INTRODUCTION
Gender discrimination and violence
against women are global phenomena as old as human history. Women's rights are
the freedom and entitlement of women of human rights without discrimination or
violation. Women's rights are rights inherent in nature and guaranteed by law.
Therefore gender discrimination and violence against women are contrary to
fundamental human rights, equity, natural justice and good governance.
Reconstructing women's rights, gender discrimination and violence through
library and information services delivery is aimed at making information
available to all this topical issue. In human rights issues availability and
access to information on the nature of women's rights and dimensions of gender
discrimination and violence can never be more appropriate than now.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (in short as VAW) is a technical term used to
collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed
against women. Similar to a hate crime, which it is sometimes considered, this
type of violence targets a specific group with the victim's gender as a primary
motive. This type of violence is gender-based, meaning that acts of violence
are committed against women expressly because they are women.
Violence against women can be explained by the broad
categories. These include violence carried out by ‘individuals’ as well as
‘states.’ Some of the violence perpetrated by individuals are rape; domestic
violence; harmful customary or traditional practices such as diagnosis
planning, honor killings, dowry violence, female genital mutilation, forced
marriages, sexual harassment; coercive use of contraceptives, female
infanticide; prenatal sex selection; obstetric violence and mob violence. Some
are perpetrated by state such as war rape; sexual violence and slavery during
conflict; trafficking in women; forced prostitution; forced sterilization;
forced abortion; violence by the police and authoritative personnel; stoning and
flogging.
The World Health Organization (WHO), in its research
on violence against women, suggested that there is a chance that women can
encounter violence and its devastating effects throughout their life cycle.
They categorized phases of life cycle into five stages: “1) pre-birth, 2)
infancy, 3) girlhood, 4) adolescence and adulthood and 5) elderly” and
illustrated the types of violence that women in each phrase might face. The
summary table of these categories are provided below
DEFINITIVE
APPROACH
The term "Women's Rights"
refers to freedom and entitlements of women and girls of all ages. These
liberties are grouped together and differentiated from broader notions of human
rights,(Hosken,1981; Wikipedia, 2010) Article 1 of CEDAW defines discrimination
against women as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis
of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the
recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital
status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and
fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other
field.” Violence on the other hand is defined as the intentional use of
physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person,
or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood
of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal development or
deprivation (WHO, 2002).The above definitions denote that women are entitled to
freedom of rights, freedom from violence and entitlements pertaining to human
beings without discrimination or deprivation.
HISTORY
Women's rights, gender
discrimination, and violence are issues as old as humankind, and are part of
many religious and cultural traditions. The Bible describes how God made the
woman out of the man (Gen 2:22) and charged her to always be submissive to the
husband (Eph.5:22-24). Hindu scriptures describe a good wife as "a woman
whose mind, speech, and body are kept in subjection, acquires high renown in
this world, and, in the next, the same abode with her husband." In ancient
Athens, women were always minors and subject to a male, such as their father,
brother, or some other male kin. A woman's consent in marriage was not generally
thought to be necessary and women were obliged to submit to the wishes of her
parents or husband. Islamic women suffered subjection until Muhammad’s early
reforms under Islam, including an improved legal status for women in Islam. For
example "The dowry, previously regarded as a bride-price paid to the
father, became a nuptial gift retained by the wife as part of her personal
property" (Wikipedia, 2010).
In the Middle Ages according to
English Common Law, all property which a wife held at the time of marriage
became a possession of her husband. Eventually English courts forbid a
husband's transferring property without the consent of his wife, but he still
retained the right to manage it and to receive the money which it produced.
(Badawi, 1971) This continued during the 19th century when women began to
agitate for the right to vote (suffrage) and participate in government and law
making. In the subsequent decades women's rights again became an important
issue and by the 1960s the movement was called "feminism" or
"women's liberation." Reformers wanted the same pay as men, equal
rights in law, and the freedom to plan their families or not have children at
all. (Wikipedia, 2010)
FORMS OF
GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE
Gender imbalance permeates every
facet of Nigerian society and comes in several forms. Onyeukwu (2004) outlined
some of the gender discriminatory practices and violence against women
and female children. Violence against women is the most acute form of
gender inequality in Nigeria. A great majority of the violence against
women can be described as Harmful Traditional Practices against Women
(HTPs). Some of the common Harmful Traditional Practices against Women in our
communities include female genital mutilation, child marriage, ritualistic widowhood
practices, nutritional taboos, cult prostitution, domestic violence, and sexual
freedom for husbands. Other discriminatory practices include traditional
land tenure systems and patterns of inheritance, lack of access to credit,
family preference for sons, lack of participation in public decision-making,
discrimination in housing and employment, discriminatory legislation, and
discriminatory religious practices, as well as rape, battery, trafficking in
women, murder, kidnapping, and induced prostitution.
INTERNATIONAL
AND REGIONAL LAWS
The pursuit of equal rights for
women through international law has been a slow process. The principle that
everyone is entitled to rights "without distinction of any kind, such as
race, colour, sex..." was given voice in Article 2 of the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. However, the Declaration was non-binding and it
took campaigners over 30 years to cajole the international community into
concrete legal action against gender injustice. This commitment came in the
shape of the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979. CEDAW has been
described as a bill of rights for women; it spells out the areas in which women
experience discrimination and commits countries to amend their laws, construct
national gender policies and create institutions to deliver them. Although
CEDAW has been ratified by almost all countries, ineffective enforcement of
national legislation has further restrained the pace of reform, e.g., the
failure of the US to ratify the treaty (Shah, 2010; Wikipedia 2010).
POSITION
UNDER NIGERIAN LAWS
Nigerian law on testate
inheritance/succession includes the Wills Act and its Amendments (1837, 1852);
The Wills Law Western Nigeria (1987). Succession Law Edict, 1987 of old Anambra
State as amended and applicable to Enugu and Ebonyi States. The Wills Act of
1837 does not place any disability on widows with regards to their right to
inherit property under testamentary disposition. These laws/statutes do not
extend to widows who contracted customary law marriages (Nwankwo,2004). The
need for special protection of women and children under the law rests on the
rational belief that all human are entitled to equal consideration and respect.
Law has a major role in effecting social change and should be seen as a
catalyst in development of our citizenry especially women and children. Laws
designed to protect women and girl-child are not far-reaching enough, for
example women married under the statute and their children have better
protection than women married under customary law and their children.
Nigeria ratified the Convention for the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1985 (UNND). However, according to Section
12 of the Nigerian Constitution, international treaties can only be enforced
once a corresponding domestic law has been enacted by Parliament (Nigeria 1999,
Subsection 12 (1)). Such domestic legislation was drafted in 2005 (UN 8 July
2008, Para. 314), but, as of February 2010, has not been passed into law
(ibid.; This Day 4 Feb. 2010; AI 2010, 248).
In addition, a bill addressing violence against women
has been pending before the Nigerian Parliament since 2003 (UN 8 July 2008,
Para. 326; Open Democracy 26 Nov. 2007).
In a report submitted to the United Nations (UN) Human
Rights Council, the government of Nigeria stated that it was unnecessary to
have a law that specifically addresses violence against women since “[a]ssault
and battery have been made subject of both civil and criminal laws, with the
criminal aspects attracting very stiff and severe penalties” (Nigeria 5 Jan.
2009, Para. 79). According to Section 360 of the Nigerian Criminal Code:
[Any person who unlawfully and indecently assaults a
woman or girl is guilty of a misdemeanor, and is liable to imprisonment for two
years (Nigeria 1990, Sec. 360)
The unlawful and indecent assault of a “male person”
is a felony and is punishable by three years in prison, according to Section
353 of the Criminal Code (ibid., Sec. 353).
In addition, Section 55 of the Penal Code, which
governs Nigeria’s northern states, allows husbands to “correct” their wives
using physical punishment, so long as the woman is not seriously harmed (Tribune 4
June 2010; UN 8 July 2008, Para. 316; Bazza 2009, 185). According to the Bazza
article, Paragraph 55 (1)(d) of the Penal Code states:
According
to the national survey, of women who sought help to address domestic violence,
65 percent turned to their family for assistance (Nigeria Nov. 2008, 284). A
further 31 percent looked to their in-laws for help; and 17 percent went to a
friend or neighbor (ibid.). Less than 1 percent went to a social service
agency, 2 percent went to the police and 3 percent sought help from a religious
leader (ibid.).
Until recently, there was no statute
law against FGM. There is now in existence the Edo State Female Circumcision
and Genital Mutilation (Prohibitation) Law No. 4 of 1999, Cross River State
Girl-Child Marriage and Female Circumcision (Prohibition) Law 2000; Delta and
River States have also passed laws to ban FGM and make it a crime.
CONCLUSION
Women's rights as human rights
are indeed fundamental to societal growth and well-being. Gender inequality,
discrimination, and violence are anathema to human existence, healthy
relationships, and development. Ignorance contributes to gender discrimination
and violation of rights. Availability of information can help alleviate these
problems. Libraries as agents of information delivery can improve and expand
their services in these areas. This no doubt will make our libraries even more
relevant and proactive in the Internet age.
REFERENCES
Amnesty International (AI). 2010. “Nigeria.” Amnesty
International Report 2010. <http://thereport.amnesty.org>
Angya, Charity A. 9 September 2008. “Shelters and
Faith Based Organizations in Nigeria: Mitigating the Effects of Violence
Against Women.”
<http://www.womensshelter.ca/presentations/121/Angya__History_of_
Shelters_in_Nigeria
Daily Independent [Lagos]. 21 April 2010. Stella Odueme. “Nigeria:
Legislating Against Domestic Violence.” (AllAfrica)
<http://allafrica.com/stories/201004220696.html>