Monrovia – Reports of men raping girls and boys less than 10 years have reached an alarming proportion across Liberia.
Report by Mae Azango [email protected]
One of such reports, which have caught the attention of Veronica Mamie Doe, daughter of former President Samuel Kanyon Doe, is that of a nine-year-old kid who was allegedly raped by a 55-year-old man in the Township of West Point.
Ms. Doe fuming with rage as she spoke with this newspaper in an exclusive interview, urged Vice President-elect Jewel Howard-Taylor to re-enforce the rape law and reintroduce the Domestic Violence Bill.
“I am very disappointed over the unprecedented rape situation in Liberia, where older men are found raping babies and children, which often leads to their death. We need the rape laws of Liberia to be re-enforced with harsh punishment of castration of men, who rape children,” Ms. Doe said.
“The worse part of all is some of these men, who raped and killed these children, are educated and hold high positions in government.”
“They are usually released on bond. Look at our kinsman, Representative Marias Railey, of Grand Gedeh County, who allegedly raped and impregnated his 13-year-old niece,” she said.
It must be, however, said that Rep. Raily has never been charged and so far everything been said is all rumor and the fact is yet to be established by the court.
Veronica said she supports Gender Minister Julia Duncan Cassell, who once suggested that men who rape babies and underage girls be castrated.
According to Mamie (as she is commonly known) Minister Cassell had complained that the rape law is weak and cannot keep perpetrators in prison.
Mamie further said the fact that Veep-elect Howard Taylor is very sympathetic to the plight of women issues while she was a Senator, means that she has women at heart.
Therefore, she believes as future Veep, she will galvanize many women to do more in lobbying with their lawmakers so that they can pass the Gender Parity Bill, Domestic Violence and reinforcing the rape law with harsh punishment.
“If according to our law, rape is not a billable offense, but yet rapists are released on bill, so why have a law that is not strong enough?
Because rape is mostly perpetrated by men, so the next thing we will hear is that male lawmakers calling to cancel the rape law, because why is it important when they want perpetrators released on bill?”
According to Liberia’s Ministry of Gender and Development 2016 report, rape remains one of the most frequently reported crimes in Liberia, and the incidence of sexual violence against women in Liberia is among the highest in the world.
IRIN online News network quoted Nicola Jones, a research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) survey data that states from 2013, found that 19 to 26 percent of women and girls have reported having been raped by a stranger, and that 70 to 73 percent of married women have been sexually assaulted by their husbands.
“It’s true we are out of conflict, but we still have this issue of rape as a big problem here,” said Rosana Schaack, the founder of THINK (Touching Humanity in Need of Kindness) Liberia, which works to help former girl soldiers, war wives and survivors of rape and domestic violence readjust to post-conflict life.
“Even though we’ve had 10 years of peace, some of these things drag on longer than 10 years.”
Coming back to Ms. Doe, who is currently vising her mother in the country, former First Lady Madam Nancy B. Doe, said women are empowered to an extent. Mamie urged Veep-elect Howard-Taylor to push for more empowerment for more women and girls so that together they can move the gender piracy bill forward.
Touching on the Domestic Violence Bill, from which the female genital cutting (FGC) also known as female circumcision, component was removed before passage into law, Ms. Doe described the action as being an evil plot.
“I think It should be put back, because FGC is a violation of women’s rights. I believe that this act was done to please the male politicians in the legislature.”
“I heard they used it to win votes in the rural areas, but they should leave women’s issues for women to deal with and talk about what affect the men. What they should concern themselves with, is when we are talking about castrating men for raping babies.”
It can be recalled that then Senator Jewel Howard Taylor pushed for both the Gender Parity and the Domestic Violence Bills to be passed, but the gender parity bill was rejected by both houses and the Domestic Violence Bill suffered many setbacks, which included throwing it off the floor.
“Thanks to that decision because it would have been thrown out of the window as it happened once in the 52nd Legislature, when Hon. Teah said: ‘Let this bill get off the floor and never find its way back here,’ but due to the negative comments that came from the floor, the bill was withdrawn for us to go back and do our consultations.
The House of Senate has acutely put back that provision. Even as we have put it back, we still need to go back to the lower house to have it passed,” said Senator Howard Taylor.
Regardless of her efforts and mobilization, the bill was barely passed last year by both Houses, which demanded that the women remove the FGC component from the bill, on grounds that Liberia cannot depart from its heritage of culture and traditions.
Former Internal Affairs Minister Morris Dukuly once said it is important to observe culture and tradition, but forceful initiation was a violation under the laws of Liberia, when he disclosed that a Southeastern woman’s family demanded justice for their daughter, who was forced into the Sande Society.
Speaking about forceful initiation, Ms. Doe said it is not fair to forcefully initiate a school going girl or boy into the secret societies, and give excuse of practicing culture and tradition.
“Did the culture say you should grab a little girl and put her into the Sande bush because you say she peeped inside your bush, so her punishment is initiation?
These politicians and some traditional people are using these evil practices to suppress women further, and blame it on cultural practices.”