CHAPTER ONE

GENERA INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of Study

Gender  discrimination  and  violence  against  women  are  global  phenomena  as  old  as  human  history. Women’s  rights  are  rights  inherent  in  nature  and  guaranteed by  law  and thus  should  not  be  discriminated  or  violate in  any  way.  Therefore  if  the  rights  of  women  are  violated it  will  be  against  human right principles  of  equity, natural  justice, equality among  sexes, and  good  governance.

Gender based violence could also encompasses a  range of  acts  of  violence committed against female because   they  are female base on how  a particular society assign and views roles  and expectation for these people. It include sexual violence, intimate partner or spouse abuse (domestic violence), emotional and psychological abuse, sex trafficking, force prostitution, sexual Harassment and harmful Traditional practices.

What then is customary law? Customary law is the  law  of  any  particular   tribe  or  tribal  community  in so far  as  it is not against any provision  of  law or if it  is  not  contrary to morality, humanity and  natural  justice. For  example  in Botswana, customary  courts  derived their  authority  from  the  customary courts Act  in  which section two  of this Act  defines a customary court  as  the  lower  court  or  higher  court  established  or  recognized  under  the  provision  of the  Act.

The  customary  courts Act  grants the  Minister  of  local  Government  power  to  establish  a  customary  court  as  he  thinks  fit  and  these  customary  courts   created  hardship  to  women  in  different  ways.

The  term “women rights”  refers  to  the freedom  of  women  and  girls of  all  ages. As  such  they  should  be  entitle  to  any  given  right  enjoyed  by  all  be  it  social, economic,  political  and  religion. Thus  society  should not  exclude  women  just  because  they  are  not  eligible  to  men.  Women   should be given the same right exercised by men. Article  1  of  the United  Nation CEDAW,   defines  discrimination  against  women  as “  Any  distinction,  exclusion or  restriction  made  on  the  basis  of  sex  which  has  the  effect  or  purpose  of  nullifying  the  recognition,  enjoyment  or  exercise   by   women,  irrespective  of  their  marital  status  on  a  basis  of  equality  of  men  and  women  of  human  right  and  fundamental  freedom  in  the  political,   economic,  social,  cultural  or any  other  field”.

Violence  on  the  other  hand  is  defined   as  the  intentional  use  of  physical  force  threatened  on oneself, another person  or  against  a  group  or  community  that  result  to  injury, death, psychological harm,. In addition, Article 2 of the United Nation Convention states that violence against women shall be understood to encompass but not limited to the following:

“(a)    physical, sexual  and psychological  violence  occurs in  family  including  battery  , sexual  abuse of  female  children  in the  house  hold, dowry  related violence, marital  rape, female  genital mutilation  and  other  traditional  harmful traditional practices

( b)     physical, sexual  and  psychological  violence occurring  within the general community including rape,  sexual abuse  and  intimidation at work,  in  educational  institution  and elsewhere,  trafficking  in woman  and  force  prostitution.

(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the state where ever it occurs.”  The   above   shows  that  women as a  matter  of  fact should be entitled  to  freedom  of  rights  and  freedom from  violence.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Violence  against  women  is  perhaps  the  most  wider spread tolerated of human right violation  seen  in various  races,  class, ethnicity   and  religion.   The  impact  of  customary  law  on   the  violation  of  women’s  rights is  devastating  since  customary  law  considered  women  as  minors  subject  to male  as their  father, brother  or  some  male  kin.

A  woman’s  consent  was  not  generally  thought  to  be  necessary  and  they were  obliged  to  submit  themselves  to  the  wishes  of  their  parent  and  husband for example the Muslims women of Northern Cameroon.   Equally, women  were  subjected  to  be  the  mother  of  the  house  and  they  were  excluded   from  education  since  it  was  reserved  only  for  men.

This  increase illiteracy  on  women  since  they  could  not  write  nor  read.  In  addition,  in prison  women  are  faced  with  all  forms  of  violence  for  example  sexual  violence  by  other  prisoners  as  well as  state officials.

Furthermore,  female  genital  mutilation  still  exist  in  some  areas  of  Cameroon  especially  in Far North and  South West  of  the country   women  who  are  not  circumcised  can be  cast  out  by the  community  and  therefore  women  themselves supported  the  practice.

Also, customary  law  deprived  women  to take  possession  of  their  husband  property  by  imposing that  when  a  woman  becomes  a  widow,  she  must  marry  the  brother  of  the  deceased  such  that  her  late  husband  properties  reminds  to  him  so  women  were  not  entitled   to  any  property.  More still, the  law  promoted  men  to  be   physically  violent  on their  women  as  they considered them as properties  and  they  were  like  “GOD”  to  the  women.

With   these  difficulties,  most  women  often  experienced   life-long  emotional  distress, mental  health  problems,  and  poor  reproductive  health as  well  as   being  at  higher  risk  of  acquiring  HIV,  Intensive  long-term  users of  health  services and  high  rate  of  prostitution  which resulted  to  the  death  of    many  women  across  the  country  in  particular  and  the  world  in  general.  Thus  it  is  in the  light  of  addressing  the   above  burning  issues  that  this  study  was  proposed  and  carried  out.

1.3   Research objectives

1.3.1 General objectives

The  main  objectives  of  this  work  is  to  examine  how  women’s  rights  are  violated  under  customary  law  and  to  show  how  women are  deprived   from  exercising  their rights,  difficulties  which  they  encountered  when  their  rights  are  violated. The  underlying  concepts  here  therefore  will  be  violation,  women’s  rights   and  customary  law.

1.3.2 Specific objectives

In  considerations  of  the  general  objectives  many  aspect  will  be  examined  either  briefly  or  in  fair  detail.  The  specific  objectives  guarding  this  work  include:

1. What customary  law  is  all  about,
2. The rights  of  women,  How  customary  law  violates  women   rights   be  it  at  the  National  or International  level,
3. The consequence  it  produces  on  women  when  their  rights  are  violated  and
4. how some  Organization  fight,  promote,  and  protect  women  rights  such  that  their  rights should  not  be  violated  in  the  International  and   National