As we get to the
end of the year, there is need for reflection on certain happenings in Nigeria
– focusing on the ‘vulnerable’ in our society – Women and the Girl/Boy Child.
So many heinous actions by the Insurgents in the North East has given us cause
for concern – not focused on one event but a totality.
On the 25th February, we woke up to the news of the
slaughter of 40+ boys in Buni Yadi, Bornu State, and abduction of 20+ girls between the ages of 12 and
14. ACTS Generation convened a
‘peaceful’ simultaneously rally of Women in 9 States of Nigeria and the UK - themed 'Nigerian Women Mourn, Walk of 6th March' - a 'first' simultaneous rally of its kind.
This move of Women broke through the barrier of ‘silence’ about Boko
Haram and people became more vocal. Also,
there was a renewed aggressive action by our military – possibly due to fact
that they knew that women were in sync with their efforts.
Then on the 14th of April, we woke up again to
learn that 200+ young girls were abducted by the militants, Boko Haram, from
their Secondary School in Chibok, Bornu State.
Again ACTS Generation gave a call to action with a group of women who
had been a part of the 6th March Walk…thereafter, with inputs from
other concerned women, the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls was adopted and two first
rallies were held in Abuja and Lagos.
Thereafter, these groups took on a life of its own with continued
pressure to locate and bring back the abducted girls of Chibok. To date, 10th December – Human
Rights Day – majority of the girls abducted are still missing.
We need to realize, however, that after the abduction of
the Chibok girls, close unto 100+ girls of varying ages have been abducted to
date. So it’s not just about the girls
abducted from Chibok – it’s about close unto 400+ women and girls who are still
missing. Is this action of the
militants, Boko Haram, new? Human rights
advocates respond that this type of violence against women and young girls is
nothing new.
In fact, kidnapping/abduction is one of the many forms of
violence regularly practiced against women and young girls in developing
countries. Other abuses include rape, sex trafficking, child marriages and
child prostitution. This formed the
theme of a recently concluded Conference by ACTS Generation on the 27th
of November, 2014 – IC-DVSAT - International Conference on Domestic Violence,
Sexual Assault & Trafficking “Emerging Issues and plausible solutions”. A document has come out of this conference,
which will be circulated to Agencies and Stakeholders. There is a need to work in a focused manner
to address the issues prevalent.
“The abduction of girls, use, misuse, abuse, selling of
girls is a fairly wide practice,” said Michele Rickett, founder and chief
executive officer of “She is Safe,” an organization that rescues and
rehabilitates women and girls who are victims of abuse. “And, it’s only
exacerbated under conflict, as in the case of the Boko Haram.”
“Often, when soldiers or terrorists of any kind go
through a village, they will torch the village, take the boys and train them to
kill, but take the girls and use them to do their cooking and cleaning, and for
sex as well. So, that’s a pretty common practice wherever you see conflict in
the world,” said Michele Rickett.
In the case of the abducted 200+ girls from Chibok, it
was not conflict-as-usual attitude of mistreating women. Coming on the heels of the Walk of 6th of
March and the subsequent rallies about the kidnap of the Chibok girls, the
voices of human rights activists, political figures, celebrities and voices of
the mothers of the abducted girls, resounded around the world and focus was
brought to bear on Nigeria. The response
showed that people all over the world care about what is happening to women and
girls in developing countries and conflict regions.
Nonetheless, we believe there was lost advantage of
recovering the Chibok girls because it took the government two weeks to respond
to the outcry to locate and bring back the abducted girls. The more time was wasted the more
the fate of the girls were sealed. Various reasons have been given as to
the continued delay in ‘storming’ and rescuing the girls. BUT, are they still in Sambissa Forest? Are
we to forget the girls? No, but there is
a need to re-strategize in a broader holistic manner
For the past few decades
girls have become unwilling sex partners or warriors or sex partners for
militants and soldiers throughout the world.
According to a January 2013 World Bank briefing entitled Children
in Emergency and Crisis Situations, “The use of girls has been confirmed in
Colombia, DRC [The Democratic Republic of Congo], Timor-Leste, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Uganda Sierra-Leone, Cote d’Ivoire and now Nigeria.
Some of the girls who are
abducted are forced to participate in combat operations and also subjected to
sexual exploitation and abuse. As a result of this they often acquire sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
Some girls will voluntarily take part in combat because it will give them a sense of power
and control that they may not otherwise experience living in a relatively
conservative society. Probably also an
alignment with the ‘cause’ of their abductors referred to as ‘The Stockholm
Syndrome”!
The continued focus on
#BringBackOurGirls Campaign is excellent BUT, one must take into cognizance
that these are not the only girls and women missing. We need to make it a more robust cry to
protect the women and girls in the North-East of Nigeria from the raids/abduction by Boko Haram.
Where are all the Chibok girls? Where are the other women, girls and boys who
have been taken by force? Realistic
imaginary – pregnant, married off, sold, murdered, brainwashed to be suicide
bombers, the list is endless of the savagery and inhuman approach of militants
like Boko Haram.
Our focus, I believe, should be a unified cry to: #ProtectOurWomenAndGirls in the
North-East, and #RespectWomen. I think
this is the clue to keeping these issues alive – to find a lasting solution to the activities of Boko Haram in the conflict areas of North-East of Nigeria. That is the
passion that will raise awareness to the urgency of breaking the cycle of
violence, abuse and human rights violation.
So what do we do?
What can the government do to assist?
Survivors of such raids, abductions/kidnappings are often sigmatised and
abandoned by partners or families if they return back home – condemned to
extreme poverty, often with dependent children – whilst
the perpetrators of these crimes may never be brought to justice.
I outline below several recommendations aimed at eliminating
sexual violence against women and girls in the North-East:
·
all stakeholders in the
fight against violence, including the international community should continue
to condemn violence against women and girls in any circumstances and involve
women fully in any peace processes and reconstruction programmes
·
the government must provide
immediate and effective assistance to victims of violence against women and
take steps to prevent future violations against women - to also put in place a 'Survivors Fund' for rehabilitation of survivors of violence and abuse.
·
it must commit to taking
concrete measures to end impunity for violence against women and ensure that
human rights defenders can carry out their legitimate human rights work without
fear of retaliation or punishment; to pass the 'Violence Against Women' bill; also domestication of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against women - CEDAW which was ratified in 1985.
·
it must support efforts to
agree an international arms trade treaty to help stop the proliferation of
weapons used to commit violence against women and other human rights violations
·
there is need to have more programs to help
women and girls to cope with the mental and emotional trauma that comes with
being repeatedly abused. Some girls
abducted – both from Chibok and other areas – have found their way back. What is really on ground to assist them past
just ‘talk’? What about the reverse
offshoot of parents who now decide that it is better to ‘marry’ off their girls
rather than run the risk of abduction.
But is this really the answer? In
a country like Nigeria? We are not in
the dark ages!!
The post- traumatic stress on
these girls really does call for a concerted effort for after-care -- to get
them into a safe and predictable location where they can receive physical
nourishment, emotional nourishment. And for their broken spirits to be healed
as well.
Laila St. Matthew-Daniel
Visionary – ACTS Generation
www.actsgeneration.org
