Violence
against women, in its various forms, is endemic in communities and countries
around the world, cutting across class, race, and age, religious and national
boundaries. According to the United Nations Declaration, violence against women
includes “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to
result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including
threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether
occurring in public or private life (United Nations, 1993)”.
It is disconcerting to still see acts of domestic
violence against women especially in the 21st century, and
particularly startling is the fact that most of these acts are perpetuated in
the home where women are supposed to feel most safe. For many,
‘home’ is where they face a regime of terror and violence at the hands of
somebody close to them – somebody they should be able to trust. Those
victimized suffer physically and psychologically. They are unable to make their
own decisions, voice their own opinions or protect themselves and their
children for fear of further repercussions. Their human rights are denied and
their lives are stolen from them by the ever-present threat of violence.
There
is no one single factor to account for violence perpetrated against women.
Several
complex and interconnected social and cultural factors have kept women
particularly vulnerable to the violence directed at them, all of them
manifestations of historically unequal power relations between men and women.
Factors contributing to these unequal power relations include: male belief in
their inherent superiority, socioeconomic, cultural and religious factors, and
parental influences.
In most societies, especially in
Africa, women are view as second-class, second-rate and good enough only for
procreation. As a result, women are not respected and are viewed with disdain.
Growing up in suburban Nigeria, you
could clearly see that from very early on women are treated as lesser
individuals. In the home for instance, the girl child is made to do chores like
washing the dishes, while the male child watches television or goes outside to
play football. This subconsciously tells
the male child that he is superior to the female child and as such creates a
feeling of undue power. This feeling lingers and is not helped by what the male
child sees on a daily basis. In many societies, children see violence against
women as the norm and a means to exert this feeling of ‘power’ hitherto
acquired.
In several countries
in the world including, but not limited to, Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon,
Pakistan, and Turkey, women are killed in order to uphold the “honour” of the
family. Any reason – alleged adultery, premarital relationships (with or
without sexual
relations), rape, falling in love with a person of whom the
family disapproves –are all reason enough for a male member of
the family to kill the woman concerned.
Not surprisingly violence against
women exhibits a vicious cycle, as studies have shown that women who as
children witnessed their mothers being abused are twice as likely to be abused
themselves later in life. This is simply because such a woman would find it
difficult to easily spot the early, tell-tale signs of domestic violence.
I think that by far the most
important factor in predicting domestic violence against women is parental
influence. Parents should know better and teach their young boys to respect
girls even at an early age. Although the male sex is undoubtedly stronger
physically, that doesn’t translate to superiority.
Lastly women owe
it to themselves to protect themselves against domestic violence. This is by no
means easy because domestic violence is usually compounded by certain factors
such as the presence of children. But women must realize that they cannot under
any circumstances endure any form of mental, economic, emotional and physical
abuse from their husbands in the home. They must speak out and seek help. Domestic
violence is one of the most chronically underreported crimes. It is still not receiving as much attention as it should.
My mother always
used to say “women are like flowers”. Indeed they are flowers that need to be
handled delicately, and protecting a woman is chivalrous and the right thing to
do. If only most males were brought up this way, things would be very
different.
BY CHARLES
IMMANUEL AKHIMIEN
Beautiful piece,dear......I wish dt all men wud stop violating the tender heart of women....I appreciate and give a big 'thumbs up' to every man who treats women like flowers......
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