Why have the activists ignored Kyakuwa?
Jan 23, 2006
<b>Nesta Katushabe</b><br><br>It is interesting that women activists have kept quiet about Joanita Kyakuwa, the woman Kizza Besigye allegedly raped several times. She is traumatised since she claims to have been infected with HIV by her would be protector.
Nesta Katushabe
It is interesting that women activists have kept quiet about Joanita Kyakuwa, the woman Kizza Besigye allegedly raped several times. She is traumatised since she claims to have been infected with HIV by her would be protector.
Rape whether by a stranger, a relative or a presidential candidate should never be ignored by society. It is an evil not only against the victim but her family, friends and the entire nation. In most cases the victims are not so lucky to have their cases heard in courts of law because they are threatened and intimidated into silence.
It is high time the women activists like Hon Miria Matembe and Dr Sylvia Tamale who made much hullabaloo about Vagina Monologues dropped their double standards. They complained about rape of the judiciary by the government but are quiet about a fellow woman who was allegedly raped and robbed not only of her dignity but her future as well.
These learned ladies should call a spade a spade. If there was any essence in publicising the play, Vagina Monologues, then I challenge the people who were behind it’s production, and those who were fighting so hard to ensure that we get to watch it, to fight equally hard so that rape victims get the justice they deserve regardless of the suspects.
For long battered and raped women, some of them wives to prominent men, have been quiet. It is time to break the silence, whatever the risks involved. There is no greater risk or threat than living in fear of condemnation from society, death or sexual molestation. As Vince Lombardi said, it’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.
Women, especially the rural folk, should speak out while freedom lasts. They need to rise above the customs, cultural norms, myths and political ideologies that stand in the way of justice and freedom.
We ought to let the courts of law do their job and not politicise every case especially in this period of political transition when the future of our country is at stake. Just like every vote counts, every statement counts and so does every decision. No one is above the law.
Each candidate standing for a political post at whatever level, be it LC1 or LC5, is open to public scrutiny and the best candidate will win depending on their capability and exemplary moral standards. Women, like every one else, should not play a passive role in this historic political transition. For God and my country.
The writer is a political scientist
It is interesting that women activists have kept quiet about Joanita Kyakuwa, the woman Kizza Besigye allegedly raped several times. She is traumatised since she claims to have been infected with HIV by her would be protector.
Rape whether by a stranger, a relative or a presidential candidate should never be ignored by society. It is an evil not only against the victim but her family, friends and the entire nation. In most cases the victims are not so lucky to have their cases heard in courts of law because they are threatened and intimidated into silence.
It is high time the women activists like Hon Miria Matembe and Dr Sylvia Tamale who made much hullabaloo about Vagina Monologues dropped their double standards. They complained about rape of the judiciary by the government but are quiet about a fellow woman who was allegedly raped and robbed not only of her dignity but her future as well.
These learned ladies should call a spade a spade. If there was any essence in publicising the play, Vagina Monologues, then I challenge the people who were behind it’s production, and those who were fighting so hard to ensure that we get to watch it, to fight equally hard so that rape victims get the justice they deserve regardless of the suspects.
For long battered and raped women, some of them wives to prominent men, have been quiet. It is time to break the silence, whatever the risks involved. There is no greater risk or threat than living in fear of condemnation from society, death or sexual molestation. As Vince Lombardi said, it’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.
Women, especially the rural folk, should speak out while freedom lasts. They need to rise above the customs, cultural norms, myths and political ideologies that stand in the way of justice and freedom.
We ought to let the courts of law do their job and not politicise every case especially in this period of political transition when the future of our country is at stake. Just like every vote counts, every statement counts and so does every decision. No one is above the law.
Each candidate standing for a political post at whatever level, be it LC1 or LC5, is open to public scrutiny and the best candidate will win depending on their capability and exemplary moral standards. Women, like every one else, should not play a passive role in this historic political transition. For God and my country.
The writer is a political scientist