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It’s time for Africa to stop the culture of brutalizing women in politics with unfair and long jail terms

Editorial / Opinion Piece / Blog Post

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December 23, 2021

It’s time for Africa to stop the culture of brutalizing women in politics with unfair and long jail terms

Source: Face 2 Face Africa

African politics has done well when it comes to mainstreaming women into the social process of political socialization. It is so encouraging that the world can now see women in top positions of politics around Africa; Dr. Samia Suluhu, the current President of the Republic of Tanzania being a spotless testimony about this achievement. This shows that women in Africa enjoy more political freedom than those in the Arab world and many other ‘unmentionable’ places that still keep women in politically disenfranchised positions.

However, there is still a flip side to this social success in Africa. Most of the women in Africa practicing politics that goes against the preferences of current governments are often brutalized by long jail terms alongside other vulgar brutalities like sexual violence and forced exile. This point is clearly evident in the manner in which a judicially skewed and politically manipulated court in Benin has convicted the female opposition politician, Reckya Madougou, to a very long jail term out of politically motivated and machinated criminal charges.

Click here to read the full article published by Face 2 Face Africa on 19 December 2021.


Author
Alexander Opicho
Publisher
Face 2 Face Africa
Publication year
2021
Focus areas

African politics has done well when it comes to mainstreaming women into the social process of political socialization. It is so encouraging that the world can now see women in top positions of politics around Africa; Dr. Samia Suluhu, the current President of the Republic of Tanzania being a spotless testimony about this achievement. This shows that women in Africa enjoy more political freedom than those in the Arab world and many other ‘unmentionable’ places that still keep women in politically disenfranchised positions.

However, there is still a flip side to this social success in Africa. Most of the women in Africa practicing politics that goes against the preferences of current governments are often brutalized by long jail terms alongside other vulgar brutalities like sexual violence and forced exile. This point is clearly evident in the manner in which a judicially skewed and politically manipulated court in Benin has convicted the female opposition politician, Reckya Madougou, to a very long jail term out of politically motivated and machinated criminal charges.

Click here to read the full article published by Face 2 Face Africa on 19 December 2021.


Author
Alexander Opicho
Publisher
Face 2 Face Africa
Publication year
2021
Focus areas