Rights are God’s given, are these rights applicable to only men in some African Communities? One would ask. In many African communities, women are been subjected to harmful practices which violates their fundamental human rights as human beings, some of these practices includes female genital mutilation, domestic labour , right to education amongst others.
In many African communities, women and girls are seen as lesser human beings, they are force to go through all forms of human rights violations owing to their gender, these violations are often not reported or documented, and it affects their mental health and reduces their self-esteem. Do women and girls have right in some African Communities? I asked.
In some African Communities, women cannot own land or right to child custody and when their husband dies, they are force to bath the dead body and drink the water in other to appease gods of the land, these practices are not applicable to men when their wives dies. Do the African woman and the girl child has right? I asked. Gender based violence is not a big deal in many African communities even in the cities, laws and policies are weak. In Kogi state Nigeria, a lady was beaten to pulp by the state commissioner which attracted the attention of many human rights defenders but it was not a big deal in the eyes of many just because she is a woman.
If truly rights are God’s given and if African women and girls have rights, we must begin to advocate for proper protection of the African woman from harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, right to child custody and right to western education amongst others. Women are better managers and home builders; we cannot subject them to harmful practices without protection. Let’s support the African women and the girl child to enjoy full rights as men do without gender inequality. Women too have rights, we must enhance them.