Incest: The Ugly Face of a Rising Evil Practice

A 24 year old suing her father. This is a very rare phenomenon in Cameroon which has a culture which makes it taboo for the dirty linens of the family to be washed public. Even more rare is when it is a young girl suing her father and for an atrocious practice which though seen as such by a majority of people in this part of the world is growing in intensity because of inaction on the part of society, guilt and shame on the part of the victims and, desire by most stakeholders not to tarnish the family’s image.
But Elsa II Jacqueline Nyatè, a 24 year old who has been victim of a victim of incest for more than 10 years now took the bold step and sued her father for rape, sexual violence, and incest. Her father, a man whose appetite for his children seems to be unquenchable now sleeps in the same room with Vanessa’s 15 year old kid sister whom Vanessa is more than convinced is Being subjected to rape and repeated assaults by their divorced father. It is conscious of the effects her 10 years ordeal now has on her and what these effects could be on her kid sister that Vanessa has decided to speak out on this rising evil.
The Cambridge Advanced Learners dictionary describes incest as: a sexual activity involving people who are closely related and not to legally permitted to marry. In Cameroon, just as is the case with most societies in our world, incest is a forbidden practice and feelings of guilt, shame, unworthiness, and other post traumatic disorders abound among rape and incest victims.
A study recently carried out by an NGO, Réseau National des Tantines (RENATA), indicates about 10% of unmarried mothers had their pregnancy or an incestuous relationship. Shocking as these figures may be, they are very insignificant compared to the reality as the number of undocumented cases and silent victims far out-number those who are speaking out. More shocking to me is not the incestuous act itself but the violence the victims, who are often daughters, sisters, cousins, and nieces of the perpetrators of acts of incest has to go through-they are molested, beaten, and subjected to all sorts of harsh conditions which will contribute in keeping secret the incestuous relationship
But things are fast changing and need to change even further because despite the taboo surrounding the making public by victims of this demeaning and senseless act, rarely does a day go-by in Cameroon without people in one of its major towns being informed of a victim of incest coming out to denounce the incestuous family member. That the rate at which victims of incest are speaking out is rising is good news. But I am convinced that, though, a necessary step this alone is sufficient. The fact that mothers most victims of incest whom I have known keep a blind eye or helplessly watch their husbands ruining their child’s future pains me so much, the delay in the rendering judgment in cases of incest makes me wonder why the judicial system should exist if it has to cover up perpetrators of hideous acts.
Elsa has knowingly or unknowingly through this heroic act in my opinion become the symbol of the rising rebellion against this rising evil practice-incest-which has long lasting physical and psychological effects on the victims. But we all as a society have to act by denouncing perpetrators of this evil practice and demanding justice for their victims. It’s our duty to spare the children in and around us of this abuse. Together, and only together can we overcome incest in our society.

The Stigma of Childlessness

Rarely in Cameroon does a week go by without one hearing of an attempted child theft or of the disappearance of a child. The most popular of this is the Vanessa Tchatchou affair((Read my blog post on this affair at:www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/Gastonkwa/2012/312/vanessa-Her-Stolen-Baby-and-the-plight-of-women).The theft of Vanessa’s baby is not an isolated case in Cameroon, in the past 2 months the local media has reported  more than 2 cases of child theft(http://www.cameroon-info.net/stories/0,31995,@,douala-equinoxe-tv-aide-a-retrouver-un-bebe-vole.html, http://news.jetcamer.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=581). This rising rate of acts of child thievery in Cameroon exposes the ugly face of a phenomenon that has eaten deep into the fabrics of the Cameroonian society.

While poverty, greed, impunity, and illiteracy are to blame for these rampant and scandalous acts of child thievery, the stigmatization of women who have not given birth or cannot conceive and bear children carries an even heavier blame as illustrated by the declaration of Thérèse Diane Mouli Nguetti to the press. Caught with a child she had stolen, she declared that,"At 18, I had a child who died three months later. Since that time until when I stole the baby, I was childless. I was told this was the consequence of a bad fate that was thrown on me "(http://www.cameroon-info.net/stories/0,31995,@,douala-equinoxe-tv-aide-a-retrouver-un-bebe-vole.html)

CHILDLESSNESS: MORE THAN A BURDEN;A BONDAGE

Cameroon has the second highest rate of childlessness in the world. Demographic and health surveys carried out in Cameroon between 1994 and 2000  revealed that 7.3% of women  were childless with 22% of this cases identified among women aged 25-49 years(http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/infertility/DHS-CR9.pdf)

Given the importance attached to having children and the fact that, not been able to conceive and bear children in Cameroon is often attached to witchcraft and largely seen as been a punishment from God (or a supernatural force), women   who are suffering from primary or secondary infecundity are subjected to all sorts of treatments and are victims of the worst form of abuses that anyone can possibly imagine.

In fact Demographic and Health surveys carried out in Cameroon (1994-2000) revealed that 38 Percent of women were divorced or separated because they were childless, primarily sterile, or secondarily sterile. These surveys also revealed that 69 percent of women in a polygynous first union were childless or primarily sterile. The rate of divorce and marrying of another wife by men for reasons related to their female partners being childless or sterile are only a visible tip of the ice berg as these women are often repudiated by their husbands (most marriages in Cameroon are not legalized so the law on divorce will not apply in cases like these), not allowed to participate in some community activities, and even buried in a disgraceful way-behind the house and with a small stone in one of her palms. As if to wipe off memories of their existence from people’s mind and tell the dead person that since she was not able to procreate, the only way to thank her is to give her that small stone.

WHEN CHILDLESSNESS TURNS INTO HOPELESSNESS

Thus humiliated and abused, these women are willing to do anything to get a child, including stealing one and all means for them  are right to disentangle themselves from the bondage of guilt that society has plunge them into. The means could thus range from adopting a child, as does 53% of childless women in Cameroon (according to the above mentioned Demographic and Health survey), or simulate a pregnancy at the end of which they either pay people to steal a new born baby in one of Cameroon’s poorly equipped and unsafe maternities or do this themselves(as has been the case of 2 of the cases reported by the media recently).

STIGMA IS THE REAL CULPRIT

While Vanessa continue to weep and hope to one day hold her baby in her arms again, everyone in Cameroon seems to be looking for the culprit. While this is the right thing to do, I believe the attention is elsewhere and that if nothing is done more children like Vanessa’s will be stolen and the culprits never brought to book.

The real culprits of this acts of child thievery are not  in my opinion their perpetrators but stigma attached to not being able to conceive and bear children, discrimination,  poverty, illiteracy, the government, and all who watch this happen  without doing anything for this evil practice to be eradicated.

EDUCATION IS KEY TO ERADICATE STIGMA

Should we fold our arms and watch? I strongly believe NO! Indifference to the suffering of others is not to be tolerated in this age. Gone are those days. Today is Vanessa’s turn, who knows whose turn it is next? There is hope and there is a possible way out of child theft. That solution is to be found in the eradication of practices and change of policies that stigmatizes and discriminates against women who can’t conceive and bear children as well as retard development.

In its 2011 Rural Poverty Report, the IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) revealed that despite growing urbanization, 70 % of the world’s poorest people still live in rural areas with a majority of them women. Given the high level of illiteracy in these communities and the predominance of traditional and religious beliefs that  are hostile to childless women, I am convinced that there exist no better way in my opinion to eradicate despicable practices such as those described above and change mentalities than through education. 

Educating and sensitizing rural community dwellers on the ‘true’ causes of in fecundity is not only providing them the tools, strategies, and means to become active citizens through shunning the above mentioned practices, but above all contribute in raising their awareness on how some common causes of infertility could be prevented and that infertility  is no death sentence.

Through education and sensitization, inhabitants of communities where childbearing is considered as the main function of a woman, will come to understand that women are meant to do much more than bear children and this will go a long way to increasing their esteem for the great works and intellectual contributions of women to the progress of humanity.

This article was first published on amplifyyouvoice.org and can be read at: http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/Gastonkwa/2012/4/12/The-Stigma-of-Childlessness

States must not ignore human rights in efforts to end poverty

Today is international Human Rights day. Given that in my last blog I talked of an inclusion of human rights in the MDGs to be inevitable if MDGs are to be achieved,no body better than Amnesty which is  actively advocating for this can really explain what it really mean. I have posted this article from Amnesty International not only to acknowledge their efforts for human dignity to be respected but also to continue my advocacy for this to be done as soon as possible by the powers that be.

Governments risk failing some of the world's most impoverished and vulnerable groups unless human rights are put at the centre of efforts to eradicate poverty, Amnesty International warned on Wednesday.

In a new report looking at how to strengthen the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs], the organization highlights how key targets fall short of existing international human rights standards.                   

The report, From Promises to Delivery, outlines crucial steps governments can take to deliver meaningful progress on the MDGs over the next five years.

"The MDGs promised some of the worlds most impoverished and excluded a fairer future but it is now painfully obvious that unless urgent action is taken governments will fail the most vulnerable communities," said Claudio Cordone, interim Secretary General of Amnesty International.

"The message for world leaders when they come together in September to review progress on the MDGs is clear:  they must act now to put human rights at the centre of efforts to improve the lives of those living in poverty."

The report calls on governments to ensure all MDG initiatives are consistent with human rights; address discrimination experienced by women; set national targets for delivery; fulfill the right of participation and strengthen mechanisms for accountability.

It was launched on Wednesday in New York, where representatives from governments, civil society and the UN are gathering at an Amnesty International and Realizing Rights conference to discuss the importance of human rights in achieving the MDGs. 

Three main issues – gender equality, maternal health and slums – are highlighted in the report to illustrate the gulf between the current MDGs framework and international human rights standards.

On gender equality the report shows how the MDGs fail to ensure that governments address women's human rights across all targets despite it being an essential element in tackling poverty. Where gender equality is listed in the MDGs it is limited to a single target to eliminate disparities in education.

It is estimated that 70 per cent of those living in poverty are women. The report documents how women and girls continue to suffer from gender discrimination, violence and further human rights violations in all societies.

Improving maternal health is an area that has seen far too little progress according to the report. The MDGs fail to take into account a variety of underlying factors that contribute to maternal deaths and injuries.

Human rights issues such as early or forced marriage, violence against women and girls prevents women from making decisions about their own lives.

The MDGs also do not pay sufficient attention to sexual and reproductive rights. From Peru to Sierra Leone, the report illustrates the barriers women in poverty face when trying to access maternal healthcare.

The MDG target to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers is described as "grossly inadequate and weak" given that an estimated 1.4 billion people will live in slums by 2020. The target also falls short of existing obligations on states under international human rights law.

Amnesty International has documented forced evictions of communities living in slums in all regions of the world. The effects of these forced evictions is catastrophic for people who were already living in poverty. The MDGs ignore the crucial obligations of states to prevent and protect people from these violations.

From Burkina Faso to the favelas in Brazil, the report shows how an accountability deficit exists which makes it hard for people living in poverty to access justice. Mechanisms to ensure accountability do not exist or are inaccessible to people living in poverty.

"Human rights are central to making the MDGs effective," said Claudio Cordone. "Governments must be held to account to ensure their efforts to achieve the MDGs are consistent with human rights."

This work is part of Amnesty International's Demand Dignity campaign which aims to end the human rights violations that drive and deepen global poverty. The campaign will mobilise people all over the world to demand that governments, corporations and others who have power listen to the voices of those living in poverty and recognise and protect their rights. For more information visit thewww.amnesty.org