Today am happy that it's another wonderful opportunity to continue the next vol. on the above subject matter.
Also, it is very important for those who missed the previous vol.1 of this article to endeavour and read them. I will be dropping the links to the previous vol.1 at the end of this article.
Continuation of vol1:
Male chauvinism and challenges of contemporary African women vol.2:
Across South Africa and Nigeria, women are still discriminated against "On Match 16, Nigeria legislators refused to pass for the second reading, the bill on gender equality. The bill titled "Gender parity and prohibition of violence against women" would have among other things provided women quality in marriage, education, and opportunities. Some of the legislators citied religious and cultural reasons. Section 26 (2) (a) of the 19199 Nigerian constitution denies a woman to confer citizenship status on her foreign husband but greats that to men. Section 353 of the criminal code says that anyone who unlawfully assaults a man commits a felony and doles out three years imprisonment for such an offence, while sanity 360 says that anyone who assaults a woman is guilty of misdemeanor and bags two years only. Section 55 of the labour acts also ban women from working in any industrial place, or undertaking in any work at night. Under the Nigeria penal code guiding the Northern part of grievous harm aimed at the correction of male chauvinism is a recurring diet in the wife by the husband.
This indices of male chauvinism is a recurring diet in the action of African men including prominent leaders. Recently, during a state visit to the German republic, president Muhammad Buhari of Nigeria told the bewildered audience that his wife belongs to the kitchen and other room in reaction to the criticism raised against his government by his wife.
It seems that Africa has produced leaders renowned for their sexists and masculinists driven comments primarily targeted at women.
In South Africa, President Jacob Zuman has endured a turbulent presidency because of his sexists comment against women, and persistent accusation that he taped a woman named Kwezi before he became president. In Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has become famous for his diatribe and caricature of women and the list goes.
The mainline religious in Africa have not fared better either, the religions of Christianity and Islam still caries its fair share of stigma against women. The same can be found among the traditional religion. Islam takes the lead as one of the leading denigrators of women. Women are are restricted with most repressive laws and are often object of stigma. Most Africa Islamic countries are run by sharia Law which has often targeted women unleashing the often severe restriction on them. For instance in northern Nigeria where sharia Law is in operation, women have far fewer rights than women I'm other places.
There is restriction with regard to dress, social and religious events and even role in the family. The practice of polygamy in Islam also leaves women in a precarious situation. Many a times they ate Left to fend for themselves and their children. For instance in Nigeria, one can already see the consequences in the number of almagiris-street kids littering Nigeria cities often with the men failing to take responsibility of bread winners. Some Islamic sects in Nigeria still practice the seclusion of women and the purdah is a tribute to this. The purdah has become one of the major pillars of male patriarchy and comes in form of complete seclusion.
Again while Muslim male are not required to state the reason for seeking a divorce, women are required to do so.
Recently, some Muslim clerics and even leaders have encouraged and even indulged in the kidnap and forceful conversion to Islam and marriage of underage girls both from Christian and Muslim backgrounds, citing Islamic laws to justify their action. There is even an allegation that the Emir of Kano and format CBN governor Muhammend Sanusi sanctified and scaled the marriage.
There are also numerous cases of discrimination of women in places of worship. When Christianity came it was not Kong before the gospel took root but while the gospel gradually dominated the people way of life and became incarnate, remnant of discriminative attitude found I'm the pre-christian African traditional milieu has been transported into Christianity. Today, theologians talk about inculturation, but for some, inculturation means the transportation or rebranding of culture.
For instance one hardly gets a woman becoming the chairman of the parish council or a catechist in the church. In one parish where young priests appointed female catechist, it was strongly opposed by the faithful including women. There was also controversy when young girls were allowed to serve at the mass. Some priests have joined the patriarchal agitators or even openly discriminated against women as one of the evidences of their commitment to celibacy, while some are reluctant to come to the defense of women to avoid been accused of ulterior motives. In the some churches, professed sisters are permitted to perform the function of extraordinary ministers of the Holy communion, yet many men and even some women will never receive communion from them. one marvels at the long queue waiting for the priests while that of the professed sisters fizzles at the edge of few communicants. Those who opposed women distributing communion cities cultural reasons. Where Paul restrained the role of women as justification that women should not play leadership role in the church.
The African social system also allows discrimination against women. For instance, widows are required to embark on long period of mourning often wearing outrageous clothes while the widower is exempted from such tradition. It is obtainable in some African tradition that widows are subjected to some horrendous and dangerous ritual to prove their innocence in the death of the husband.
In many African tribes, women are not allowed to inherent property from their parents. For instance, this law was only recently invalidated by the Nigeria supreme
In economic crisis like the one presently rocking Nigeria, women are made sex slave since majority of them do not have sustainable and good paying jobs.
The sales-girl phenomenon is rampant in a country where young girls double as sales girls and sex slaves to their bosses and powerful men in their workplaces. Across high school and universities young girls fall prey to predatory teachers and lecturers who solicit for sex in exam and continuous assessments. Often these girls are a shamed to speak out and defend themselves because of the stigma that accompany them or because the law do not always boldly defend them. It is hard to find any teacher or lecturer who has been successfully prosecuted for abusing young girls.
Secondly, the educational institutions do tackle these problems and sometimes those involved are too powerful to face the consequences of their crime. Recently, the internet community in Africa has reenacted the chauvinistic attitude of traditional Africa on various pages. On face book, whatsaap and Instagram, one can see untold harm done to womanhood.
Threat to release sex takes are being used to blackmail women into more sex, while such threat is suffered by men in rare occasion. Recently, the "Cucumber chidimma" saga which involved sex tap of the winner of miss Anambra 2015 has flooded the internet and is becoming an object of caricature by sexist and masculinists. Yet few have paused to evaluate the probity of the men who lured the girls into such behavior and their rationale of making the video public and so the list goes.
In my next vol.(3) I will like us to look into the "African women and chauvinism on a crossroad, a dire consequence"
Please stay tune, up-vote, resteem, comments, follow and argue out your point if necessary.
Thanks.