Africa
Stop use of religion to justify sexual violence against women, groups urge Somalia
January 23, 2023 (NAIROBI) – A group of seven Civil Society and human rights organizations on Monday urged Somali lawmakers to repeal the use of religious beliefs to justify sexual violence against women and girls.
The coalition appeal comes as Somalia MPs are pushing to pass a draft law which is underpinned by religious convictions that would discriminate against women and girls if approved.
“We are deeply appalled by recent indications that many members of the Parliament of Somalia are inclined to pass the Sexual Intercourse Bill over the historic Sexual Offenses Bill (SOB) that was adopted by the Council of Ministers in May 2018” reads a joint statement received by SudanTribune.
“So many members showing a preference for the Sexual Intercourse Bill, we feel it is paramount to mobilize support for the Sexual Offenses Bill before it is too late”
The organizations argued that the Sexual Intercourse Bill is profoundly flawed and violates many women and girls’ inherent human rights by normalizing violence against them and hence has to be repealed.
The Sexual Offenses Bill, on the other hand, they said makes great strides towards protecting Somali women and girls from violence by criminalizing different forms of sexual violence in accordance with internationally accepted standards.
“Consequently, we are joining together to condemn the violence that is oppressing Somali women and girls and to stand in solidarity with those who are courageous enough to try to protect them”
The groups expressed support for the passing of the Sexual Offenses Bill which they stressed provides key protections to Somali women and girls from sexual violence and exploitation.
Key concerns
Women and girls in Somalia are subject to multiple manifestations of gender-based violence (GBV), according to the joint statement.
Among the most predominant forms of violence are the increased and relentless attacks on their bodily autonomy in social, cultural, religious, or political spheres.
This violence usually takes different forms, including gang rape, sexual exploitation, child marriage, forced pregnancies, intimate partner violence and a host of other horrific crimes designed to humiliate women and girls and erode their power over their own bodies.
A recent GBV Advocacy Brief published by UNFPA Somalia revealed that incidences of sexual violence have continued to increase, exacerbated by multiple displacements, flooding, droughts and armed conflicts.
“Despite the higher prevalence, survivors largely remain in legal limbo, mostly due to fragile security in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), weak legal systems, and limited access to formal justice,” the statement said.
“When fighting against such injustices, women parliamentarians’ and other actors’ voices often go unheard and their contributions are sidelined”
“For example, while speaking in favour of the Sexual Offenses Bill, the comments of Hon. Sadia Samatar, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament was misconstrued and weaponized against her to prevent her from continuing to fight for the protection of Somali women and girls, even though her arguments for the safety and dignity of women and girls are fully aligned with Islamic teachings” it added.
Among the key regressive provisions in the Sexual Intercourse Bill is the legalization of child marriages, omission of the age of consent, omission of the offence of sexual exploitation, significant reductions in types of admissible evidence, and changes in the definition of rape.
Other regressive provisions include the removal of provisions setting out responsibilities and obligations of various criminal justice institutions to enforce the law, reductions in privacy rights of the survivors by allowing the introduction of their sexual history to evidence during trial, and reduction of situations where a person’s consent can be violated or invalidated.
“The above substantive changes will not only be a backward step in as far as the advancement of women and girls’ rights in Somalia is concerned but also a detriment to their access to justice. Additionally, there will be a boost in the nation’s surge in child forced marriages”
Recommendations
In their recommendations, the seven concerned rights groups urged for immediate approval of the Sexual Offenses Bill hence it was an outcome of a 5-year consultation process with key stakeholders such as women and human rights organizations, religious and cultural leaders, including individuals affected by sexual violence.
They called an enhance the security sector’s zero-tolerance stance and contribute to the strengthening of government institutional ability to effectively prevent and respond to sexual violence.
One among the recommendations urges Somali authorities to take tangible steps to prevent sexual violence against women and children, including adopting a new national action plan that will put an end to gender-based and sexual violence.
They also urged the state to cease labelling female parliamentarians and rights campaigners as disbelievers when discussing the women’s human rights agenda in Parliament.
They further recommended Somalia learn from the example of Muslim nations such as Djibouti and Indonesia, that have enacted all-inclusive SOBs to combat sexual offences.
Rape toll and other acts of sexual violence are high in Somalia however these rights violations often go unreported and unpunished in the Horn of Africa country.
This is because of a culture of impunity and stigma, according to groups such as Human Rights Watch.
Somalia, wracked by civil war since its central government collapsed in 1991, divided itself into regions and fiefdoms ruled by rival clan leaders and warlords and there’s no strong, common rule of law.
(ST)