Ngwentah Berlyne Ngwalem, Buea, Cameroon, SSH Blog Correspondent

Every article that I have read in newspapers like “Cameroon Tribune” blames women for being “created female’’ as the sole or biggest reason for why they are sexually harassed in the streets by random men who claim to be distracted by their mode of dressing. The message that is sent is that women should remain at home-locked up, in the kitchen cooking because their mere presence in streets is a distraction to men.

My colleagues Zoneziwoh M. Wondieh and Patience Lum and I have been working on addressing harassment. We have found that many men take it as a right to attack women and claim it is because they are indecently dressed and a distraction. But everything in life is a distraction but it is ones decision whether to let it be a point of focus and act on their feelings or thoughts. We pass and meet thousands of people each day. Everything that is different from what you normally see around might cost you to look, admire or desire it but it is not your right to offend or attack based on your fixed ideas, feelings and thoughts on how things should be. These includes people with a lighter and attractive skin complexion, physically attractive looking people, extremely tall or huge people, Dwarfs, Albinos and people of different races.

With these differences if someone were to harass, attack or rape any of these individuals and give the excuse that it is because these people are attractive or distracted them because they look different will the perpetrator’s excuse not be dismissed and they be punished with the reason that those people are who they are not by their making and do not deserve to be harassed because it is the looker’s responsibility to contain themselves? And that the harasser has a mind to think for themselves?.

How is it possible that people consider a woman’s dressing as a possible cause of rape and sexual/street harassment and refuse to see that this whole issue is about power and control given that women in Kabas , Nuns, Children and others who are modestly dressed get raped and  harassed?

Another big problem is that police officers are the ones enforcing the dress code. There is no woman/girl I have seen or spoken to who feels safe in the hands of policemen. Girls who get held by policemen for either forgetting their National Identity cards when traveling or sometimes some possible made up reason like mode of dressing or disrespectful behavior towards the police or another individual often complain about those police men married or not chatting them up instead of doing their jobs. It will be worse for you as a woman if you resist their sexual advances.

People ignore the fact that these policemen’s jobs also involve single and married policemen asking for several women’s numbers or making unwanted sexual advances towards them. It involves policemen harassing women under the pretext of implementing the dress code law.

How does it help when such attitudes are not strongly condemned and the policemen not punished, instead women are told they are the cause of their sexual harassment either by forgetting their National Identity Cards or by their mode of dressing? Policemen are being encouraged and taught to know that they are above the law in Cameroon and can violate people’s rights. Men should be taught to take responsibility for their actions. I find the undefined dress code law very confusing and misleading.

Media coverage of dress code in Cameroon encourages people to shame, humiliate and act violently towards women. Women’s problems and difficulties handling harassment in Cameroon does not arise from their dressing, it comes from people’s twisted views about the world and the woman’s place in society. Instead of being taught to be responsible citizens, young people are being taught to continue with the old tradition of policing women’s lives and bodies. They are taught to violate other people’s rights simply because they are of the wrong sex and will eventually be set free because those group of people whose rights are being violated fall under the underprivileged gender with laws constructed for them to follow with the false notion that it is being done for their own good. Patriarchal norms have made it possible for women to get blamed whether or not they do obey, or do not obey and get attacked.

The media and government of this country should change their language and start talking about ways to punish perpetrators of such crimes, not punish the victims, and teach the perpetrators to live in a society full of different types of people, to understand that everyone has equal rights and the law to protect them.

Berlyne is a Cameroonian-based women’s human rights activist, passionate and determined to put an end to social injustice of any kind. You can find her on twitter @Luvequalityrule and Facebook.

Meet the Blog Correspondents of the Third 2014 Cohort!

Katie Bowers, NY, USA

Katie is a social worker and community educator interested in ending gender-based violence, working with youth to make the world a better place, and using pop culture as a tool for social change. Katie holds a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.S.W. from Hunter College. Katie found her footing as a feminist and activist through her work as a Student Area Coordinator with Amnesty International and as an intern with Girls for Gender Equity and Make the Road New York. When not working with in real life young people at her professional gig, Katie volunteers with the Harry Potter Alliance, an organization that utilizes the power of the internet and popular stories like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games to make activism accessible and engaging. Check out her writing at the Imagine Better Blog and geek out with her on Twitter, @CornishPixie9.

Daniel Burdick, CA, USA

Daniel remains a longtime activist for peace, the environment, and social equality. During his otherwise unremarkable childhood, he experienced firsthand the profound effects public harassment made on his friends and family. While the alternatives of the late 1960’s were being explored, the rebellious although impressionable teen stumbled upon early feminist literature; resulting in his adoption of its core philosophies. An active participant in the 1980’s “Myth California USA” movement ( a counterpoint to the national beauty pageant in Santa Cruz, California), he soon embraced a lifetime commitment with a Women’s Studies UC graduate. Daniel is also the parent of two independent, high-achieving female offspring; and continues to offer creative strategies in transportation and recycling issues regarding climate change, wildlife preservation, and the social ethics of media and technology. He currently works as a design engineer and is an avid bicyclist.

Laura Bustamante, Lima, Peru

Laura ha estudiado Administración en Turismo en Universidades de Perú y Barcelona, y Estudios de Género en la ONG Flora Tristán. Orgullosa feminista que le encanta escribir, viajar y comer, con un gran interés en activismo para igualdad de género, mujer y la comunidad LGTB. Actualmente realiza un taller con niños y niñas en una escuela pública para que se comprometan con la igualdad entre mujeres y hombres, asimismo rechacen toda forma de violencia, discriminación y/o desvalorización de la mujer/niña. Apasionada al arte, la danza y el diseño. La puedes seguir en Twitter en @laeureka

Laura has studied Tourism Management in Universities of Peru and Barcelona, and Gender Studies at the NGO Flora Tristan. A proud feminist who loves to write, traveling and food, with a strong interest in activism for gender equality, women and LGBTcommunity. She is currently conducting a workshop with children in a public school to commit them on gender equality by rejecting all forms of violence, discrimination and devaluation of women and girl. She is passionate about art, dance and design. You can follow her on Twitter at @laeureka

Sarah Colomé, IL, USA

Sarah is a progress-focused educator and advocate dedicated to building strategic coalitions centered on creating social change. Previously serving as the SOARS Booking Director for A Long Walk Home, Inc., Sarah now serves as an adjunct professor in DePaul University’s Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies department, teaching on issues of multiculturalism, identity, and social justice. Her passion for feminism and multicultural justice was ignited in college, where she began her own exploration of identity. Sarah sits on the Board of Directors for Chicago Women’s Health Center, and volunteers as a Medical & Legal Advocate empowering sexual violence survivors on behalf of Rape Victim Advocates, in Chicago. Having traveled both nationally and internationally as a competitive collegiate public speaker, Sarah acts as a consultant, coaching collegiate debate, and providing trainings on issues of equity, justice, and advocacy across the country. Her writing has been published in Fair Observer, F Bomb, and Brazen Life, and you can follow Sarah’s updates on Linkedin or hear her perspectives on Twitter.

Siel Devos, London, England

Siel is currently doing her master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies with a major in contemporary Islam at SOAS University in London. She has spent a year in the Middle East to study Arabic and to gain insight in the Islamic society, and where she experienced the reality of street harassment in the Arab world. In addition to trying to fight gender issues in the Middle East and beyond, she writes her own fashion blog Mademoisielle.com, and she’s also starting up an online fashion, lifestyle & relationships magazine for muslim women. If she still has some spare time left, Siel likes SATC re-runs, the occasional pilates session or cooking up anything that involves avocado. Find her on twitter and instagram under @mademoisielle for way too many selfies and general over-sharing.

Vanessa Diakides, London, England

Vanessa works on the Youth Programme at FORWARD UK and is currently finishing her MA in Women and Child Abuse at CWASU. Her professional interests and experience include supporting women and youth to access education and employment opportunities, direct support work with women experiencing homelessness, substance misuse issues, forms of gendered abuse (including sexual violence, domestic violence and FGM) and those involved in street sex work, research into issues affecting BAMER women and youth, intersectionality between gender, race, disability and religion; and campaigning, lobbying and outreach. She is committed to promoting inclusion and combating poverty and discrimination in all its forms. All views are her own.
Angie Evans, Washington, DC, USA

Angie is a community organizer and social worker. She started her career in the progressive movement during her teens, coordinating punk rock shows and community events in order to create space for youth in her small town. After completing her Masters in Social Work and “getting her feet wet” in Missouri politics, she moved to DC to work on health care reform and economic inequality. At the Center for Community Change she did everything from fill congressional hearings with bales of hay to train new organizers in the South. Most recently she helped grow and mobilize a coalition of 1,900 national, state, and local groups advocating for low-income programs with the Coalition on Human Needs. Last year she quit her job to travel around the world with her husband. They have just returned and are continuing to write about travel and adventure at http://whereisseangie.com

Menusha Gunasekara, Matale, Sri Lanka

Menusha is a recent graduate of Asian University for Women, Bangladesh and holds a B.S in Public Health. She is an advocate for Peace and Human Rights, Women Issues and Environmental Protection. She is also an ambassador for UN My World Survey and a Rising Star at WEDU leadership development program. Recent chaotic incident of street harassment in Sri Lanka inspired her to join SSH and play an active role. By joining SSH, her goal is to educate and raise awareness about the harassment that takes place on the streets of Sri Lanka which has been tolerated by women silently. She enjoys yoga, meditation and walking in green areas and tasting dishes from different cultures. She can be reached via LinkedIn.

Andrea Flores Hernández, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Andrea is in her second year of university, studying Social Communication. She loves languages (She is currently studying French at L’Alliance Française in Santa Cruz), she is into photography, and she is passionate about the books. Like many other women, she has suffered street harassment, even in the street where her house is located; but that does not stop her optimism and her belief that this type of harassment can be eliminated. Currently, she is part of a program in her city that improves citizen journalism. You can follow her on Twitter: @AndreaFlores116

 

Diana Hinova, Sofia, Bulgaria

Diana has experienced life as a woman on the streets of Bulgaria, Russia, the Untied States, and Nepal. She has a Master’s in Public Policy from Georgetown University and works as a consultant to INGOs on topics generally unrelated to gender, while making efforts in her spare time to engage others in dismantling the norms that permit gender violence. Traveling and eating well also rank among her priorities. Get in touch or see what else Diana is up to @dialeidoscope or letnimletni.blogspot.com

Monica Ibrahim, Cairo, Egypt

Monica is the communications manager of HarassMap, an Egyptian initiative aiming at ending social acceptability of sexual harassment. Monica is also a Cairo-based reporter published in several local and international media outlets: The GlobalPost, Scripps Howard Wire and Al-Shorouk newspaper among others. She is also the winner of GroundTruth Fellowship to report on youth unemployment in Egypt and has been previously community manager at “Open Elections Egypt”, a news platform launched by Stpryful and Google to provide live updates on Egyptian elections in 2014. Monica has a degree in Mass communication and journalism from Cairo University; she also studied human rights at Beirut Arab University and Women Leadership at Kansas University. She has a special interest and focus on entrepreneurship and culture. You can follow her on twitter or her personal blog.

Ngwentah Berlyne Ngwalem, Buea, Cameroon

Berlyne is a Cameroonian-based women’s human rights activist, passionate and determined to put an end to social injustice of any kind. She has been an activist long before she came to know who an activist was and what activism really means. She has a BA in Literature, English Language, Performing and visual arts from the University of Buea, Cameroon. She talks about women’s rights, social injustice, and the importance of emotional wellbeing at any given opportunity. Her method of activism is very spontaneous and has no specific place or time to create change. She adores social media activism because it gives her the opportunity to get people’s point of views from across the globe and equally share what it is like living as a Cameroon woman living in a patriarchal Cameroonian society. She loves singing, spending time with her family or chilling at the beach. You can find her on twitter @Luvequalityrule and Facebook.

Yvonne Ní Mhurchú, Limerick, Ireland

Yvonne graduated last year with a BA degree in psychology and philosophy. She volunteers as a SATU (psychological support) worker for her local Rape Crisis Centre and is an advocate for women’s issues and equality. Her belief is that education is hugely important in fighting inequality, harassment and sexual violence. She has previously been published on stop street harassment, ihollaback and is a regular contributor to the website fem2pt0. This year Yvonne started a feminist group, the Limerick Feminist Network which is growing stronger every day. She has also recently coordinated an anti-harassment campaign aimed at night life venues in her area called Good Night Out and is currently working with other feminist groups to help them start the campaign in their regions. You can follow her, her feminist group or her anti-harassment campaign on twitter: @YvonneNiMhurchu, @lmkfeminist and @GNOLimerick.

Khiara Ortiz, NY, USA

Khiara is a recent graduate of New York University with a BAS in Journalism and Psychology. Though she currently works as an assistant in the contracts department for Hachette Book Group, a publishing company, and is passionate about writing, language, and literature, she has increasingly become interested in the feminist movement, specifically in ending street harassment. Living in New York City and experiencing this type of sexual oppression first-hand has made her become aware of the degree to which it is still a problem in societies across the world and just as much of a crisis as heightened forms of sexual violence. Khiara hopes to organize an awareness event during next year’s Sexual Harassment Awareness Month in April 2015. If you also live in NYC and would like to collaborate with her, please feel free to contact her at KhiaraOrtiz@gmail.com.

Pamela Segura, NY, USA

Pam recently graduated from Manhattan College with a degree in English and music. She writes for SciArt in America, an online magazine that focuses on the connections between science, art, and technology, and the music website Pancakes and Whiskey. Before her senior year of college, Pam completed a 117-page grant-funded research paper on the relationship between gender performativity and sexual violence. That project compelled her to continue exploring the social, political, racial, ethnic, and biological factors that construct and deconstruct gender. She is also a volunteer at Groundwork Hudson Valley, an environmentalist nonprofit based in Yonkers, New York. When she is not rambling on about her love of feminism or the English department at her alma mater, Pam writes nature poetry, goes on runs, and plays the blues on her guitar. You can follow her on Instagram or Twitter @pamlivinlovin.