Metro

Jail fear prevents women in Mauritania from filing rape complaints

Published

6 years ago

September 12, 2018

Human rights activists are calling for a change to Mauritanian law so that women and girls who have been raped will not be prosecuted for sexual relations outside marriage.

Rape survivors are reluctant to file complaints in the west African country in case they are then charged, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Adultery is known as “zina” and, in theory, is punishable by flogging, jail terms, or death by stoning if the offender is married or divorced. Mauritania does not as a rule carry out corporal punishments, so flogging and death by stoning can transmute into being imprisoned indefinitely.

One case cited by HRW involved a 15-year-old girl who was imprisoned after being repeatedly gang-raped by four men who held her captive for two weeks, because one of the men – whom she knew – said he would marry her.

In another case, a prosecutor was reported as asking a rape survivor: “If you didn’t consent, why didn’t you tell your parents?” When the survivor said she knew the man who raped her, the prosecutor said: “All the things you are saying are lies, you did this willingly.”

Government statistics are not freely available, so it is impossible to know how many people are in jail for zina, but girls as well as adults are thought to have been imprisoned for the “offence”.

“Women and girls should not run the risk of jail or further stigma for reporting sexual abuse,” said HRW’s Sarah Leah Whitson. “To combat sexual violence, Mauritania should require law enforcement and public health systems to stop treating victims as suspects, support them in seeking justice and recovery, and prosecute the perpetrators.”

HRW called for the government to decriminalise and stop prosecuting and detaining people for zina, as well as to pass a law defining rape and criminalising all other forms of sexual violence.

The Mauritanian government responded at length to the report, saying that most incidents of sexual assault and domestic violence were against minors or adolescents. “Perpetrators are often individuals close to the victims or family members who exploit the innocence and immaturity of the above mentioned people to sexually abuse them,” the government statement said.

Life is not easy for many Mauritanian women and girls. The prevalence of female genital mutilation is 67%, some ethnic groups see domestic violence as a sign that a husband loves his wife, and many girls are sent away to “fat camps” in the desert to be force-fed, so that they put on large amounts of weight and fit Mauritanian notions of beauty.

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Metro

Finland-based Nigerians in panic as authorities search for Simon Ekpa’s sponsors

Published

40 minutes ago

November 23, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Some Nigerians based in Finland have been thrown into panic mode following the arrest and detention of the self-styled Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRIGE), Simon Ekpa, who was arrested on Thursday by Finnish authorities on terror-related charges.

Ekpa was arrested alongside four other individuals by Finnish authorities on suspicion of terror-related activities, including incitement to violence and financing terrorism.

The dissident had made himself infamous by using the social media to promote violent activities in southeastern Nigeria, including attacks and murder of civilians and security personnel.

According to some Nigerians in European country, following the arrest of the separatist leader and the four individuals suspected to be sponsors of his group known as IPOB-AutoPilots, the police have begun a manhunt for other sponsors, thus creating panic in the Nigerian community and those who may have had dealings with the agitator.

Several sources who spoke to journalists, said Nigerians in the European country are afraid of commenting on the arrest of Ekpa over fear of being attacked.

A Nigerian community leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said that the Igbo community in the was gravely affected by the violent acts of the secessionist group.

“Everyone is afraid to speak about Ekpa’s arrest. The key people in Finland and the Igbo community at large are not ready to lend their voices either,” he said.

He added that some persons were being accused of reporting Ekpa to the police and were being threatened.

“A particular person they accused now, they’re after him. This happened before he (Ekpa) was even remanded; what will happen when they imprison him? Everyone is afraid. These people are very deadly.”

Another Nigerian who spoke acknowledged that there was serious tension among Nigerians in the country.

“People don’t want to speak about Ekpa for fear of being hunted by his followers. We believe that they will hunt whoever comes out to talk about their leader. But the Finnish Government is trying to get rid of the situation.”

Metro

65% of Nigerian households lack money for healthy food—Survey

Published

23 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that around 65% of Nigerian households, which is about two-thirds of the population, lack the financial means to eat healthy food.

According to the survey by the agency, the decline is a reflection of the multidimensional poverty in the country and the impact of continuous reduction in the purchasing power of Nigerians due to rising prices of goods and services.

And as a result, two-thirds of households in the country lack money to eat healthy, nutritious food, the NBS said.

Titled “Nigeria General Household Survey – Panel (GHS-Panel) Wave 5 (2023/2024),” the survey examined demographics, education, and health trends in Nigeria, comparing data from Wave 4 (2018/19) and Wave 5 (2023/24).

On food insecurity, the survey stated:

“Approximately two out of three households indicated being unable to eat healthy, nutritious or preferred foods because of lack of money in the last 30 days.

“Similarly, 63.8 per cent of households ate only a few kinds of food due to lack of money, 62.4 percent were worried about not having enough food to eat, and 60.5 percent ate less than they thought they should.”

It added that between Waves 4 and 5, the proportion of households that reported being worried about not having enough food to eat because of lack of money increased significantly, from 36.9 percent to 62.4 percent.

On access to energy, the survey revealed said:

“82.2 percent of urban households have electricity, compared to 40.4 per cent in rural areas. Nigerian households face an average of 6.7 power blackouts weekly.

“Cooking typically involves traditional three-stone stoves (65.0 percent), primarily using wood as fuel (70.2 per cent), but with use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rising significantly.

“Many households lack toilet facilities and rely on tube wells or boreholes for drinking water. Waste disposal is mostly informal, with 45.6 percent of households using bushes or streets,” it added.