The issue under seriously considered by Gender System Bureau of Inculcation and Inclusion Directorate of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)
Issue: Gender provocation and attacks
Interviewee: Ato Mersha W/ Gebriel, a team leader in the Gender System Bureau of Addis Ababa City Administration Inculcation and Inclusion Directorate. The Bureau was established in 2019 to protect the rights of women who suffer the malicious gender provocation and attack singularly aimed at them.
Women, keep looking over their shoulders, especially in areas where there are no people. As long as they are alone, they feel they are in a hostile environment of danger zone in which any person may brutally commit attack with an eventual finale of raping them. Even while they are in a busy town center, the pressure of the threat does not abate. Provocation imbued with insults and humiliating remarks and profane language keep ringing in their ears for the rest of their life.
The upsurge of indignation is so appalling that they fail to reconcile themselves with reality of life. The misconduct and the injustice is all they think of day and night. The daughter of the writer of this article is among the victims of the attack (beaten and was almost to be murdered had it not been for the God-sent guardian angel, a passer-by who intervened). Women blame themselves for being created feminine, the cause for their powerlessness in defending their rights and literally as there is nobody to boldly come up for their rescue. In the streets of Addis Ababa, it is a commonplace to see men in the area simply sit back watching while the woman is under cruel attack. In this case, there is no greater suffering for a woman than to feel her human value giving way beneath her feet.
The prevalence rate of gender provocation and attacks, as gathered from Gender System Bureau, is 68% among relatives alone. Being born of the same family is not a guaranty when it comes to the provocation and the attacks. May be it is evil spirit guided act that turns relatives against relatives, stretching far beyond the bounds of reason. The severity of such atrocious and the horrific acts is so high that it includes mutilation of arms and legs and slaying of necks or beheading as it is often published in the criminal columns of newspapers. The current HIV prevalence rate, as related to the attacks, has risen so much that on the International HIV Day, the extent of gender provocation and attack was declared reaching an epidemic level. The situation is mentally and spiritually draining, the reality from which the victims cannot come out safely.
Based on these facts, Herald sought the confirmation of Gender System Bureau as to the validity the information about the issue through question and answer dialogue with Ato Mersha, the reliable source.
Ato Mersha has served in the Gender System Bureau for years and is well conversant with the issue to respond to the questions raised by Herald regarding gender provocation and attacks.
Herald: How do you define gender provocation and attack?
Ato Mersha: To clearly define it, provocation is any angry or violent attack in words such as insults and threatening without any physical action involved. In 1993, the United Nations defined gender attack as any attack done to women and children based on gender. Attack based on gender means physical, sexual and psychological attacks done against the will of the victim.
No sane woman yields to what an unlawful man wishes to do to her. The gender attack can take place by force at homes, at schools, in offices, at recreation places, at massage houses, dance halls and the like. The act indicates threatening, forcing, and improper catching or touching and denying freedom. Gender-based attack is initiated by the unjust gender system relationship found in the society. In general, more than causing social crisis, it hinders the efforts to ensure the equality of gender system and development.
Herald: Ordinary people, as you are well aware of, have limited understanding of the whole concept. So, what are the kinds of gender attacks and their manifestations?
Ato Mersha: Physical assault is forcefully inflicting beating, flogging by using different types of weapons that cause severe injuries to the body. Gender attack means raping, kidnaping, kissing without interest, caressing, using sex-arousing pictures, foreign cultures and a forceful and shameful sexual performance.
Herald: How do you explain psychological attack that the women are believed to suffer from?
Ato Mersha: Psychological attack is the act of threatening and intimidating the victim. In general, it is anything that adversely affects the feelings and the moral of the victimized women.
Herald: How are women and children affected by the attack?
Ato Mersha: Further, indulging in sexual performance with women and children is another aspect of the attack in which by the use of force or by cheating the sexually-immature girls are engaged in sex activity. This will pave the way to commercial sex in the future. Furthermore, it includes moving women and particularly the children from place to place that includes sending them abroad and bringing them back to the country. In this particular situation, the victims are treated like cheap commodities; their human value is reduced to such lowest human status. Everywhere the women turn to they feel they are under constant surveillance and are surrounded by up surged human atrocities.
Herald: Who carries out such heinous attacks or who is responsible?
Ato Mersha: The attacks can be inflicted by anyone: family members, and neighbors, or by a friend, by a spouse, at school, at work place and by those known or unknown to the victims.
The daughter of the writer of this article, for that matter, was once victimized by the brutes; for sure God spared her life by sending an angel incarnate a passer-by.
Herald: Who are the most vulnerable groups of the society?
Ato Mersha: All girls especially who are sexually immature, or very old people, mentally sick, economically dependent women, handicaps or physically challenged people who cannot defend themselves, youngsters and widows.
Herald: What are the problems caused by gender attacks?
Ato Mersha: They are health problems such as fistula, contracting sexually transmitted diseases including HIV, unwanted pregnancy, abortion and being exposed to various problems and so forth.
Herald: What are the social and psychological impacts as result of the attacks?
Ato Mersha: In the long run, the attacks naturally will entail the feelings of shame, regrets, depression, discouragement, hopelessness, self-denial, humiliation or self-hatred, loneliness, lack of confidence and withdrawal from the society.
Herald: What are the related economic problems from which the victim and/ or the country suffer?
Ato Mersha: Since the life of the women who are raped is surrounded by fear and instability, and because of this, to free themselves from such fear and stresses, they withdraw from education, work and recreation. Therefore, if women that comprise half the population of the country, by staying away from education, work and recreation, the economy of the victim and that of the country as a whole will definitely be adversely affected and tremendously crumble.
Herald: What are the prime movers of the gender attacks?
Ato Mersha: Among numerous ones, the prevalent existence of the wrong concept of gender system, improper view, the use of excessive alcohol and the use of addictive substances, antisocial personality disorder; in addition, sex-arousing pornography (films), addiction, the presence of problems related to upbringing, peer pressure, lack of the practice of open discussions in the family, the situation that is escalated by economic dependence are among the major ones.
Herald: What does white ribbon signify as related to anti gender attack?
Ato Mersha: It signifies an international holiday that started in 1999 and since then it has been celebrated for the last twenty-eight years. Thus, the latest anti gender day is celebrated for 28th times internationally and for 14th times in Ethiopia; the motto being, “Let us all assume our responsibilities by protecting women and children from attack.” Our country, to reach the preferred development level and to be set free from the bondage of poverty and success which the citizens can pride themselves on, needs the vital and the indispensable economic role of women.
Neglecting the attack committed on women, who are numerous number it is utterly unthinkable to achieve economic growth and make it sustainable. This proves the naivety of all who are seriously concerned. Thus, by fighting and stopping gender provocations and attacks, we should create a viable situation or circumstance that enables the affected women to make their contribution to the development endeavors underway nationwide.
Herald: Many people do not have deep knowledge about certain issues concerning gender attack. How did the 16 Anti-gender Attacks Day begin?
Ato Mersha: In the campaign to deter the gender attacks perpetrated on women worldwide, during the discussion conducted under the auspices of Center for Women’s Global Leadership, November 25 was designated as International Anti-Gender Attack Day. The participants of the meeting also decided that November 25 to be the beginning of anti-gender attack day and December 10, the International Human Rights day, to be the ending day.
Herald: Just for the sake of the procedures you follow, how do you deal with the case when a woman or a child attacked appeals to your bureau?
Ato Mersha: Well, actually there is nothing we can do here. We thoroughly study the case and forward it to One Stop Services in one of the three hospitals, namely, Trunesh Beiging Hospital, Ghandi Hospital and Menelik Hospital.
Herald: How actively is the law engaged in taking appropriate measures against the perpetrators? This is the part where people are suspicious of the society and the law to which the male criminal belongs favors the male as it is traditionally the same in Africa.
Ato Mersha: For that matter, in One Stop Service in any of the above indicated hospitals, there are police, doctors and case management. Here, they investigate the situation and being to full grip with the allegation, the victims are referred to counseling sector of One Stop Service to identify whether the attack was rape, physical assault or else. Then to bring the victims to normal state of mind, they all provide the necessary rehabilitation support and finally the police forward the case to the court and the attorney acts in the case. This is done to respond to the complaint of the communities that the agency is not serious in handling the case of the attacked individuals.
Herald: Is the effort of the law as strong as it should be to bring the perpetrator to justice?
Ato Mersha: Frankly speaking, it is not as strong as it should be. This is because the exposing power of the community is rather weak and unreliable. For fear of blame and vengeance, no one boldly comes forward to witness. The whole scenario impedes the efforts made by the concerned government body to help justice to be served.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday Edition 15 December 2019
BY JOSEPH SOBOKA
