Many women never speak out because of shame, fear and a feeling that they are somehow responsible for their victimisation.
There are resources and help for every woman, no matter what the situation. It’s just a matter of taking the first step.
Violence against women is a worldwide problem that affects women of all ages, ethnicities, races, nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds.
Various social, economic, political and religious forces impact women’s human rights in different ways.
Women may experience such human rights violations as forced and early marriages, female genital mutilation, horror killings, dowry-related violence, rape as a weapon of war, female infanticide and enforced sterilisation.
Some forms of violence may be in response to governmental policies or laws, such as the one-child only policy in China, which has led to an increase in female infanticide.
Social traditions and religious beliefs play a role in female genital mutilation and honour killings.
The effects of forced and early marriages include reproductive health costs, a greater risk of domestic violence, and limited educational and employment opportunities.
In cultures that perceive women’s purity as embodying a community’s honour, rape has been increasingly used as a warfare tactic in conflict areas.
There is great need to strengthen women’s participation in economic, social and political life in Solomon Islands.
This will help in improving the status of women in society which will in turn assist in changing community attitudes to violence against women and enabling women to response to situations of violence.
In our country today there has been a force in ensuring that violence against women must stop.
Civil society, in particular women’s organisations and faith based organisations are the very active players in our country in raising awareness and contributing to prevention against violence issues.
There have been a number of groups who have also worked tirelessly to prevent violence against women and change community attitudes towards violence against women.
Voice Blo Mere Solomons, Solomon Islands Christian Association, Federation of Women, Save the Children and Caritas Trauma Support Workers who put a lot of support in ensuring women are treated with dignity and respect.
The work of civil society in rural areas needs strengthening to address violence against women in the rural communities who have faced a lot of problems due to their isolation to be reached with awareness programs in educating them about their roles and importance in society and their rights to be as any other in any decision making and leadership roles of which ultimate respect be given to them despite their gender.
There is need for our country to look into issues of women especially focusing on gender based violence to improve gender equality, women in leadership, economic empowerment of women, and gender equity.
It is very important for everyone to be educated about all forms of violence against women. In this issue, we will focus on forced and child marriage.
What is forced and child marriage?
Forced marriages differ from arranged marriages. In forced marriages, one or both of the partners cannot give free or valid consent to the marriage (Gele an Boe olketa fosim tufala for marit,samtin onefala or tufala everiwan nating likem nomoa).
Forced marriages involve varying degrees of force, coercion or deception, ranging from emotional pressure by family or community members to abduction and imprisonment.
Emotional pressure from a victim’s family includes repeatedly telling the victim that the family’s social standing and reputation are at stake, as well as isolating the victim or refusing to speak to her.
In more severe cases, the victim can be subject to physical or sexual abuse, including rape.
In arranged marriages, the parents and families play a leading role in arranging the marriage, but the individual getting married can nonetheless choose whether to marry or not.
Many regard arrange marriage as a well-established cultural tradition that flourishes in many communities in our country Solomon Islands, so a clear distinction should be drawn between forced and arranged marriages.
However, in some cases the difference between forced marriages and an arranged marriage may be purely semantic.
Forced and child marriages have severe psychological, emotional, medical, financial and legal consequences.
Victims tend to be isolated from their peers and friends. They rarely have access to social services that could assist them.
Early marriages often interrupt a victim’s education. This deprives them of their rights to education, as well as limits any possibility of economic independence from their spouse, making it more difficult to escape from an unwanted marriage.
Forced and child marriages are also more likely to become violent because the relationship is based on the power of one spouse over the other.
Rape occurs frequently in forced marriages and has severe consequences, especially for young brides.
Young married women are more susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s), including HIV/AIDS.
In general, younger women enter into marriages with partners who are significantly older and more sexually experienced.
A lack of education history and a limited amount of power in their marriages makes these younger women more susceptible to STDs.
For example, although more than 90% of girls in Amhara had their first sexual encounter within marriage; it has one of the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Complication at child birth is common among young mothers. They can result in severe disabilities, such as obstetric fistula-a tearing of the vagina which can leave women incontinent and isolated from society.
This could lead to maternal mortality rates (MMR) significantly higher among younger women.
Horror killings may also be a consequence in cases where a forced marriage is refused.
Therefore, it is very important for good citizens of this country to take heed of these very important information to help stop violence against women.
IN your Issue No. 4312 of Monday 9th Aug 2010, my learned colleague Andrew Radclyffe wrote an interesting piece ("From bullets to ballots") on the election of Jimmy Lusibaea.
It is quite understandable that some people in the community would be apprehensive about the elevation of the man once known as “Rasta and notorious” for all the bad things during the ethnic tension.
Maybe because our country adopted the Westminster system of democracy, some people's perception of a good, fit and proper person to be an MP is someone who fits the Anglocentric mould.
Be that as it may, indigenous Solomon Islanders are people with centuries of experience in their own customs and traditions.
Through those customs and traditions, our people have acquired wisdom and developed knowledge to deal with different issues in life. We have our own perceptions on leaders and leadership.
Sometimes our indigenous perceptions may not be the same as or bode well with the Western Judeo-Christian Anglocentric ones. But democracy allows our people to hold and express such perceptions.
In the context of Malaita, traditionally leadership is not about the person who speaks the finest words.
Rather, it is the person's actions that convince the people of his leadership credentials.
Mr Radclyffe put it very well when he wrote "love him or loathe him, hero or villain, the voters have spoken and he should be given a chance."
Absolutely. The people of North Malaita have spoken unanimously by giving Lusibaea a landslide victory.
The people of North Malaita have not only given him an impressive victory, they have also given him a mandate.
Compared to his rivals, Lusibaea was not the most qualified, experienced and accomplished individual.
He was not even the most religious or saintly person around. He never claimed to be perfect.
If anyone therefore ever wonders why Lusibaea has enjoyed such a support, there is a simple explanation.
He was one of those people who risked his own life to lead a group of Malaitans to fight for and defend their wantoks during the period of the tension.
Maybe to some people, the ethnic tension was no big deal. But for those who supported Lusibaea, their experiences at the time and what Lusibaea's men did must have left a lasting impression on their minds.
In Malaita custom, when you do something good for your neighbour such as rescuing him in his time of distress, he will be obliged to repay you later whether you like it or not.
Obviously when Lusibaea decided to stand for Parliament, his people decided it was pay back time.
To some, Lusibaea was a militant and criminal. But to his own people, especially those who suffered at the hands of other Solomon Islanders, Lusibaea was their liberator and hero.
No one should be surprised after all. That is the reality in the world we live in. One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist.
Yasser Arafat was known as the liberator and leader of the Palestinians. But to some people, he was considered a terrorist and criminal.
Menachem Begin was considered a terrorist. But later he was elected Prime Minister of Israel.
Even Nelson Mandela was once considered a terrorist for advocating the use of violence in their anti-apartheid struggle. Years later he was elected President of his country.
Maybe to some people, a leader ought to be someone with a squeaky clean image and an unblemished record. But that is not reality.
All over the world, throughout history, there have been people with questionable and undesirable pasts who have risen to be leaders of their people and country.
Even in the Bible we read about leaders whose track records pale that of Lusibaea. King David was known as "the man after God's own heart."
Yet King David killed a lot of people, looted and destroyed their homes too. He even had an 02, 03 and some.
By the way, President George W Bush was the President of the USA who led his country to invade Iraq based on lies. He helped to destroy a nation, society and civilisation.
He went to Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction. In the end he himself used similar weapons to maim and slaughter countless Iraqi citizens.
Yet for all his abuses, President Bush was and is still accorded respect in the Western world. In fact he is now enjoying a quiet retirement somewhere in Texas.
Lusibaea may never be Mandela and so what? He only needs to be himself. There is only ever going to be one Mandela, Napolean, Arafat, Begin, Fidel Castro, King David and so on and so forth.
Lusibaea, like everyone else, has a past. Some have decided to judge him by his past and now question whether he should even be an MP in the Parliament of Solomon Islands.
An old Indian proverb says "don’t judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccassins."
No one knows what the future holds. For someone like Lusibaea to contest and win a seat in Parliament shows the incredible courage of the man.
Courage may be something he is not short of. But in the next four years, he will certainly need a bit more to manouvre his way through the corridors of power.
It might come as a surprise to some people but Lusibaea does possess a simple faith. He does know what is needed to accomplish the office that lay ahead of him.
No wonder his first act upon being elected was to gather his people at Malu'u for a prayer and commissioning.
By the Grace of God, with wisdom from above and the prayers and support of his people Hon Jimmy Lusibaea should be able to serve his people, the Queen and our country.
If anyone should ever wonder whether Hon Jimmy Lusibaea deserves to be an MP, well, the people of North Malaita have emphatically spoken! Normal 0
By DANIEL NAMOSUAIA
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