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- Convenors:
-
Isabelle Zundel
(Cluster of Excellence Africa Multiple, University of Bayreuth)
Gift Mauluka (University of Bayreuth)
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- Format:
- Panel
- Stream:
- Perspectives on current crises
- Transfers:
- Closed for transfers
- Location:
- S57 (RW I)
- Sessions:
- Monday 30 September, -, -
Time zone: Europe/Berlin
Short Abstract:
Intractable human rights problems are so defined because of the seeming impossibility of resolving them despite vast strides in human rights protection. The discussion seeks to address the multiplicity of the resulting crises through African cultural, socio-ethical and customary perspectives.
Long Abstract:
This panel discussion will build on and transcend from the ongoing research project “When the law is not enough: Tackling intractable problems of human rights – Prospects for integrated approaches”.
Intractable problems of human rights are so defined because of the seeming impossibility to resolve them despite tremendous strides in the normative and institutional protection of human rights in Africa. The problems are manifold, interconnected and deeply entrenched. Regrettably, many African citizens still suffer the yoke of human rights abuses and in some cases, their situations seem worse than was the case before the advent of widespread constitutional protection. This raises questions about why there persists such a huge disparity between the legal framework and the incidence of human rights violations.
These enduring human rights challenges and the perceived shortcomings of the related legal frameworks do not exist in isolation; instead, they must be understood within the broader context of ongoing global crises and the lived realities of communities. For instance, considering the persistence of child labor within the broader context of the global climate crisis provides a more comprehensive perspective on the issue. In essence, addressing complex issues requires embracing a comprehensive approach that transcends conventional boundaries. Such approaches include drawing diverse wisdom and inspiration from a variety of African cultural, socio-ethical, economic, religious and customary perspectives. After all, local challenges stemming from global crises necessitate localized solutions.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Monday 30 September, 2024, -Paula Toulouse (Philipps-Universität Marburg)
Paper short abstract:
Lgbt*iq in East Africa face numerous challenges in their human rights situation. Discourses on sexual orientation/gender identity (SOGI) operate in intersectional fields of tension of colonial continuities, imperialist clerical fascism, cis-heteronormative matrices and global political homophobia.
Paper long abstract:
Human rights for lgbt*iq are challenging on various levels – in global perspectives and varying in national/local contexts. Concepts of human rights must also be critically examined. For the global south, most laws criminalising homosexuality had been implemented by European colonial powers and thus move within colonial continuities. Regional political contexts of homophobia meanwhile create narratives of the – essentialised – homosexual „other“ as „enemy“ – using culturalized images of homosexuality / the „queer other“ as „western import/decadence“. Entangled with those lines of othering, concepts of religion as the US evangelical hate propaganda against lgbt*iq also have powerful influences. This leads to overlapping constructions of difference with political aspirations on power of actors as religious movements, national leaders, global political interests – all of which are politically and strategically working with the enemy narrative of lgbt*iq with queer- and trans-hostile lines of argumentation for their own interests benefit; and do understand to use political homophobia as a weapon and clever diversionary manoeuvre from actual challenges or crisis. So political homophobia is shaped and used by history and colonial continuities in contexts of regional political power and international relations, in culturalized and religious narratives and images, and, of course, in language, discourse and political strategy.
With a perspective on the situation of lgbt*iq in East Africa via triangulation of methods, we explore fields of tension of political homophobia in intersections of cis-heteronormative matrices and colonial continuities, plus the intersectional constructions of otherness, systems of dominance and mechanisms of oppression.
Chifundo Kamba (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
Paper short abstract:
This study explores the historical roots of sexual violence in Malawi, examining the impact of British legal constructs and African traditions. It reveals how the dual legal system perpetuated the subjugation of women and hindered justice which reverberated in the post-colonial period.
Paper long abstract:
Historians have explored the prevalence and complex intersections of legal pluralism when addressing sexual violence in Africa, examining how gender, race, class, and politics influenced these dynamics. Notably, Malawi has been a neglected area in this discourse, with prior examinations by Martin Chanock limited to family and criminal law aspects of marriage, adultery, and divorce. This study represents a pioneering effort to delve into the realm of sexual violence within the framework of the dual regulatory systems in Malawi. It demonstrates that British legal constructs and African legal frameworks facilitated the subjugation and control of African women bodies and fell short in delivering justice for women subjected to unwanted sexual encounters. The legacy of the dual legal system reverberated through the post-colonial era, with a complex unfolding scenario. First, the colonial British legal challenges in addressing sexual abuses contributed to a diminished trust in British law in the post-colonial era with vigilante groups metering out traditional ways of punishing rape. Secondly, African men continue to leverage customs and traditions to formally exert control over women’s bodies. These traditions also serve to resist government attempts to legislate against rape, hindering efforts to address sexual violence. However, amidst these challenges, there is a discernible transformation taking place as Malawi endeavours to transcend the limitations and failures in tackling sexual violence through the enactment of laws against rape and a shifting awareness among men. The study relies on a diverse array of written sources, encompassing early travelogues, ethnographies, colonial state archives, mission institution records, accounts of sexual violence cases documented in both colonial state and missionary newspapers and Nyasa times online newspaper. The study underscores the critical importance of historical inquiry in comprehending the intricate layers of sexual violence and its enduring consequences.
Rhoda Malowa
Paper short abstract:
Although law sets standards and protects rights, it is challenged by cultural constructions. Cultural standards of adolescent sexual and reproductive health silently resist law and human rights affecting their reinforcement. A meaningful engagement between culture and law need not be overlooked.
Paper long abstract:
Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASRHR) has seen multiple interventions to ensure rights are upheld and young ones are protected. While the purpose of law is to establish standards, maintain order, resolve disputes and protect liberties and rights, it is limited when it encounters culture which is also embedded with rules that govern people’s way of living including their sexuality. Where law and culture are in conflict, Policies are marred with inconsistencies and create other problems in the course of responding to some. Furthermore, law reinforcement is affected as the conflict also manifests in the ones accountable for service provision. Drawing from the SRHR problems facing young people and the impact on their lives, there is a need for a review of law related interventions on adolescent SRHR and an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses in the cultural context they are applied in order to establish gaps and propose alternative solutions. Although the influence of law on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and consequentially cultural perceptions on adolescent sexuality cannot be undermined, it is important to engage meaningfully with various stakeholders at community level if transformation other than the seemingly unachievable cultural shut down is to be achieved.
Felisah Mitambo
Paper short abstract:
Despite the legal framework put in place to combat human trafficking , countries like Malawi continue to suffer from the scourge. This paper discusses the challenges faced in the enforcement of human trafficking laws in Malawi and whether a more multi disciplinary approach is suitable .
Paper long abstract:
Human trafficking is a serious crime and a violation of human rights. Violations of human rights are both a cause and a consequence of trafficking in persons, making the promotion and protection of human rights particularly relevant to the fight against it. Malawi has not been spared this vice , despite being a party to several international human rights instruments and the Palermo Protocol itself, Malawi is said to be a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking of mostly women and girls. Malawi enacted the Trafficking in Persons Act (2015)(TIP 2015). A progressive law whose objectives are amongst other things “to make provision for the prevention and elimination of trafficking in persons. However the continued reports of human trafficking in Malawi raises the critical questions as to why despite nearly a decade of resourcing and the establishment of an extensive anti-human trafficking legal framework, human trafficking persists with little or no change. It further raises the question as to whether Malawi’s legal framework is adequate to respond to the lived in realities of citizens in as far as combating human trafficking is concerned. The paper analyses Malawi’s anti-human trafficking legal framework to identify the gaps and barriers and to propose solutions including multidisciplinary approaches for effective implementation.
Christiana Ejura Attah (Pen Resource University, Gombe, Nigeria)
Paper short abstract:
The Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011 and its 2013 amendment, among other provisions of Nigeria's legal frameworks, will be examined to determine whether or not these frameworks are sufficient to prevent post-conflict rights violations committed against female survivors of Boko Haram sexual terrorism.
Paper long abstract:
There is a wealth of information regarding sexual violence, victimisation of women, and their rights during armed conflicts. However, the rights of women survivors of conflict-related sexual violence who suffer from rejection and re-victimisation are marginally discussed, despite their realities. The Nigerian extremist group Boko Haram has abducted hundreds of women and girls since utilising sexual terrorism in its terror campaign in 2013. Notable among them was the kidnapping of 276 "Chibok girls," which aroused outrage worldwide. Some women survivors of Boko Haram sexual violence have, however, been facing rejection, stigmatisation, discrimination, and even ostracization from their family members and communities. The fundamental human rights violations they suffer, no doubt, are painful reminders of the past, which they wish to forget but still haunt them. Although the legal frameworks regarding the rights of women in Nigeria are well developed, most of them cover peacetime situations without specific reference to conflict and post-conflict situations that have a bearing on women's past experiences, as in the case of Boko Haram’s victims of sexual terrorism. The provisions of Nigeria's legal frameworks, including the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011, as amended by the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act, 2013, will be used to analyse the adequacies or otherwise of these legal frameworks in countering post-conflict rights abuses of female survivors of Boko Haram sexual terrorism. This analysis will draw from my larger fieldwork on "An Appraisal of the Legal Framework for Curbing Terrorism in Nigeria."
Gift Mauluka (University of Bayreuth)
Paper short abstract:
Child labour is a complex problem that requires non-traditional approaches to overcome. It requires a blend of approaches from different perspectives. The Theatre for Development approach blends the application and implementation of laws with other non-normative approaches for effective solutions.
Paper long abstract:
Child labour is a global problem. The International Labour Organization (ILO) forecasts that these numbers will possibly increase due to COVID-19, while the Food and Agriculture Organisation indicates that adverse effects of climate change are mostly likely to push more children to be exploited through child labour in Sub-Saharan Africa. To overcome this problem, the international community promised children protection from child labour through international conventions such as Conventions 138, 182 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Despite these conventions and other programmes, children are still engaged in child labour, which is affecting their wellbeing. While the promise offered through the legal frameworks seems to be limited in achieving efficacy in protecting children from child labour, limited scholarly attention lies on how participatory theatre can be used as an approach to find alternative solutions to the persistent occurrence of child labour. This approach is characterized by the active participation of the community where they identify their problem, reflect on why and how the problem affects them, and, with insights gained through the engagement of the performers, explore solutions-characteristic which are mostly absent in the formalistic application and implementation of legal frameworks. It is, therefore, against this background that this paper argues that the efficacy of the law in addressing child labour can be achieved through the use of participatory approaches. This exploration is drawn from fieldwork and theatre performances in the central parts of Malawi, where there are higher cases of child labour due to tobacco farming.