Women in Mozambique are really facing a tough life. Firstly, the AIDS endemic is engulfing the entire nation and secondly, their male partners are abusing them both physically and verbally every now and then.
In the households headed by men, women have little negotiating power. For instance a woman was severely battered by her husband, especially when she asserted to use protection as the man was suffering from AIDS consequent upon which, the woman herself acquired the venereal disease.
Although, the country boasts of endorsing equal rights for women and men, majority of women in Mozambique are not safe in their own homes.
Statistically:
1. 34% of women reported being assaulted in a 2004
2. a significant percentage of girls drop out of school prematurely in order to marry, due to the economic hardships facing households
3. nearly 10,000 cases of domestic violence were recorded
What does this proves?
Although Mozambique has reduced poverty levels dramatically, women have not yet benefited as much as men.
They do not posses enough power even in households, which add on to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, as women are frequently blocked from making basic decisions about their own sexuality.
In many circles women believed it was acceptable for their husbands to beat them. Cultural pressures discouraged women from taking legal action against abusive spouses.
Bottom line:
The authorities must provide shelters around the country for those who survive violence and to help them acquire a skill to make them self-sufficient.
In addition, children must not be separated from their mother, which is a common occurrence in the nation.
This menace could be curbed by providing women with equal rights so that they could become conscious of their rights. And the best way to initiate the process would be by endorsing girl child education in the region which has shown a downward trend recently.
Men must also be made aware of the equality, which is deserved by the native women as well.
