Intensive efforts needed to end harmful cultural practices against girls
At the height of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, young girls in their teens, some less than 12 years, encountered machete-wielding rebels, who targeted their families, forcing them to move from place to place under cover of night.
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It was during this time that one Consolee Nishimwe experienced the worst form of violence any girl barely in her teens could possibly face. She was grabbed and raped repeatedly by the rebels, who also caught up with her family and killed her father and brothers, forcing Consolee to flee her country.
Now in her 30s and living in the United States, Consolee has recounted her experience in a book, Tested to the Limit: A Genocide Survivor’s Story of Pain, Resilience and Hope. She is often invited to public forums to speak against gender-based violence.
As in many parts of the world, during times of civil unrest, rape quickly becomes a weapon of war, and according to the UN Women, the global agency responsible for advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women, worldwide, seven out of 10 women face physical or sexual violence at least once during their lifetime.
Harmful practice
Rape is just but one of many acts of violence or harmful cultural practices that girls in Africa continue to face. Others include female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced early marriages. Despite years of advocacy against FGM, it is still performed on thousands of girls and many more are being forced to become child brides, at times when the girls are as young as nine. Combined, these practices produce dangerous reproductive health issues such as teen pregnancies, abortions, fistula or even child and maternal deaths.
In countries like Somalia, for instance, up to 98 per cent of all girls between the ages of five and 15 undergo FGM, a practice in which parts of their genitalia are excised and the torn flesh sewn up for non-medical reasons by untrained traditional practitioners, usually elderly women using unsterilised instruments such as razor blades.
Medical experts warn that FGM can lead to long-term mental and physical problems, which may include possibly fatal septic shock, haemorrhage (bleeding) and blood poisoning, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
Given its harmful effects, why is FGM still practised in Africa? The World Health Organisation (WHO) blames it on sociocultural, psychosexual, religious and hygienic beliefs, including the social pressure to conform, as well as to ensure a girl’s eligibility for marriage.
Child marriage
Forcing children into marriages is a human rights violation, because, among other consequences, they are stripped of their right to education. UNICEF reported in 2016 that girls who attend school to acquire education, marry later when they are more mature and are better equipped to improve their overall socioeconomic and emotional well-being.
Underage girls, married off to adults, are more exposed to gender-based violence, with studies showing that child brides are more likely to be beaten by their husbands than those who married as adults.
“The greater the age difference between girls and their husbands, the more likely they are to experience intimate partner violence,” says Girls Not Brides, a global partnership of civil society organisations fighting to end child marriage.
“We have a crisis on our hands. The UN estimates that globally, 15 million girls experience child marriage each year,” says Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, the African Union Goodwill Ambassador on ending child marriage in Africa.
Up to half of teenage pregnancies worldwide (under the age of 20) occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia rank high on adolescent pregnancy rates, according to the WHO.
Tackling the problems
As experts continue to seek ways to protect the African girl, some countries have come up with laws to protect girls from FGM and other harmful cultural practices. Twenty-four African countries, including Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana, now impose stiff penalties of between six months and life imprisonment on offenders. The results have been encouraging, with many countries witnessing declining numbers.
Meanwhile, some countries are making slow but steady progress in their efforts to stamp out child marriages. For instance, in July 2016, the Gambian Government declared marrying girls under the age of 18 a crime and offenders could be locked up for up to 20 years in prison. The practice is also outlawed in Tanzania.
In 2015, the UN held its first African Girl’s Summit on Ending Child Marriage. Measures to enforce making 18 the legal marriageable age and imposing penalties for offenders were discussed. As usual, participating countries made the right speeches and committed to the cause. The coming years will determine if they match words with actions.
Speaking at the recent International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, called for a “gender-equal world, where girls have choices for their future”, free from FGM and gender-based violence.