NAPTIP Discovers Centres for Pornographic Performance in Sokoto

                                       

Sokoto — The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Offences (NAPTIP), Sokoto zonal office, has discovered two centres in the capital metropolis that harbour under-aged girls for pornographic performance and prostitution.

One of the centres popularly known as Gidan Professional or Tsohon Gidan wasa which is located outside the Giginya Memorial Stadium, was said to be jointly owned by staff of the Ministry of Youth and Sport and Rima Television, a state owned television station.

The other one, Gidan Murtala Alasco, is located at the Kangiwa Square, beside the stadium.

Zonal Commander of the agency, Barrister Hassan Tahir, told our reporter that the girls were brought from various states and the neighbouring countries like Niger and Benin.

"Our investigation revealed that some of them were even brought from Niger Republic and Benin by the organizers to participate in these nocturnal activities which take place almost every day between 9pm and 12am. This, no doubt is another form of Trafficking in Persons which is contrary to NAPTIP Act 2015," he said.

When our reporter visited one of the centres, he observed that the girls were made to dance seductively in the full glare of the audience, including armed policemen who hailed and sprayed money on them.

One of the visiting girls said she had been coming to the centre for long along with her friends. When asked how she got home after closing at midnight, she replied by asking our reporter, "Can you help drop me, are you with a motorcycle or car?

After the pornographic performance, Tahir said the under-aged girls were subjected to and procured for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation, and that his office had written to relevant state government ministries and agencies to no avail.

When contacted, the SSG, Professor Bashir Garba said the agency had only notified them about the development but that it was the Ministry for Youth, Sport and Culture that would act on it. However, our reporter could not get the Commissioner, Alhaji Musa Ausa Gidan Madi, for comment at the time of filing this report.

Source: AllAfrica

Why Is It So Hard for Young Women in Uganda to Carry a Condom?

                                          

When Esther Namanya (20), a student at Mbarara University of Science and Technology, went to a supermarket to buy a condom she could not find the type she wanted. She had to enquire at the counter if they had the type of condom she was looking for. Overhearing her enquiry, some people in the supermarket started laughing at her in amusement.

But why shouldn't a young woman buy and carry condoms in her bag? Our culture has done us an injustice.

Traditionally women in some African communities have been brought up not to show a man that they are in control.

"This is overrated," says Esther. "Condom use is a sign of responsibility and I believe that if a girl carries a condom, it means she values her life more than anything."

Then why is it so hard?

UNAIDS data indicates that 570 young women aged between 15 and 24 years are infected with HIV every week in Uganda. This could be due in part to the fact that young women have little or no say over using condoms.

According to Ugandan culture, it is against the principles of a moral girl to buy and carry a condom in her bag. She would be called a 'bitch', a 'whore' and 'uncultured'. The community calls it an abomination. It has the same views on women getting pregnant before marriage.

Some young women at the university are at high risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections because they are involved in transactional sex, and having sex for money or gifts reduces their bargaining power for safer sex. But these young women are educated and should be empowered to make an informed choice, thus being able to negotiate for safer sex.

However there still seems to be widespread ignorance and lack of confidence among many girls when it comes to safer sex. Speaking to rural girls and urban girls, surprisingly there seems to be no difference between them as far as negotiation for safer sex is concerned.

Some are shy, while some are materialistic. Instead of bargaining for safer sex, some girls worry that if they upset a man, he won't give her presents or freebies.

Sex education is vital

Young women need education to learn how to negotiate for safer sex, but parents have failed to talk about sex with their teenage children. They have handed over their responsibilities to TV and the internet.

Many young people in Uganda fear pregnancy more than acquiring HIV. They think that because antiretroviral treatment is available for HIV, no one can tell that you are sick. But pregnancy shows and that is the concern for many young women in Uganda.

I believe taking charge of your life is crucial and all this can be prevented if condoms are used consistently.

Christine Namutebi, a peer educator with the Link Up project in Uganda, says she has been teaching fellow young women how to negotiate for safer sex by providing them with condoms. Christine has been empowered to talk about condoms and has the confidence to negotiate for their use during sex. This is the kind of empowerment that young women need in Uganda today.

Empowering young women

Although the high HIV prevalence rate among young people can be attributed to increased poverty levels in the country, a lack of negotiation skills for safer sex is a contributing factor that should not be overlooked.

Last year, Uganda's ethics minister Simon Lokodo said it was promiscuous to put condoms in hotels and public places, arguing it will prompt people to sin. He seems to forget that people will sin anyway, so why not provide them with means of protecting themselves?

To stop 570 more girls getting infected every week in Uganda, young women must be empowered to negotiate safer sex. For this to happen, there are some creative strategies that can be taken. These include:

Parents talking about sex with their teenage girls and boys.

Involving young men and letting them know of their responsibilities to themselves and their girlfriends.

Making it a policy to provide sex education in schools and talk about sex in the community with young people. This calls for more government funding on youth empowerment initiatives, especially on HIV.

Source: AllAfrica

Liberia's President Ellen Sirleaf, Becomes First Female Ecowas Chair

                                  

The President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has been elected as the new Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

She was elected at the 49th ECOWAS heads of state meeting which opened in Dakar, Senagal on Saturday.

She replaces Senegalese President, Macky Sall whose tenure ends after he took over from Ghana's President John Mahama in 2015.

Her tenure will run for 12 months.

President Sirleaf pledged to work towards achieving the objectives of the regional community's vision 2020 after her announcement.

Source: Allafrica