Enduring Victim-hood of of Women and Girls
Last year's research by Invisible Children unearthed chilling revelations on how the northern Uganda society rejected integration of formerly abducted women by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) as well as children born of war. In my view that was the epitome of continuous structural victimisation of victims of violence. But wait a minute this doe not only happen in Uganda. It is also happening in Nigeria as indicated by current research.
New
research released this week from
Unicef and peace-building group International Alert reports that women who have
been freed from Boko Haram (also known as JAS) in northeast Nigeria face
rejection once restored to their communities, as are the children they carry as
the result of rape, who others believe carry “bad blood” from their fathers. “When I think
of the baby that will come, it disturbs me a lot because I always ask myself
this question: Will the child also behave like JAS?” one pregnant woman is
reported to have said. A community leader quoted in the report called the
children of Boko Haram fighters “hyenas among dogs.”
The women, now called “annoba” - epidemics, or “Boko Haram wives” - are feared by some to have militarized while enslaved by Boko Haram, as female suicide bombers have been utilized by the group with greater frequency in recent months. The New York Times reports that since 2012, as many as 2,000 women and children have been abducted.
Read the full report at International Alert or a summary at The
New York Times.
Enduring Victim-hood of of Women and Girls
![Enduring Victim-hood of of Women and Girls]()
Reviewed by Ibrahim Magara
on
February 18, 2016
Rating:
It is a pity, I have not heard of instances where such children were well received. In Germany during the second world war scores of women raped, choose to poison themselves to death.
ReplyDeleteBack to my home country in the 2007-2008 post election violence, the media did succeed in tracing a few women who kept the pregnancies. But beyond this life stories getting dynamic response or commitments, all was silent.
In my view the government has a commitment to protect its people. So when the Girls in Gulu, Eldoret or in a Village are taken by rebels. This is an indication of the government having failed in its duty as well as a breach of contract.
When the girls come back home with new family/community members, its not time for the community to curse, blame community misfortune on the new family/community members.
In solidarity help the girls to lobby for medical attention, get compensation from government, be enabled to pursue education or engage in vocational training, have funds and all round social support to cater for this children until they are of adult age.
Beyond this children belonging to the 'other' they are human beings and will remain to be human beings only unless you continue to demonize them, through the fault lines of humanity.
very well said
Deletevery well said
DeleteThese are things that must be dismantled. It is not going to be easy but we must take them on. We cannot have this kind of revictimisation, retraumatitasion, enduring victimhood going on and on. It must be caused to end at some point. That point must be sped to happen just about now.
ReplyDelete