Do something to STOP it
"…..I was dosing seated on a bed breast-feeding one of the twins, when i felt a sharp slap on the head, opened my eyes and it was my husband , I thought he was slapping me because he always beats me whenever he is drank, But then I noticed blood was oozing from my head that is when I realized that he was cutting me with a Panga, he cut my right ear , cut the twin I was carrying in my right hand from head through to her stomach and then my hand, he moved on to the other twin and did the same, He went a ahead and hacked to death the four year old girl who was sleeping with me in the same bedroom and then he run away………."
Florence Nabaterega from Mityana in Uganda, narrates the ghastly incidences of the night her husband cut off her hands , ear and killed three of their children over a bar challenge against his ability to father the twins she had just had a few months back
The mother of nine now lives with one ear, half hands without palms, six children, helpless. She literally survives on the mercy of her children who baby seat her, right from feeding , dressing and cleaning her up…….
The Father of her children, her husband, Ssalongo (father of the twins) turned into a murder monster over what one would call idle bar challenge. Her husband had been told a few days back during his routine bar drinks that he was not man enough to father twins; he planned for days to commit the gruesome evil…
But it was not the first time her husband was being violent only that this time it escalated to murder…. She had accepted the abuse for over twenty years , may be had resigned saying it is the worst he would go, shouting insults and slapping her every time he would come back home drunk…..
May be if someone had talked to her husband about the dangers of domestic violence, he could have talked to someone else about the manhood challenge before contemplating murder, and by chance he would have had second thoughts and reconsider his actions. May be if Florence knew her rights, she would have stood up against gender based domestic violence before escalating to murder instead of getting to terms with routine battering.
For over twenty years of routine violence, someone in that community must have noticed the abuse, the religious leaders, elders, local authorities and several other people-But may be they just ignored, after all it was not the first time and maybe she was not the only one battered…..
The Gender based violence against women and girls start with the obvious easily ignorable acts such as verbal insults, a slap and neglect, slowly it grows into a monster you never expected… you don’t have to wait for the worst ... sometimes you may end up with no chance to narrate your ordeal..Florence at least survived with no hands but her three children never made it… Can you imagine the trauma the other six children are living with…..How about the first night after their three siblings were hacked to death by their own father how they went through that night…. You and Me can do something to prevent the escalation of this vice
Florence is just one of the so many victims of gender based violence because her case got media publicity otherwise several victims are hurting in silence the pangs of violence. Statistics from the Uganda Bureau of Statistcs indicate a 56% of women between the age of 15-49 have at least experienced some sort of gender based violence since the age of 15 in Uganda.
I know The constitution of the republic of Uganda has operational provisions against Gender based violence such as; The Domestic Violence Act 2010 along with the regulations 2011.The Penal Code Act Cap 59 The Children Act Cap 59, among several other Laws, but who knows about these laws, for hat benefit are they to society when no one is interpreting them to the communities….
The government has also put in place policies and Frameworks to fight and prevent gender based Violence, these include the Uganda Gender Policy 2007.The National Referral Pathway for prevention and response to gender based violence cases in uganda2013, plus several other policies and frameworks- this all sounds good but not helping until these policies and frameworks get out the boardrooms and hotel conference halls to the world suffering in ignorance
These good legal frameworks against the vice seem to remain in shelves, since several victims and perpetrators know little or nothing about them. The lack of access to information and low political will to enforce the laws is one area to blame for the continued and escalating levels of domestic violence
Credit:NTV-Uganda picture,
"…..I was dosing seated on a bed breast-feeding one of the twins, when i felt a sharp slap on the head, opened my eyes and it was my husband , I thought he was slapping me because he always beats me whenever he is drank, But then I noticed blood was oozing from my head that is when I realized that he was cutting me with a Panga, he cut my right ear , cut the twin I was carrying in my right hand from head through to her stomach and then my hand, he moved on to the other twin and did the same, He went a ahead and hacked to death the four year old girl who was sleeping with me in the same bedroom and then he run away………."
Florence Nabaterega from Mityana in Uganda, narrates the ghastly incidences of the night her husband cut off her hands , ear and killed three of their children over a bar challenge against his ability to father the twins she had just had a few months back
The mother of nine now lives with one ear, half hands without palms, six children, helpless. She literally survives on the mercy of her children who baby seat her, right from feeding , dressing and cleaning her up…….
The Father of her children, her husband, Ssalongo (father of the twins) turned into a murder monster over what one would call idle bar challenge. Her husband had been told a few days back during his routine bar drinks that he was not man enough to father twins; he planned for days to commit the gruesome evil…
But it was not the first time her husband was being violent only that this time it escalated to murder…. She had accepted the abuse for over twenty years , may be had resigned saying it is the worst he would go, shouting insults and slapping her every time he would come back home drunk…..
May be if someone had talked to her husband about the dangers of domestic violence, he could have talked to someone else about the manhood challenge before contemplating murder, and by chance he would have had second thoughts and reconsider his actions. May be if Florence knew her rights, she would have stood up against gender based domestic violence before escalating to murder instead of getting to terms with routine battering.
For over twenty years of routine violence, someone in that community must have noticed the abuse, the religious leaders, elders, local authorities and several other people-But may be they just ignored, after all it was not the first time and maybe she was not the only one battered…..
The Gender based violence against women and girls start with the obvious easily ignorable acts such as verbal insults, a slap and neglect, slowly it grows into a monster you never expected… you don’t have to wait for the worst ... sometimes you may end up with no chance to narrate your ordeal..Florence at least survived with no hands but her three children never made it… Can you imagine the trauma the other six children are living with…..How about the first night after their three siblings were hacked to death by their own father how they went through that night…. You and Me can do something to prevent the escalation of this vice
Florence is just one of the so many victims of gender based violence because her case got media publicity otherwise several victims are hurting in silence the pangs of violence. Statistics from the Uganda Bureau of Statistcs indicate a 56% of women between the age of 15-49 have at least experienced some sort of gender based violence since the age of 15 in Uganda.
I know The constitution of the republic of Uganda has operational provisions against Gender based violence such as; The Domestic Violence Act 2010 along with the regulations 2011.The Penal Code Act Cap 59 The Children Act Cap 59, among several other Laws, but who knows about these laws, for hat benefit are they to society when no one is interpreting them to the communities….
The government has also put in place policies and Frameworks to fight and prevent gender based Violence, these include the Uganda Gender Policy 2007.The National Referral Pathway for prevention and response to gender based violence cases in uganda2013, plus several other policies and frameworks- this all sounds good but not helping until these policies and frameworks get out the boardrooms and hotel conference halls to the world suffering in ignorance
These good legal frameworks against the vice seem to remain in shelves, since several victims and perpetrators know little or nothing about them. The lack of access to information and low political will to enforce the laws is one area to blame for the continued and escalating levels of domestic violence
Credit:NTV-Uganda picture,
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