IT’S A NEW DAWN FOR
WOMEN’S RIGHT IN AFRICA
The
prevalence of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) against women and girls
in Nigeria and Africa generally, has long ceased to be nouveau in global
history. The growing concern in Nigeria most especially, is the inability or
unwillingness of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute these
human rights violations, which has led to the heightened perpetuation of such
crimes.
The
inability or unwillingness of the State to act, violates the due diligence principle that the responsibility to
protect women from violence resides in the States themselves. It also means
that the State is not being held accountable for violations committed against
half of its population – women and girls more so where this inhuman treatment
is perpetrated by security agents charged with responsibility of maintaining
law and order in the society.
A
plethora of victims of SGBV if not all, live in psychological pain of non-recompense
for the violations of their fundamental human rights. The knowledge that the
perpetrators still walk the streets as free men further kills victims’ desire
to seek help for themselves. The relevant question is; what more appropriate help can be
offered these victims other than punishing their perpetrators, offering
monetary compensation and rehabilitating the victims? Statistics has
proven that the surest heal for victims of sexual and gender base violence is
the reparation of their perpetrators, knowing that the perpetrator is punished
heals the malaise the crime bears on women and girls.
Despite
this pervading menace, we are content to announce that the 12th of
October, 2017 saw the advocacy for the protection of the fundamental human
rights of women and girls in Africa take a new turn as the Community Court of Justice of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave judgement in favour of Dorothy
Chioma Njemanze, Edu Ene Okoro, Justina Etim and Amarachi Jessyforth in the
case of Dorothy Njemanze & 3 Ors v.
Federal Republic of Nigeria in suit no: ECW/CJ/APP/17/14 .
It was a case of gender based
violence against Dorothy Chioma Njemanze,
Edu Ene Okoro, Justina Etim and Amarachi Jessyforth by agents of the Abuja Environmental
Protection Board (AEPB), the Nigerian Police and the Nigerian Military.
The heightened level of violent,
cruel, inhumane, degrading, discriminatory and unlawful treatment suffered in
the hands of the abovementioned purported law enforcement agents in Abuja by
these women instigated the suit.The
young women were abducted and assaulted verbally, physical and sexually,
threatened and unlawfully detained at different intervals between January 2011
and March 2013 by the aforementioned agents of Nigerian Government simply
because they were seen outside at night on the streets of Abuja. The women were
termed prostitutes while men who were so situate was not harassed. Prior to the
institution of the suit in the court, the 1st plaintiff,Dorothy
Chioma Njemanze, exhausted all avenues reaching out to government instituted
offices, ministries and organizations; in a desperate attempt to obtain justice
for herself and other victims but received no positive support whatsoever.
However, the case was filed since the 17th of September,
2014 on the
intervention of Alliances
for Africa (AFA) being an organisation keen on protection and promotion of
women’s right and support from Institute
for Human Rights and Development in Africa, Nigerian Women Trust Fund and the law firm of S.P.A
Ajibade SAN. All was made possible with funding from Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), an altruistic Organization.
On the 12th
of October, 2017,
after surviving several adjournments, the case was decided. The ECOWAS court sitting in Abuja held
inter alia, that;
- The multiple
violation of fundamental rights of the plaintiffs through arbitrary
arrest, the inhumane and cruel treatment and unlawful detention at
different times by the agents of Nigerian Government, offends the
provisions of the Protocol to the African Charter on Women and Peoples
Rights on the Right of Women in Africa.
- The degrading and
humiliating verbal assault on the plaintiffs; calling them prostitutes
repeatedly without proof; amounts to gender based violence as the men were
not harassed during the said raid at night.
- The 1st, 3rd
and 4th plaintiffs are each entitled to monetary compensation
to the tune of 6,000,000.00 (Six Million Naira only).
Alliances
for Africa is
delighted by this land mark decision that not only promotes gender justice in
Africa but has motivated the African woman to seek redress for the violation of
her human rights; being the first ever pronouncement of a Regional Court of Law
on women’s human rights using the Protocol
to the African Charter on Women and Peoples Rights on the Right of Women in
Africa (MAPUTO PROTOCOL) essentially Articles 2,3,4,5,8 and 25 and Articles 5 &6 of African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).
Let
the Nigeria and other West African States be put on notice hence, that we will
fight every act of violation of the fundamental human rights of women and girls,
we will prosecute and justice is assured. The era of unspoken victimization has
been blown away by the wind of the ECOWAS court judgement of 12th
October and we now ride on the wings of this new era to determine freedom from
sexual and gender based violations in Africa! It is hoped that this decision will generate change in government
policy and practice with regard to the gender-based violence and gender-based
discrimination across
Africa.
Chetachi Louis-Udeh,
Legal Programs Officer(
Gender Justice Project)
Alliances for Africa
Email:chetachi@alliancesforafrica
Twitter:@chetalouis
+234 7039068960.
