Responding to Violence Against Women in Diverse Cultures

 

According to global research by experts, reports by WHO, Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (UNCEDAW), Human Rights and UN Women, women from various cultures or nations today have experienced one from of violence or the other. These violence’s are embedded into the norms and values of culture and traditions. For Instance, In Sudan women are sentenced to stoning for adultery, In South Africa, women are forced to rape by the family if she opposes a marital choice for her, In Somalia, women face corporate punishment such as lashing or stoning if the conduct of her daily business is contradicts the ruling political or strategic objectives. In Ghana and in situations of marital conflict and divorce, women lose out on land she farmed with her husband during marriage. Juliana Nkrumah, the founder of African Women Australia, said domestic violence did not discriminate. "We should not excuse cultural practices that are damaging,'', ''but nor should we use culture as an excuse for damaging behavior.

Some of the violence traditions that women have to face are life-threatening. There are for example customs such sati, which forces many Hindu women to immolate themselves on top of the funeral pyres created for their deceased husbands (there’s no sati for males of course), or women in some African countries being subjected to violent exorcism rites or even being killed after being accused of witchcraft. Many of these culturally sanctioned crimes are financially motivated, eliminating the wife as the inheritress of her husband’s estate and having it being transferred instead to the couple’s sons or the father’s family. Different ways of abusing women’s Human Rights takes place in many African countries, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda, where women actually become part of their husband’s estate – supposedly in the widow’s interest to offer her security and protection. An act of humiliation itself, the inheritance of women also culturally approves acts of “widow cleansing”. Violence against Women in diverse culture may take many forms and has enormous social, economic costs, and undercuts the contribution of women to development, human rights, peace, and security. Violence against Women hampers the economic development and stability within the community in which they live. It also poses a serious threat to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

http://www.africanviews.org/component/content/article/1021-womens-education/49156-responding-to-violence-against-women-in-diverse-culture