Despite the fact the women bear much of the responsibility of taking care of many families here in Africa, it is a shame that violence against women is a menace that has persisted over the years. Of course, this problem is not limited to Africa but is somewhat more common here. This would not be unconnected to wide-spread poverty and some bad cultural practices.
On a broader perspective, I will quote Wikipedia to give a broad definition of this problem:
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.” The 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women noted that this violence could be perpetrated by assailants of either gender, family members and even the “State” itself.
In my opinion, women are not necessarily subservient to men and as such should be treated as partners that they really are, and not as some domestic property who is only good for running the household. Women around the world deserve equal chances and opportunities.
It is against the background that someone I look-up to in the African blogosphere as a big sister and mentor – Sokari Ekine – is organizing the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Against Women. You really want to check it out and contribute meaningfully to this fight against gender violence.
