NO To Gender Based Violence.

Women have little say-and even the little that we have is with authority from the other gender.

Girls have no say from childhood,and this develops through to adulthood.Even then it becomes worse.

A few weeks ago a woman was thorughly beaten by her husband here in Migori.He then took a small axe and split part of her head with it,leaving her bleeding.The woman immediately went to the Police station.It was after midnight.She was attended to in passing and was always made to wait.She did so the whole night and the next day.She ended up not recording her case.Reason? The police already did not see a crime or anything out of the normal in this.

One night i responded to the wailing of a young girl,in her teens,in the middle of the night.I came out of my house to see what was happening.She told me that she was afraid her mother might be dead from the beating given by her father.I decided to acompany her to the police station that was about 10 minutes walk."Fortunately" a few minutes ahead,we met three policemen on their way to a night patrol.We requested for help and the girl,traumatised and in tears,narrated what had happened to the policemen.One officer laughed it off and told the girl that her father was just giving her mother a bit of normal excercise.

When we got there the man was still beating the wife.The police ordered him to open the door.To my surprise,they salted him since they realized he was a fellow police officer,and more senior in rank.He,of course with the power of his official rank,commanded them to leave as all this was his personal business.They left and continued with their patrol!

Police officers never take these cases seriously.Most of them are supporters of this offence and they see no crime in it.

I will also talk about the issue of polygamy.This is a sensitive issue with men,and is a "tradition" that must stay.This tradition is used to directly abuse women in my community,when women look at at from that perspective they are termed jealous.

Polygamy is used as a tool to keep a woman in place."If you do not do this i will marry another woman".Is this a tradition or an abuse? Women are psychologically abused by this act.Men marry more wives when they don't even have resources to take care of the first family.He still wants to be the boss in all of these houses as the women strive to eke out a living.Sometimes they are treated with bias depending on underlying factors.

I respect the rule of divorce,and remarriage-but when this is silently done under one roof it can be traumatizing for the women,and their children.

The world leaders should look into any traditions that are abusive.Polygamy is one such of them and is really guarded because it is practised by men of all calibres.

We are tired of these forms of abuse,and want a free world of equality.We need a world where consultation and consensus is major,as opposed to that of dictatorship and abuse.