Protecting Women’s Rights.

Women are entitled to an equal footing of human rights and to be given protection from all forms of abuse and violence in Political, economic, social and in all spheres of life in the society. In spite of such compulsions which the society has, women are still being abused and their rights are being violated each and every day. Hardly a day passes without news of a tear-jerking story of an abused woman.

 It seems women are not safe and that the mechanisms that are supposed to ensure the provision and protection of their rights have been entirely compromised. Violation of their rights is almost everywhere starting from their own homes to their work places. Sexual harassment in their work places which is sometimes perpetrated by their superiors and as a way of keeping up their jobs, women fall prey to promiscuous rascals.

 Women do not even find solace in their homes as their husbands treat them not as spouses but as sex objects, slaves and many other humiliating treatments you may think of.

The unanswered question is: why are women regarded as people who cannot contribute to the development of their respective communities?  People should not forget that both women and men are all human beings and they both deserve their inalienable rights. Violence against women is a crime and must be treated as such regardless of who has perpetrated it or where it has occurred. Such considerations are very unimportant.

YONECO is one of the organizations that are on the fore front working tirelessly to protect the rights of women. In this task, YONECO works hand in hand with institutions that ensure that laws are upheld and enforced.  In this regard, whenever a woman has been abused, the organisation provides transport to the law enforcers whenever they have no transport to discharge their duties. This is done to make sure that the perpetrators are not just left scot free but that they should face the law and serve as an example to others.

My plea to other organizations and various stakeholders is that they should not just hold workshops, publish books and be in the media and talk about Gender Based Violence,   they should also get involved in doing the actual tasks  of protecting women’s in the community where the violations are taking place.