Human Rights activists condemn beating of woman accused of stealing yam in Kumasi

Source: Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim

Date: 21-02-2017 Time: 08:02:39:pm

[We choose not to show her photo]

More people are adding their voices to condemn brutality meted out to a Nigerian woman who was stripped naked and pounded in the private part for allegedly stealing yam.

[And we here at Crabbita Media Consult add our voice to in the strongest terms to condemn this inhuman and undignified acts of injustice meted out against this woman. And we call on individuals and pro-women stakeholders to do same.]

Executive Director of the Ark Foundation, Angela Dwamena Aboagye is one of the many gender activists who have condemned the act perpetuated against the woman.

““Look at the manner in which they purported to arrest her, they stripped her and look at the acts of violence that were perpetuated against her. When it comes to women, this also sits within not just a social justice framework or criminal law framework, but within violence against women which is completely a human rights issue as well,” she told Joy News.

Also, human rights lawyer Francis Xavier Sosu has urged the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to step up its education of human rights to curb abuses as Social Justice Day is observed globally today.

Further, pressure group OccupyGhana has added its voice to calls to seek justice for the said lady asking that the police use the video to arrest the men responsible for the abuse.

A video of the abuse of the woman has been trending on social media for days now. Some people have alleged that she stole money while others said she stole a piece of yam. Another group also claimed she swindled someone of some money. 

Although there is no concensus about what is it that she had done,  she was assaulted, kicked in the groin and her private part.

Luv FM’s Erastus Asare Donkor visited the place the incident took place in his attempt to authenticate what the woman did but was disappointedly told nothing. He could not verify what the mob that assaulted the woman accused her of.

The disturbing video starts at a point where the young lady had been stripped of her clothes. She covered her waist with a yellow scarf given to her by a good Samaritan, but it was removed by the mob.

Another woman who offered a dress was shoved off and the young lady was not allowed to put it on.

The mob made up mostly of men, tore the young lady’s red brassiere and panty. At a point in the video, the men spread her legs open and kicked her private part many times.

Attempts by the young lady to prevent the mob from hitting her private part was met with even harder beatings. 

One person who took part in the beating took told the Luv News reporter that they stripped her naked and beat her because it is not good for a lady to engage in such an ungodly act. 

Related: Gender activist demands justice for woman stripped naked, beaten

"Initially, I felt sorry for her but I felt it was good to serve as a deterrent to other ladies," he said. 

Although criticisms about the act continue to pour in, some traders at Kejetia in the Ashanti regional where the incident took place have defended their acts of brutality.

They say it is normal for persons accused of stealing to be paraded naked through the streets amid physical assault and sexual torture.

Another trader said if they catch a thief, they would strip the alleged thief naked and stuff the private part with pepper. This is the sixth one I have witnessed since I started selling here.  

The private security guard in the video who was seen in the video trying to save the lady from the mob said he got scared at some point. 

"I tried calling the police but it won't go through," he said. 

Meanwhile, police say they are investigating the incident. They revealed they issued a medical form to the woman the moment she was brought to the Central Police State. However, she has not returned to the station to aid with the investigation.

Willie And Mike To Visit Kumasi Children's Home After Ghana @60 Day

Mike and Willie

Ghanaian gospel music mavens and role models Asamoah Williams and Adomako Michael aka 'Willie and Mike' have announced a Pre-Easter charity event, which would come off at the Kumasi Children's Home on Tuesday, March 7, 2017. 

This lives-touching event would take place a day after Ghana's 60TH Independence Day anniversary - And it promises to be impactful! 

The spirited gospel performing duo who are a super-powerhouse on stage in and outside their homeland Ghana - play a much quieter, albeit relatively powerful humanitarian roles behind the scenes.

From humble backgrounds themselves, the duo can easily connect with the ordinary and needy - the more reason they continue to give back to society.

"We give heartily and have lost count of the people and places we've visited...it's something we do from time-to-time as part of walking the Christian talk, personally and through our foundation", Mike opined in an interview with crabbitamedia.blogspot.com

And as part of efforts to make the Pre-Easter charity event successful, The Willie and Mike foundation and its Partners are calling on kind-hearted individuals and organizations with special interest in touching lives to donate cash, clothing, books and pens among others by calling 0242229665. 

For the young multi-talented song-writers and singers living Luke:4-36 has been one of the many motivating factors to undertaking charity programs almost daily - And also encouraging humanitarianism in different forms. 

Visit their social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter: Willie and Mike) to know more about the upcoming charity event and to donate your "widow's mite".

This charity event is powered by the Willie and Mike Foundation and Partners.

By Crabbe Nathaniel - Press Agent.

“Green Love”

Hurt is not hurt if not from thy love

and love is not love if all is sweet,

love goes through hell but stands the test

Yes! like an amour you both wear

overcoming all who seek you to tear

Also Read:http://crabbitamedia.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-broken-walls-of-my-vagina.html

Watch if love says all is well

lest what love harbors swells,

bursting, you can never stand the smell -

Love like Love is gentle, kind, peace, and never rough,

but know times may get tough,

here your love you should prove,

all to your maiden in truth, 

and high above the roof -

love is Love when it overcomes them all

like Christ who gave it all.

By Crabbe Nathaniel

Poem: http://crabbitamedia.blogspot.com/2016/09/patriarchal-nonsense.html

“Careless Lover”

Oh you want him?

he's all yours -

and did you ask if I mean it? 

Of course!

After all, it was all headache when I had him.

Take him; you sure have got something better

he's a good cook, his soups were salty -

have him and please guard your heart

else he'll tear it apart

Also Read:http://crabbitamedia.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-broken-walls-of-my-vagina.html

Take him - I have someone thrice better,

he's a singer and a charming teacher -

thank God it all came to a fall -

and dear - take his box, there is paracetamol

you sure would need it all.

By Crabbe Nathaniel

FEATURED: ROSIMAYA

You stone
my Saturdays,
You waste
my Wednesdays
And tear up
my Tuesdays
Into two:
You snare
my Sundays,
You squeeze
my Saturdays, 
And toss
my Tuesdays
Onto thorns

II

You feign
You feign
you
Feign
you forget my face
In even
The pious
Presence
Of God our God
The Father Almighty
The maker
Of heaven and earth.
Including all−
Even you and me,
Who today
Both hold on to worlds
As different
As the land from the
Sea.
Why can’t you tell
Me
You no more love
Me?
Or why not tell
Me
You can love me no
More?

III

You scorn
my Sundays
You freeze
my Fridays.
And sink
my Saturdays
In a swamp:
You wet
my Wednesdays
You soil
my Saturdays
And milk
my Mondays
Of their mirth.

Also Read: http://crabbitamedia.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-broken-walls-of-my-vagina.html

IV

You feign
you feign
you
Feign I
did not tell you
The time and
Place we were to meet;
But I know
I know I did tell you
You did
Repeat it yourself
My witnesses
Are your innocent
Ears, not your
Faithful tongue and eyes
Who’d also
Refuse to remember:
Why can’t you tell
Me
You never had loved
Me?
Or why not tell
Me
You just will not love
Me?

V

You slash
my Saturdays
You teased
my Tuesdays.
And snob
my Sundays
In the sun;
You mock
my Mondays
You wreck
my Wednesdays
And smother
my Sundays
In the smoke.

VI

You feign
You feign
you
Feign you
do so love me
But the truth
Is now like the rain;
He who sees not,
Feels it on his skin.
And with
A deep paralysing pain,
Erodes away
The still wet-walls of
Our strong castles
Built in my dreams.
The terrible truth
Is now like the sun –
Where it is
Not seen, it is felt;
Skin of your words
Show a tell-tale tan,
Scales blinding
My eyes start to melt.

VII

You foul
My Fridays
You starve
My Saturdays
And mess up
My Mondays
In the mud;
You shun
My Saturdays
You maim
My Mondays
And heap heavy sorrow
Onto my soul.

 By  Prof. Atukwei Okai

Nigerian Literary Icon Buchi Emecheta Has Died

Image: Buchi Emecheta: Credit;ALAMYImage

Nigerian author Buchi Emecheta, whose works includes 'The Joys of Motherhood', 'Second-Class Citizen' and 'The Bride Price', has died at her home in London at the age of 72.

Emecheta's books were on the national curricula of several African countries including Ghana.

She was known for championing women and girls in her writing, though famously rejected description as a feminist.

"I work toward the liberation of women but I'm not feminist. I'm just a woman," she said.

The topics she covered in her writing included child marriage, life as a single mother, abuse of women and racism in the UK and elsewhere.

"Black women all over the world should re-unite and re-examine the way history has portrayed us," she said.

The president of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Denja Abdullahi, said: "We have lost a rare gem in this field. Her works would forever live to speak for her.

"It is a sad loss to our circle. She was known for championing the female gender and we would forever miss her."

Media captionNnedi Okorafor: Her work is one of the reasons I started writing

Lagos-born Emecheta had moved to the UK in 1960, working as a librarian and becoming a student at London University, where she read sociology. She later worked as a community worker in London for several years.

She left her husband when he refused to read her first novel and burnt the manuscript, a World Service series on women writers reported.

The book, In the Ditch, was eventually published in 1972. That and Second-Class Citizen, which followed in 1974, were fictionalised portraits of a young Nigerian woman struggling to bring up children in London.

Later, she wrote about civil conflict in Nigeria and the experience of motherhood in a changing Ibo society.

Credit: BBC

An assessment of her writing, published by the British Council, says: "The female protagonists of Emecheta's fiction challenge the masculinist assumption that they should be defined as domestic properties whose value resides in their ability to bear children and in their willingness to remain confined at home.

"Initiative and determination become the distinguishing marks of Emecheta's women. They are resourceful and turn adverse conditions into their triumph."

Source: BBC Africa