More than anywhere else in the world, to be a woman in Africa is to endure a life marked by violence. "Africa is the region of the world where women are most likely to be killed by an intimate partner or family member," revealed a UN Women study published in 2019. Among the most dangerous countries for women is South Africa. On average, three women are killed by their partners there every hour.
Femicide victims are primarily female family members, sex workers, but also elderly reclusive women or orphaned girls accused of witchcraft in war-torn countries, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These acts of annihilation are often part of a continuum of physical, sexual, psychological and economic brutality.
Described by the UN as "the most widespread but least visible human rights violation in the world," gender-based violence massively affects African women. In 2018, a World Health Organization (WHO) survey revealed that 65% of women in Central Africa and 40% in West Africa have suffered from violence. Yet women's rights organizations say these statistics fall short of reality. The fear of stigmatization too often discourages victims from reporting their attacker. In Niger, 99% of rape victims do not seek justice, according to a study conducted by the German Friedrich-Ebert Foundation, and when they do, the convictions do not match the severity of the acts.
Forced marriages, domestic violence...
Yet the fight against gender-based violence has gradually become part of African states' political agendas in recent years. Toll-free numbers, women's ministries, financial autonomy programs... These are among the pledges made by African countries to international donors as proof of their commitment to women's rights.
The fact remains, however, that these gender policies are struggling to produce effective results. "All these campaigns [related to gender] do not address the underlying power dynamics in gender relations," the sociologist Fatou Sow told Le Monde in January. She pointed out the negative repercussions of small financial loans granted to women by the government and NGOs to reduce gender inequalities. "Rather than granting microcredits to women, they should be given access to all sectors of activity, including those preempted by men, by training them, equipping them and financing them adequately. Otherwise, we risk contributing to their social relegation."
Male dominance is also measured by the UN's Gender Inequality Index (GII), which ranks many sub-Saharan states at the bottom of the list. Out of 162 countries, Senegal ranks 130th, Burkina Faso 147th and Mali 158th. This 2019 data does not incorporate the drops that followed the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the world's highest mortality rate among women in childbirth.
Behind these figures lie shape-shifting forms of violence that sometimes accumulate, especially for the poorest women. These include early or forced marriages, marital and sexual violence and the appropriation of economic resources. Yet the most dangerous moment in women's lives is during childbirth. Even though significant progress has been made in maternal health in recent years, sub-Saharan Africa still has the world's highest mortality rate of women in childbirth, especially among teenagers.
97% of women undergo FGM In Guinea
Compounding this grim picture is the persistence of female genital mutilation (FGM), which is still practiced in appalling numbers. In Guinea, 97% of girls and women have undergone FGM, while nearly 90% of them have been in the east-central regions of Burkina Faso. In Senegal, a quarter of females over 15 have been mutilated. In Mali, one of three African countries that did not criminalize female genital mutilation (along with Sierra Leone and Liberia), this percentage rises to 73% among girls under age 14 and 89 % among those aged 15-49.
This practice is prohibited in some 50 countries, but African states that have signed international treaties against such violence are struggling to enforce their commitments, despite the adoption of stricter laws in recent years. In practice, political authorities are hampered by customary law, which often prevails over modern law, especially in rural areas. This superiority favors a culture of impunity, as in Guinea, where out-of-court settlements hinder the prosecution of sexual violence cases.
Faced with the institutions' ineffectiveness, new players committed to changing mentalities and protecting women's lives have emerged. Where public awareness campaigns fail to convince husbands or men to ban violence against women, religious leaders, traditional authorities and influential women appear like more legitimate intermediaries than NGOs, often perceived as being far removed from the population's reality.
In Togo, the "fiosron" speak to their husband's bosses to ask them to lecture abusive husbands. In Chad, where 60% of girls are married before age 18, "super banat" ("girls," in Arabic), young feminist activists, mediate with families.
In Senegal, imams are getting involved
In Senegal, a country where femicide is regularly in the news, some imams are also getting involved. During Friday preaching, they urge husbands not to abuse their wives. Since 1995, the Islam and Population Network has also brought together Muslim scholars who travel around the country using religious arguments to convince husbands, for example, of the importance of spacing pregnancies to protect the lives of mothers and of the legality of contraception.
However, these efforts are met with strong resistance in a country that has seen an ultraconservative push in recent years. "Most religious people make it difficult for us to raise awareness about child marriage and female circumcision. They accuse us of being toubabs and of wanting to destroy our traditions, and the people listen to them," lamented Fatimata Sy, the president of the Senegalese Organization for the Future of Women and Children operating in northern Senegal.
'Our grandmothers tell us that they have undergone FGM and that it is a good practice,' regrets Fatimata Sy
The political instrumentalization of the concept of "gender" is also hampering the work of mediators. "We no longer use this word in our campaigns and workshops because religious people associate it with the promotion of homosexuality. We talk about 'the fight against violence against women and girls,' otherwise, people don't listen to us or can become aggressive," explained Ms. Sy. As a sign of this pressure, the Senegalese ministry of women was renamed in September when a new government was appointed. "Gender" was removed from its title and the ministry is now tasked with issues related to "women, family and child protection."
These intermediaries face another major constraint: that of certain elders, whose support is often indispensable to putting a stop to some practices. Regarding FGM, for example, Ms. Sy noted, "Our grandmothers continue to tell us that they have undergone FGM and that it is a good practice. These beliefs are a hindrance to the struggle because they are often the ones who have their daughters and granddaughters mutilated."
Internalized gender stereotypes
They must also fight against women's internalization of sexist stereotypes. In Niger, for example, 60% of women surveyed in a ministry of population study said that "a man has the right to beat his wife when she refuses to have sex with him or when she argues with him." According to the same study, "more than three out of ten women (35%) agree with this behavior when the woman burns a meal."
As the echo of feminists' voices on the continent grows louder and louder, support for community intermediaries and mass schooling for girls appears crucial to stemming the silent epidemic of gender-based violence. "The lives of African women matter so little. This must stop," said Ms. Sy.
Article produced in partnership with the French Muskoka Fund.