on their husbands, unable to make any decisions for themselves and economically deprived. This reinforced the cycle of poverty. Another challenge is household poverty which makes children vulnerable especially the girl child. For example, in Baringo County in Kenya’s Rift Valley, some girls are lured into sex because a man has bought for them panties[8], others have parents who are irresponsible while other have parents who are substance abusers mainly alcoholics. These children are thus left to fend for themselves, making them vulnerable.
The Maputo Protocol calls for equal rights to inheritance and protection of widowed women as well as access to justice and protection before the law through establishment of adequate educational and other structures to enable sensitisation on women rights, equipping of law enforcement organs to ensure effective interpretation of the law including enforcement of gender rights and reform of existing discriminatory laws and practices to promote and protect women rights. In reality in many rural areas across Africa widows are being evicted from their homes by in laws and their land and houses taken away[9].Access to justice for these widows becomes very difficult because sometimes the in-laws also bribe the justice system. The other challenge is the fact that hiring lawyers is expensive and at the same time there are delays due to adjournments during court processes leading to cases taking very long.This is weary for widowed women who are at the same time grappling with many emotional issues. These widows are forced to relocated to urban areas and due to the high cost of living and having nothing to their name end up living in informal settlements. Patriarchy also makes women stay in abusive relationships because when they go back home, their brothers are not willing to accommodate them for fear that their sisters will lay claim to the family land.
There are also cases of parents who tell their daughters to stay in abusive marriages and ask elders to sort these issues. There are reported incidences of women getting killed when they go back to their abusive husbands, others are killed by their intimate partners. [10] Violence does not only affect women , girls are also victims of various forms of violence including verbal, physical violence , emotional violence and sexual violence[11].Girls are affected by violence in the home when they see their mothers and other siblings get beaten, this is very traumatising .Sadly , women and girls across many African countries continue to suffer from violence, this is despite the existence of Articles 3 and 4 of the Maputo Protocol obligates countries , Kenya included, to adopt and implement appropriate measures to prohibit the exploitation and degradation of women, and to protect women from all forms of violence, particularly sexual and verbal violence. With the onset of Covid 19, there is a rise in cases of gender based violence in Kenya with the survivors being women and girls. Many girls have been subjected to teenage pregnancy, some have had to drop out of school, with elderly grandmothers, who are frail and in poor health having to take up care roles for their newly born grandchildren. Furthermore, in some cases the abuser and the abused have to stay in the same house, making women and girls more vulnerable. Access to safe houses for survivors of violence is a challenge especially in rural areas in Kenya and this is coupled with difficulties in accessing mental health services.
The Maputo Protocol calls for women’s right to participate in political and decision making processes without discrimination, calls for women’s representation in all electoral processes and women representation in political parties. For a woman to participate in politics in Africa, she faces a variety of hurdles. From lack of financial muscle to mount a successful campaign, to name calling and smear campaign, to violence during meetings with electorates and in extreme cases violence. For some, their sexual morality is questioned and others are branded as prostitutes.[12] Children , siblings and family members of women who vie for electoral positions are not spared[13] and many women rather than put their family through pain end up giving up their hope of becoming politicians.
The Maputo Protocol stipulates women’s enjoyment of the right to education and training , with state parties being required to take all appropriate measures to eliminate all forms discrimination against women, eliminate stereotypes in textbooks , syllabuses and the media that perpetuate discrimination as well as protect women , especially the girl child from all forms of abuse within learning institutions including sexual harassment. Despite the provision of Maputo Protocol and existence of Constitutions which outlaw discrimination for example Kenya’s Constitution (2010), women and girls continue to be discriminated and violated in learning institutions. Take for example situations where girls are forced into transactional sex with their lecturers in order to get good grades.[14] Looking at completion and retention rates in schools including secondary schools, more girls are drawn out from school compared to boys. There is also the make preference when it comes to access to education. Faced with the choice of educating either a son or a daughter, many families would rather educate the boy, the assumption is that the girl child will get married and end up benefitting another family , thus many families are reluctant to invest in daughters. However, it is a well-known fact that many girls once given the chance to excel academically, have gone ahead and improved the lives of their families for the better.
Article 22 of the Maputo Protocol obligates Kenya to provide protection to elderly women and take specific measures commensurate with their physical, economic and social needs as well as their access to employment and professional training. Article 57 of the Constitution requires Kenya to take measures to ensure that older members of society including women live in dignity and respect and are free of abuse. Elderly women continue to suffer from abuse in Kenya more so elderly widowed women. Take for example on 17 October 2021, four elderly women were lynched in Kisii under the suspicion of being witches.[15] Statistics indicate that about six people face violence every month on suspicion of being witches in Gusiiland. An analysis of most of the “witch” burning cases shows a linkage between these horrendous acts and resource conflicts in the social, political, and economic arena. Most of the victims are widows whose accusers are relatives from the families of their deceased husbands.[16]
The Maputo Protocol has provisions for economic and social welfare rights. The Protocol mandates member states to promote equality of access to employment, right to equal remuneration for jobs of equal value done by men and women , protection of women from exploitation by employers as well as ensure transparency in recruitment and protection from sexual harassment .Despite these provision and labour related laws which protect women rights in the work place, women continue to suffer from rights violations in the work place such as tea plantations[17] and cut flower industry. Women get sexually harassed before they get promotions, they also suffer from increased casualisation of labour.
Women and girls are very vulnerable to rights violations and need protection to ensure realisation of their rights. Special attention should be paid to the causal factors that contribute to the violation of the rights of women and girls.
References
[1] https://au.int/en/treaties/protocol-african-charter-human-and-peoples-rights-rights-women-africa
[2] https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/false-hopes/
[3] ibid
[4] https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/about-child-marriage/
[5] ibid
[6] A moran is a warrior
[7] https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/big-read/2019-04-23-samburu-morans-give-beads-to-bed-little-girls/
[8] https://kenyanreview.com/baringo-countys-worrying-state-of-teenage-pregnancies/
[9]https://www.the-star.co.ke/sasa/lifestyle/2021-02-05-greedy-in-laws-drive-widows-to-poverty-wife-inheritance/
[10] https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2020-03-01-ten-women-murdered-since-january-report/
[11]https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/09/21/i-had-nowhere-go/violence-against-women-and-girls-during-covid-19-pandemic-kenya
[12] https://www.the-star.co.ke/counties/central/2021-12-09-muranga-women-leaders-decry-smear-campaign-by-male-rivals/
[13] http://www.ipsnews.net/2008/05/qa-quotbut-they-never-killed-my-spiritquot/
[14]https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2019-12-09-sex-for-grades-rife-in-kenyan-universities-says-action-aid-study/#:~:text=One%20in%20two%20female%20students,
[15]https://www.khrc.or.ke/2015-03-04-10-37-01/press-releases/755-lynching-of-elderly-women-in-gusiiland.html
[16]https://www.khrc.or.ke/2015-03-04-10-37-01/press-releases/755-lynching-of-elderly-women-in-gusiiland.html
[17] https://www.somo.nl/unilever-steps-up-efforts-to-address-sexual-harassment-at-its-kenyan-tea-plantations/
Categories: Releases, Slider Featured