Women are the
victims of
violence and
discrimination in virtually all cultures in Africa. I will identify the causes, enumerate the manifestation and proffer solutions to the problem.
The basic cause of the problem is the degrading cultural attitude that perceives males as superior to females. A woman who only gives birth to
females is treated like an outcast not only by other people but also by her husband who, in fact, biological determines the sexes of his children. Thus, the
male child is raised with a mentality of male superiority.
This negative traditional attitude manifest in violence against
Women everywhere. Women are victims of domestic violence. A number of women are going through a lot of trauma in their matrimonial homes. Many men, at the least provocation, turn their wives into punching bags. It is common to see women with black eyes, swollen lips, battered heads and weals all over their bodies and if you did not know that they were mauled by their husbands, you would think they were victims of road traffic accidents.
Early marriage is a form of violence against women. When a girl is given in marriage at fourteen or thereabouts, as is the case in some Africa societies, she is stunted in growth emotionally and psychologically. Such children are not allowed to pass through adolescence before they are thrown into marriage. Soon, they become child-mothers. They become adults before their time. Usually, they experience physical problems like obstructed or painful labor, often resulting in stillbirth.
There are other forms of violence against women. Sexual abuse in all its ramifications,
female genital mutilation which renders a woman incomplete, as it were, and the subordination of females to their male counterparts, are all forms of violence against women.
Apart from being victims of violence, women also suffer gender discrimination in various situations. Almost every Africa culture encourages male child preference. So, early in life, a female child in a typical Africa home is bewildered as she notices that his male siblings are preferred to her. In many places, females are either denied education or are not allowed to have the same quality of education as males because it is believed that educating females is an economic waste in that she will leave the family someday and become another man’s. The reasoning is that if a man educates his daughter, he would not reap from it in terms of material reward. The fact is that females care more for their parents than males. Later in life, the female is discriminated against in employment on ground of sex. This pervasive discrimination against females occurs in every segment of the society- the home, the school, the workplace, in politics. For instance, no woman has ever ruled in any Africa country.
The problem should be tackled radically. Government should give women equal opportunities in all spheres of human Endeavour and legislate against all forms of violence against women. Religion has a vital role to play in the matter. Churches, for instance, should preach against negative cultural practices that entrench female subordination. Women, on their part, should vigorously campaign against and try to overcome gender barriers.
Violence and discrimination against women will be eliminated from our society if these suggestions are followed.
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