Plight of the African women

This is an article which I had written for my college newspaper. Thought of sharing it here. Everyone was talking about the plight of women in India but I thought about going ahead and concentrating on other areas as well. 

“It’s not what you call me, but what I answer to.” This is an African quotation, strong yet feeble. It suggests I will choose my own identity but is it really the provision allowed to women today? In a time where our own country is in a dilemma when it comes to women’s rights, the situation in Africa is pathetic. Our entire nation is up in force in reaction to the gang-rape in Delhi but do you know rape is very common in African society? Almost 60,000 rapes are reported every year which is almost double to the number in India. And these are just the reported ones, what about those that go unreported? The situation is far worse.

Why are women subject to sufferings so much all over the world? Despite rights and laws, there is no effect. One major cause for this is the rigidity in society. Even in today’s time, men in Africa hold the traditional mindset of women being their property. Women do not get treated as equals but get misused as objects. Women in Africa undergo torture, humiliation, oppression much more as compared to other parts of the world.

What adds to the plight of these women is their religion. North Africa has quite a large number of women following Islam. Their faith and religion becomes one more reason that they become victims of atrocities. Islam is founded on the base of masculinity, patriarchy and domination. So traditionally, women become subject to domination in the name of religion. Muslim women and girls are not allowed to move unveiled, vote, nor can they hold any public office or possess any political, economic or social power. They do not have the freedom to choose their life partner. Islam also advocates polygamy. Muslim men are allowed to keep more than one wife, however a women is forbidden to remarry. Thus it is not easy for a woman to walk out of her troubled marriage. Divorce thus becomes a complex process. With so much rigidity in their religion, it itself has become an obstacle to the efforts made for women empowerment.

Islamic societies are bound by tradition in different parts of the world. Women have always played a submissive role and there is masculine dominance. The extent of dominance is what matters in today’s day and age. It is a matter of huge concern when this dominance allows a man to treat a woman not as a human but as an object which can be used and misused as he pleases. There is a lot of variation in women’s rights in certain sections especially North Africa compared to other parts of Asia. There are claims that Islam inevitability leads to gender equality, which cannot be totally denied. Women are also denied their right to education.

Another practice out of culture which emerged in Africa is the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). It is an invasive procedure performed on girls before they reach puberty. The part of the clitoris is surgically removed but the instruments used in the process are very crude. It is imposed on girls following Islam and is mainly seen in Africa. The people are of the belief that it makes the woman more beautiful and the process is seen as a cultural requirement. The hazardous tradition is seen less in other countries Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan.

Despite efforts to curb down this hazardous ritual it still continues in Africa. Though the government has vigorously enforced laws, they remain irrelevant. Religion and traditions is so rigid in the mindset of the people here that they fail to see the health hazards and carry out the process illegally. The solution is only to change the mindset among the small villagers first. There are no signs of immediate abandonment of the practice. Poverty, slavery and strong belief in superstitions have restricted the growth of women in particular.

As compared to the situation in Africa, Muslim women in Asian and western countries have a better lifestyle. They have the right to educate, reproduce, abortion, vote etc. The privileges may differ from country to country but it at least ensures that women have a representation in political, economic and social fields. A woman can roam unveiled, take up a job, choose her marriage partner and also has the right to vote. Though she is allowed these certain rights, they always have to face male domination. But there are far better from being repressed in the name of faith and lose their identity.

Today in the 21^st century, we are still developing and finding a strong base for identity. Everyday there are girls being raped, tortured, murdered; denied an existence. But the world will be incomplete without the female power because A hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world.!