New hope for rape victims

By Titus Kakembo

JOAN Nalugo (not real name) was weeding a banana garden in Mukono one afternoon when a gang of eight boys pounced on her. They carried her to a thicket and raped her.
When Nalugo later had an HIV test, she was found positive.

Three of the culprits were arrested following concerted efforts by World Vision, the district counsellor, Robinah Muwonge, and the Police.

Jane Nakityo (pseudo name), 14, is another victim of rape. Her childhood was shattered by a neighbour. Nakityo screamed for help as the rapist pounced on her. It is her father who responded to her cries and found the rapist with his trousers hanging on his knees.
Nakityo’s father cried out for help and sympathisers turned up wielding spears, bows and arrows.

When he narrated his daughter’s ordeal to them, many sneered at him as they walked away in disgust that he had called them to respond to a simple criminal offence.
They reasoned that at 14 years of age and with breasts fully developed, Nakityo was sexually mature and perhaps ready for marriage.

Nakityo’s plight is exacerbated by the fact that she conceived.

She is going to mother a fatherless child who will be a painful reminder of the the tragic ordeal for the rest of her life.

Yerusa Ofwono, the Mukono World Vision manager

In Bundibugyo the picture is not any different, the traditional method of a surprise attack on a home and carrying away a girl for a wife is still practised.

All the parents require is sh500,000, a hoe to replace the source of labour being taken away and and blankets.

Mukono district World Vision programme manager Yerusa Ofwono decries the level of human rights violations the girl child is vulnerable to.

“Despite the legal framework in Uganda, the girl child is still discriminated against right from childhood,” he says.

Ofwono says the prejudice against girls is compounded by sexual exploitation that hampers the development of many girls into womanhood.

Solomon Kisambu, the OC Kibiribiri in Mukono, says it is hard to protect girls in his area due to traditional and cultural practices such as arranged marriages.

He says this is the reason why the primary school dropout rate for girls is higher at 48% than that of boys at 41%.

Kisambu says the situation is worsened by youth who take drugs and get involved in all sorts of crimes and low income large family sizes due to polygamy. He says the Police post is not well equipped to handle the cases that arise.

Although the situation seems bleak, there is a glimmer of hope.

World Vision in collaboration with students, parents and local authorities are staging campaigns to sensitise girls on their rights.

Robinah Muwonge, the woman representative at the district council, hails World Vision for their work.

“World Vision has been instrumental in giving the victims of rape and unwanted pregnancy a second chance,” she says.

“The girls are equipped with life skills and income generating inputs, their self esteem is boosted and their parents are trained on how to handle them,” she adds.

In order to create a better and secure life for the girl child, archaic cultures that exploit, oppress and victimise girls should be dropped.

Girls should not be treated as objects but as human beings.
It is time for men to stop being aggressive but tolerant and understanding.