Nov

30

By Omokemi

A male partner may:

1.    Complain to his relations that he is not putting on weight because his wife is not feeding him well

2.     Criticise the money the wife brings home

3.     Place the woman on an unrealistic budget

4.    Refuse to meet up to his financial responsibilities

5.     Give preference to his car being in good state than the payment of the children’s school fees

6.     Distract the woman’s attention from her job

7.     Refuse to improve on himself and get a better job.

8.     Cause the woman to lose her job

Nov

29

By Oreoluwa

As you can see, violence against women is a complex and multi-layered problem that exists in all facets of society.

Many governments and organisations have run campaigns to increase public awareness around the issues and to educate people on what role they can play in eliminating violence against women.

For instance:

UNIFEM’s “Say NO to Violence against Women” initiative promotes violence prevention through social mobilization. On 25 November 2008, Say NO presented more than 5 million signatures to the UN Secretary-General, demonstrating public support to make ending violence against women a top priority for governments everywhere.

The United Nations Trust Fund is a grant-making mechanism that supports local, national and regional efforts to end violence against women and girls.

The End Violence Against Women Coalition, is a collection of individuals and organisations based in the United Kingdom, has coordinated a campaign calling for a UK-wide government strategy to address VAW. Actions include lobbying the government on violence issues and engaging the government on policy discussions.

The V-Day Campaign is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. Local volunteers produce annual benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues, or other plays and screenings of V-Day’s documentary Until The Violence Stops, to raise awareness and funds for anti-violence groups within their own communities.

Take Back the Tech is a collaborative campaign that takes place during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence (25 Nov – 10 Dec). It is a call to everyone – especially women and girls – to take control of technology to end violence against women. Each day has an action that individuals and groups can participate in, e.g. sharing a status message on Twitter or Facebook.

Consider how you can participate in any of these campaigns.

Nov

28

By Omokemi

A number of actions have been taken to reduce gender inequality and violence against women. Examples of such actions are as follows;

1.    The springing up of NGOs and CBOs to address the issues of gender inequality and violence against women.

2.   Creation of laws in some states to declare as criminal offence the practice of obnoxious widowhood rites.

3.   Creation of widow friendly laws like the Lagos State Administration of Estates (Small Estate Payments Exemption) Law 2005 which gives dependants of deceased, who died intestate and where the monetary value of his total estate is not more than N100,000, the right to obtain Letter of Administration on such estates without payment of any estate fee.

4.  Execution of policies such as the Better Life & Family Support Programme which through women cooperatives, women were assisted to access improved technology and farm products.

It is good news that we are getting more women in professions such as law, medicine, engineering which were hitherto dominated by men.

There are however still a lot to be done on gender equality and reduction of violence against women in Nigeria. Women are under represented in the economic and political scene. Of all the 360 members of the House of the Representatives only 25 are women and of all the 109 members of the Senate only 9 members are women. As beautiful and promising as the Lagos State Administration of Estates (Small Estate Payments Exemption) Law 2005 is, it is yet to be operated at the Lagos State Probate Registry since four years ago when it was passed into law. The Battered Women Support Services Bill in the House of Representatives is yet to see the light of the day

However, issues on violence against women at times bring up nuts that can really be difficult to crack. Tell me, how can a man be charged for raping his wife where before the incident, they have both been living happily together?

Nov

27

By Omokemi

Just as girls in some parts of the country are excluded from decision making concerning their choice of spouse, women are often not allowed to take part in decisions on how many children to have or when to have them. The right to make such decisions at most times is the exclusive preserve of the man. When family meetings are called to discuss important issues like inheritance, women are excluded. They are informed of the proceedings of the meeting, by the male counter parts,  at the end of the meeting. Their opinions are never sought for even when the issues discussed directly affect them. This is highly prejudicial to the widow, who is often deprived of any right to the property left by her deceased husband, irrespective of whether or not she had joint ownership of the property.

Women are prone to violence due to a number of factors, foremost amongst which is the fact that the Nigerian society is a patriarchal one. Nigerian laws, customs and traditions are structured in such a manner that they favour men more.  (A good example of this is the conditions required for a case of rape to be proved. The conditions are such that a girl would rather keep quiet rather than get more traumatised in the law court. while trying to prove that she was raped) This is explains the restriction in the woman’s accessibility to property, land and financial credit facilities compared to her male counterparts contrarily to Article 13 of CEDAW.  Stay clued to us as we explain to you tomorrow, measures that have been taken to improve the state of the Nigerian woman and what is yet to be done.

Nov

26

By Oreoluwa

Can you name 16 types of gender-based violence?

1. Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War, e.g. Rape
2. Pre-Natal Sex Selection
3. Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
4. Date Rape
5. Bride Burning or other forms of Dowry-Related Violence
6. Child Marriage
7. Trafficking of Girls and Women
8. Domestic Violence
9. Crimes Committed in the Name of Passion of Honour
10. Abductions of Adolescent Girls During Combat
11. Bride Kidnapping
12. Sexual Harassment at Work
13. Physical or Emotional Violence by an Intimate Partner
14. Exploitation of Domestic Workers
15. Femicide
16. Forced Sterilisation or other Coerced Reproductive Practices

Can you think of any others?

Culled from the United Nations Population Fund website.

Nov

25

Follow up with activities around the continent:

- Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) participates in Take Back the Tech campaign: www.wougnet.org/cms/content/view/443/1 (Uganda)

- BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights: www.baobabwomen.org/activities2.htm (Nigeria)

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Nov

25

By Oreoluwa

On this 1st day of the 16 Days of Activism Campaign, let’s explore what we mean when we say ‘Violence Against Women‘ or ‘Gender-Based Violence.’

Definition
Violence against women is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women.

The United Nations General Assembly defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”

According to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the term gender-based violence (GBV) is “used to distinguish violence that targets individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of their gender from other forms of violence.” Since more women than men are victims of violence based on their gender, ‘gender-based violence’ is commonly thought to mean ‘violence against women.’

The Situation
- Around the world at least one woman in every three has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime
- Gender-based violence kills and disables as many women between the ages of 15 and 44 as cancer
- Violence’s toll on women’s health surpasses that of traffic accidents and malaria combined
- Violence against women is rooted in a global culture of discrimination which denies women equal rights with men and which legitimizes the appropriation of women’s bodies for individual gratification or political ends
- Violence against women is compounded by discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, sexual identity, social status, class, and age. Such multiple forms of discrimination further restrict women’s choices, increase their vulnerability to violence and make it even harder for women to obtain justice.

Legal Foundations
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” (Article 2).
- The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women states that “violence against women means 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 deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life” (Article 1). It further asserts that states have an obligation to “exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons” (Article 4-c).
- The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) defines discrimination against women as any “distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on the basis of equality between men and women, of human rights or fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field” (Article 1).

Tomorrow, we will look at what shape this types of violence can take. We look forward to all your comments.

For More Information:
Informed culled from Amnesty International USA Factsheet, , Femmes Africa Solidarite, Wikipedia

Nov

24

By Oreoluwa

Tomorrow is the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.

The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children is a United Nations campaign. It takes place annually from the 25th November (International Day of No Violence against Women) to the 10th December (International Human Rights Day). It also includes November 29 (International Women Human Rights Defenders Day) and December 1 (World AIDS Day).

The 16 Days Campaign has been used as an organizing strategy by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women.

So, what can you do to speak out about gender-based violence? Try any of the following actions:
- Volunteering with a local women’s shelter or group that fights against gender violence
- Blogging about gender-based violence
- Participating in a walk or planned activities in your community
- Taking part in online campaigns, such as the Take Back The Tech campaign
- Run workshops and awareness raising events for staff, on violence against women

For more information about the campaign, please visit any of the following websites:
- Women’s Net
- Take Back the Tech
- Amnesty International USA

We will be posting every day of this campaign, so please visit daily for facts about gender-based violence, news of existing campaigns and more actions that you can take to stand-up against violence.

Nov

13

Nuptial Knot!

November 13, 2009 | 1 Comment

By Omokemi

Our associates Ms. Omonor Imobhio and Mr. Foluseke Somolu (both facilitators in W.TEC’s Girls Technology Camp 2008 and 2009) tied the nuptial knot on Saturday, November 7, 2009. The Staff, Management and Board of W.TEC wish the couple, a happy and successful marriage. Your marriage shall be a blessing, your children shall surround your table, you shall see your children’s children so saith the Lord of Host, Amen.

Omonor & Foluseke

Nov

10

By Oreoluwa

Plan's Because I Am a Girl 2009 Report
W.TEC is featured in Plan International’s 2009 Because I Am a Girl: The State of the World’s Girls report. Download the PDF from www.plan-uk.org/becauseiamagirl/. We are profiled on page 93.

Plan International, a global organisation working to alleviate child poverty. This is the third in a series of annual reports examining the rights of girls throughout their childhood, adolescence and as young women.

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