October 11th, The International Day of The Girl Child

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights (BAOBAB) joins the world to commemorate the international day of the girl child. As a global partner with the Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) global campaign to stop stoning (Change.org), staff of BAOBAB went to neighbouring streets to seek people’s views on cultural/religious belief on the act of stoning in Nigeria.  The ratio of the people interviewed were 7:4 (men to women respectively) and 90% of the people interviewed didn’t have knowledge on the existence of provision for the act of stoning. Below are some of the views

…it’s an unfair act!
…the issue of stoning based on immoral acts is not right! Government should find a way to eradicate such law!
…I think the law is not okay!
…I do not agree with the law on stoning for the sin of immorality but feel there should be a better mechanism to address such!
…it should be removed from the law!
..I believe it is not right. Even if other countries do it, Nigeria should not follow such steps!
…based on my belief I don't think a woman should be stoned to death
…it is a bad act!

 
BAOBAB also asked friends to send in photos, write-ups etc on “why” they care about stoning. Below are photos and links to Poems submitted.

Photos:

Poems:

WE ARE HUMAN!
 

I CARE! 

THE MAN IN THE MIRROR

BAOBAB, kindly urges you to join the campaign against stoning and advocate to the UN to take action on abolishing stoning in law, by clicking on this link United Nations Secretary General & the OHCHR: End Stoning Now

Thank you.

WE ARE HUMAN! (By Joshua Enakarhire)

World, We are human
The woman is human
She is my sister
Born of same father
She is my mother
Mother of many fathers
Nations - some unborn
She is my friend
My Companion, my confidant

Why care about stoning?
Why care about the air we breathe?
About life and trees
Wild cats running free
About money and making a living
About medicine and Healthy eating
Why?
Human, she is Woman
Her world truly should be protected
This should be OUR world
WE are human
That's why I care.

Submitted (22/9/13 in support of the Who cares about stoning? online Photo campaign of the WLUML Global campaign on Stop Stoning

Source: BAOBAB

THE MAN IN THE MIRROR ( By Alexandra Obienu)

Wisdom. Wisdom isn't a thing far-fetched.
Judgment differs from Condemnation.
We judge those who kill but we kill and call it penance justified.
It has been said that a man strongest is a man of conviction.
How carved can we be that we can't bend to be wise?
How rigid is our folly on the foundation of believe?
How pious can we profess to be when in that piety lies our insanity?
Why stone another and look yourself in the mirror and say, "well done!"
it's inhumanity and murder!

There's no wrong in the world, no matter the magnitude, that can or would ever justify inhumanity.
Inhumanity is just a reflection of ignorance on some level.
We all somehow live in glass houses.
Toss your stones instead, into the sea.
Preach restitution, not Condemnation.
Don't blame the status quo.
Blame the man in the mirror.

Submitted (13/9/13) in support of the Who cares about stoning? online Photo campaign of the WLUML Global campaign on Stop Stoning

Source: BAOBAB

I CARE! (By Joshua Enakarhire)

I care about meat stuck in my teeth
I care about humanity
I care about wearing a full hair on my head
I care about THE WOMAN

I care about the rhythm of music
I care that the voice of a woman is heard
I care about the love of a woman
I care about children
I care about life and death

I care about stoning a woman,
because it is inhuman
That is Why I care!

Submitted (22/9/13) in support of the Who cares about stoning? online Photo campaign of the WLUML Global campaign on Stop Stoning 

Source: BAOBAB

The Nigerian’s perspective of the WLUML’s global campaign to end the brutal practice of stoning

Sequel to the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, where states were called upon to abide by their international human rights obligations and ban the act of stoning in countries where this still exists in law and practice. To this end, the Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) in collaboration with its global partners launched a campaign with the ultimate goal to end the brutal practice of stoning globally.
 

In the short-term by November 25, 2013, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, this campaign seeks to garner a critical mass of 10,000 supporters worldwide to sign the online petition, advocating for a UN resolution against stoning on Change.org. In the medium-to-long term, the campaign’s goal is to completely ban stoning in countries where it still exists in law and criminalize those who engage in this heinous practice worldwide.
 

In line with this mandate, BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, as one of the joint partners in the WLUML global campaign to stop stoning, highlights this act from the Nigerian’s perspective. Stoning as a legalised form of punishment in Nigeria for sexual offences (such as adultery and fornication - Zina) can be traced back to the institution of Sharia penal code in the northern region since 1960, some of the punishments in its penal code includes 100 lashes (flogging) for engaging in any sexual relationship if the individual is unmarried.
 

In 1999, the Zamfara State governor at the time, reintroduced and expanded Sharia penal codes in the state. This action of implementing Sharia penal code was replicated by eleven other northern governors in their respective states, namely Kano, Katsina, Niger, Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Gombe, Sokoto, Jigawa, Yobe, and Kebbi. Stoning is the prescribed penalty in all these states as the punishment for women convicted of “illicit sexual affair”.
 

Stoning is an ancient form of capital punishment. There are historical reports of stoning from ancient Greece but the act of stoning is still retained by some religion till date, yet the act precede most religion. Stoning is often powered and executed based on misinterpretation of religious text and on cultural grounds; of which women are the most susceptible. Till date, stoning as an act of punishment for sexual offences (Zina) has never been implemented in Nigeria, although we have had near case occurrences which include:

• In 2002, Safiya Hussaini was the first woman to be sentenced to stoning in  Sokoto State for giving birth to a child as a single woman. Her sentence was overturned on her first appeal.
• In 2002, Aminal Lawal was the second woman to be sentenced to stoning in Katsina State for adultery and conceiving a child out of wedlock. The father of the child was not persecuted for lack of evidence and deemed innocent by the court with a DNA test. Her conviction was later overturned.

The sheer possibility of the cruel punishment of stoning being executed in Nigeria is in itself a tormenting thought. Now is the time for Nigerians as well as citizens from any country where such an act exist in law and practice, to join this campaign against stoning and urge the UN to take action on abolishing stoning in law.
 

To join the campaign, click on this link United Nations Secretary General & the OHCHR: End Stoning Now

References
USCIRF Annual Report 2013 - Countries of Particular Concern: Nigeria 

Document – Nigeria: Rape – The silent weaponSafiya Hussaini

Aminal Lawal 

 

Press Release: The retention of the provision of Section 29(4)(b) in the amendment process of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights (BAOBAB) strongly condemns the recent happenings with the Nigerian constitutional amendment process in the Senate to retain the provision of Section 29(4) (b) which says that “any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age", This provision would imply that a female child even at birth, if married, is deemed to be of full age.

This is particularly disheartening given the high rate of maternal mortality in Nigeria, primarily due to the prevalence of Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) / Rectovaginal fistula (RVF). The majority of the cases of VVF in Nigeria are as a result of early girl child marriage. Early marriage in many instances leads to the withdrawal of girls from schools and thrusts upon them marital and reproductive responsibilities for which they are neither physically nor mentally mature to carry out.

BAOBAB sees this clause as a clear violation of the rights of the girl child and various international treaties such as:

• The Child Rights Act 2003: Section 21 & 22 which prohibits child marriage and betrothal .
• Convention of Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW): Article 16 (2) which says the betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory.
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa Article 6 (b) which provides that the minimum age of marriage for women is 18 years.

BAOBAB is using this medium to call on the National Assembly, Senate and the Nigerian government to:

1. Remove the contentious provision of Section 29(4) (b) from the Constitution.
2. Fulfill its obligations of implementing international treaties which Nigeria signed and ratified that would protect rights of the girl child such as The Child Rights Act, CEDAW & the Protocol to the African Charter

Signed:

Anne Lawal
Ag. Executive Director
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights

Stop Stoning of Women Global Campaign

In line with the newly adopted UN Security Council resolution 2106 (2013); States bear the primary responsibility to respect  and ensure the human rights of all persons within their territory, as provided by  international law.  This embraces women’s political, social and economic empowerment as well as gender equality; it emphasizes that parties to armed conflict bear the primary responsibility to ensure the protection of civilians; including national ownership and responsibility to address the root causes of sexual violence in armed conflict.
 

BAOBAB for Women Human Rights, commend the effort of the UN in adopting the Security Council resolution 2106 (2013). We earnestly hope that States would embrace and put in law this resolution to provide great support for victims of torture. In this vein, we enjoin you to take part in the Stop Stoning campaign to end laws that promotes Violent Punishments and Torture Against Women such as stoning, by signing on to the petition (http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/united-nations-secretary-general-the-ohchr-end-stoning-now) and circulating the information amongst your networks. Thank you
 

Related links
http://www.wluml.org/media/commission-status-women-57-statement-stoning
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45253&Cr=sexual+violence&Cr1=conflict
http://www.un.org/en/sc/inc/pages/pdf/adv/sres21062013.pdf