11/19/2023 6:35 am (act. 11/19/2023 6:35 am)
Fakira Zakia became pregnant during the rape ©APA/GUNTHER LICHTENHOFER
17-year-old Ugandan Fikira Zakia hesitantly explains what happened to her at the end of June 2022: “I was at the party after a traditional wedding in the village that night. Three boys snatched the cell phone from my hand and took it away . They said: If I want my cell phone back, I have to go to the forest with them. Fikira did as she was told. The three attacked her in the forest, describes the victim of a gang rape.
Fikira’s case is particularly drastic: violence against women in Uganda is carried out in many forms, but with shocking frequency. A fact sheet published in 2021 by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) shows that in the East African country, 22.3 percent of all women who have been married at least once have experienced physical violence from their partner, 16. 6 percent sexual violence and 9.3 percent both psychological and psychological violence also experienced sexual violence. When it comes to girls between 15 and 19 years old, the numbers are a few tenths of a percentage point higher.
With 32.6 percent of physical violence, the numbers are worse in the Bukedi subregion, in the east of the country, and for sexual violence the number reaches 37.1 percent. In the Ankole region of southwestern Uganda, however, emotional violence is particularly common. In ten of the 15 regions, the number of cases increased in 2020 compared to 2019 – including in the West Nile region in the northwest of the country, where Fikira Zakia lives.
“One said he wanted to do this. He raped me, then called the others. They held my hands and covered my mouth. Then they told me they would give me my cell phone back the next day,” the then 16-year-old said of the events of the night that would change his life. “I was so embarrassed,” said Fikira Zakia. For days she didn’t trust anyone and her behavior changed enormously. “I stayed away from all the activities.” Only after a few days did the girl turn to her aunt, a supposed Sasa activist.
Sasa activists are women who address cases of gender-based violence in their communities. They are supported by NGOs such as CARE through the WAYREP project (Women and Youth Resilience Project) funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). They work with local partners: CEFORD (Community Empowerment for Rural Development) in Arua and PACHEDO (Partners for Community Health and Development Organizations) in Gulu. Sasa activists identify those affected, approach them and offer them support in a variety of ways. It often involves financial assistance, whether for medical and psychological treatment, but also legal assistance from the police and other law enforcement authorities.
This is particularly important because Ugandan law enforcement authorities do not necessarily automatically intervene when they become aware of crimes, as Austrian journalists heard repeatedly during an investigative trip, including from officials. “Poor people don’t win cases,” said one. Corruption starts in the police, but also in the courts. A representative of an NGO spoke of cases of domestic violence in which police officers initially demanded money before they accepted the complaint and began investigating.
However, these are isolated cases for the person responsible. Although this is also a broad term: “There are 45,000 police officers in Uganda. Even if 20,000 of them were corrupt, they are still all individuals.” A possible solution would be a significantly better salary: “You should double, no, triple your salary,” said the civil servant. Senior civil servants who earn the equivalent of 235 euros per month have to finance their children’s schooling. To explain: There are public schools in Uganda, but they are very few and insufficiently funded. Those who can, therefore, allow their children to attend private schools. Even poor families try to allow their children to attend a private school if they can.
But there are also positive examples: case conferences are planned for particularly serious cases of domestic violence. Representatives of the judiciary, police and other government agencies, but also NGOs such as CEFORD and CARE representatives, discuss measures on how victims can be helped, but also how to deal with perpetrators.
In any case, Fikira’s aunt initiated the necessary measures in her niece’s case. First she spoke to the girl’s parents. “My father was angry,” said the young woman. “Not on me, on the perpetrators.” The local council recommended going to the police. It sends people affected by acts of violence to a health center to be examined, on the one hand, for their safety and, on the other, to obtain evidence. Repeated HIV tests at least showed that the rapists had not infected Fikira. But it was also discovered that she was pregnant.
Two of the three perpetrators – 17, 16 and 14 years old – were arrested, the third fled. Since then, it has been suspected that he is in neighboring Congo. One of them was convicted of rape after a long trial. “I came to court, but the judge didn’t show up,” says Fikira about her difficulties. The second was released due to lack of evidence. “I have known the perpetrators since the day of the attack and I will not forget their faces”, emphasizes the 17-year-old.
Omugo, where Fikira Zakia lives with her family, is not only a village not far from Arua, the town on the border with Congo in northwestern Uganda, but also the host community for a settlement of refugees heading to the Rhino Camp, one of the largest refugee camps. camps around the world, he says. More than 140,000 people are housed throughout the camp, more than 40,000 of them in the Omugo area. The term camp is a bit misleading: you won’t find tents at the camp, but rather mud huts. People from eight countries are staying in the Omugo area, most of them from South Sudan and Congo. But even Eritrean refugees arrived at the camp.
Abraham Bidal, a teacher from South Sudan, runs a refugee council in the settlement. He explains precisely why there is so much violence against women – and this applies to both refugees and local people: “We simply have cultural habits that harm women and girls.”
One of the basic problems is that “girls are seen as an investment”. The 36-year-old explains it like this: “As they grow up, their families will have to pay for them to get married.” This can happen at a very young age for girls.
About six months ago, Fikira gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Munguci Naira. The child loves her: “I can’t blame her. She can’t help the way she was conceived,” she says. But Fikira doesn’t want to hide what happened from her daughter when she’s older: “I’m going to tell her exactly what happened to me so she can protect herself.”
It will take the 17-year-old a long time to get over the gang rape. “It hurts me every day. I would be in school now if this hadn’t happened to me,” she said. Fikira was a student and attended primary school. In Omugo village, it is not uncommon for children or young people her age to attend primary school. Many people only start studying when their parents can pay.
It’s clear to Fikira Zakia that she will return to school as soon as Munguci is big enough for family members to care for her during the day. The 17-year-old’s dream is to be a police officer. And arrest the abusers so she can protect other women.
Ultimately, Fikira Zakia’s case is also an example of how women in Uganda are trying to change their lives and their position in society. In many areas of the country, initiatives are emerging to urgently strengthen women and girls in society. Ugandan women no longer want to be the silent victims.
(By Gunther Lichtenhofer/APA)