Commentary: Wars, traditions keep African women oppressed

By Heritier Maila | The Institute for War & Peace Reporting

LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo — Simone Maganga still feels deep shame when she recalls how, after her husband died, she was obliged to have sex with his younger brother in order to put the deceased's spirit to rest.

"In order to remove your husband's dead body from your body, you must sleep with his little brother," said Maganga, a member of the Hemba tribe in the southeast of the country. "Otherwise, you are told, you will start to see your husband wherever you go. It is a humiliation that is difficult to forget."

Maganga found the ordeal particularly difficult because her husband's brother is roughly the same age as her own son.

Women's rights groups say that such traditional practices create an environment in the Democratic Republic of Congo in which women are perceived to have little value in society, making them more likely to be targets of sexual or physical abuse.

Others say, however that while tribal customs contribute to the marginalization of women, the years of warfare the country has suffered are leading directly to increases in rape and sexual abuse.

"What we are seeing in the DRC is a new phenomenon directly associated with the conflict," said Lyric Thompson, an international policy analyst at advocacy group Women for Women. "Rape has been widely used as a weapon of war. As soldiers have returned home, violence and abuse against women has moved into domestic life."

Thompson said that this phenomenon is not unique to the DRC, but is characteristic of post-war conflict environments all over the world.

She notes, however, that the DRC is one of the worst places in the world to be a woman right now, since there are almost no systems in place to offer adequate protection.

Some acts against women are prohibited under Congolese law, but still widely practiced in rural villages across the country.

Two specific examples are forced marriages and sexual intercourse with girls under the age of 18.

"Marriages with minors occur almost daily in our villages," said Isabelle Musonda, a student at Lubumbashi's university. "Where is the Congolese state in such cases?"

George Simba, a magistrate, says that national law should be applied throughout the DRC, without discrimination, regardless of whether people live in a village or in a city.

"The biggest challenge for Congolese justice is that civilian and criminal courts do not exist in our villages," he said. "In the village you only have customary tribunals and the judgment is rendered according to customs. It is very difficult for a tribal chief to renounce his tradition."

Simba advocates replacing traditional courts with civilian and criminal ones in order to reduce violence against women.

"In cities, these practices are rare," he said. "Today, it is difficult to marry a 15-year-old girl in Lubumbashi, but in our villages it is still accepted."

Women for Women has set up a series of workshops in the DRC aimed at raising awareness among men of women's value to society.

"There is a custom for men to abandon their wives if they have been raped," said Thompson. "This is because men who are unable to protect their wives from rape feel that they are no longer men, so the women get discarded."

Jean-Claude Tshibangu, a member of the Kasai tribe, says that the global financial crisis means that many young men can no longer afford to marry, since they need to provide a dowry of up to $1,000.

He claims that this has led to an increase in sexual violence against women, because, according to tribal customs, a man who rapes a virgin must then marry her, but does not have to pay a dowry.

A girl who loses her virginity cannot command a dowry, he explains.

Nathalie Mulunda, of the NGO Action pour le Developpement de la Femme, underscores the importance of education in stamping out the abuse and marginalization of women in society.

"Men created these customs and all advantages are on men's side," she said. "Women are discouraged to study from a very early age. Women are told that their place is in the kitchen and that offices are made for men. Denying women an education is another form of abuse. An uneducated woman will not complain about a forced marriage because she doesn't know her rights."

ABOUT THE WRITER

Heritier Maila is a reporter in the Democratic Republic of Congo who writes for The Institute for War & Peace Reporting, a nonprofit organization that trains journalists in areas of conflict. Readers may write to the author at the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, 48 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8LT, U.K.; Web site: www.iwpr.net. For information about IWPR's funding, please go to http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?top(underscore)supporters.html.

This essay is available to McClatchy-Tribune News Service subscribers. McClatchy-Tribune did not subsidize the writing of this column; the opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of McClatchy-Tribune or its editors.

© 2009, The Institute for War & Peace Reporting