HAVE YOU RATIFIED THE PROTOCOL?
EASSI
EASSI is a member of Solidarity of African Women’s Rights (SOAWR), an organisation made up of 26 members bent on advocating for the ratification of the AU Protocol of Women’s Rights. Beverley Nambozo met with Faiza Mohammed, the African Regional Director of Equality Now, who shared how the Protocol is being used as a practical advocacy tool for women’s and girls’ rights. Faiza shares that as of December 2008, Guinea Bissau was the last to ratify the Protocol bringing the total number of countries to 26. She congratulates all members of SOAWR upon this achievement. As a feminist, Faiza encourages young feminists to be assertive and not be afraid to challenge the older feminists. The older ones should involve them more and I also believe that the concept of solidarity works very well.
Furthermore, Equality Now started a programme, Adolescent Girls legal Defence Fund that ad vocates for the legal protection of vulnerable girls espe-cially those who are unable to fend for themselves. In Zambia, one thirteen year old school girl was raped by a teacher after he tricked her to his house to collect class work.
The detailed story below was shared by Faiza
Mohammed to SOAWR members:
In February 2006, a thirteen year old schoolgirl, R.M., was raped by her teacher, Edson Hakasenke when she went to his house to collect her school papers upon his request. Mr. Hakasenke told her not to report the inci-dent as she would be thrown out of school and he would lose his job. R.M. did not report the rape until several weeks later after she was treated for a sexually transmit-ted infection that she had contracted as a result of the rape. Her aunt/guardian filed a complaint with the head-master. When confronted, Mr. Hakasenke claimed R.M. was his “girlfriend.” The headmaster indicated this was not the first such incident involving Mr. Hakasenke, but maintained that whatever misconduct had taken place in R.M.’s case had happened outside school hours and therefore it was a “personal” matter. He also claimed that the children were warned to keep their distance from teachers, particularly those of the opposite sex who make advances, because of the fear of HIV/AIDS. Mr. Hakasenke fled the country soon after the complaint was filed. On his return to Zambia, he was arrested but then released on the basis that too much time had elapsed between the incident and its reporting. R.M.’s aunt subsequently consulted a lawyer who took the case pro bono and instituted a civil suit against the teacher, the school, the Zambian Ministry of Education and the Attorney General as legal advisor to the govern-ment. In the civil suit, R.M claimed damages from Mr. Hakasenke for personal injury and emotional distress.
She also requested that the school and the Ministry of Education be held accountable for their negligence and that the Ministry of Education set guidelines to prevent incidents of teacher rape in the future. Through its Adolescent Girls’ legal Defense Fund, Equality Now advised R.M.’s lawyer on applicable international and regional law that would be relevant to her case. Equality Now also convened and strategized with a coalition of civil society organizations in Zambia to develop a program to address cases of violence against girls by teachers.

These efforts bore fruit when, on 30 June 2008, Judge Phillip Musonda of the High Court of Zambia delivered his judgment and awarded R.M. total damages worth K45,000,OOO($14,000). He called the failure to prosecute Mr. Hakasenke a “dereliction of duty” considering the weight of the evidence. The judge noted that the abuse amounted to “enduring psychological brutalization.” He referred the case to the Director of Public Prosecution for possible criminal prosecution of Mr. Hakasenke and called on the Ministry of Education to issue regulations which would “stem such acts in the future.”
Activists in Zambia have called this a landmark decision. Since this case reached the courts, R.M:s lawyer has received several calls from other girls and their families seeking help for cases of defilement (rape of minors). Girls have also approached R.M. quietly for advice on their own situations of incest and teacher abuse, illustrating all too clearly how the government needs to address this issue urgently. However, on 29 July 2008, the Attorney General filed a Notice of Appeal indicating that he intended to appeal the part of the judgment that holds his office vicariously liable for the acts of Mr. Hakasenke. The Attorney General has not yet submitted to the court a brief on the grounds for appeal.
A sexual behavior survey undertaken by the Government of Zambia in 2003 revealed that 16.3% of female respondents from all age groups had experienced forced sexual encounters, with 17.7%of the youngest age sample (15 to 19 years old) reporting “forced sex:’ In a 2007 study undertaken by the non-governmental organization Women and Law in Southern Africa Research and Education Trust- Zambia (WLSA-Zambia),schoolgirls indicated there was violence in schools ranging from verbal sexual harassment to rape. Of ten girls from the same school participating in one forum, seven had been sexually molested by the same teacher and none had reported it for fear of being victimized or further harassed. Lack of knowledge and information on where to report was also said to be a major limitation. One of the recommendations made by the girls themselves was that schools should take all reports of sexual harassment by teachers seriously and should punish any teacher found to have harassed girls sexually. They also proposed that there be specific procedures to tackle pupils’ reports of harassment.

Defilement of girls under 16 years of age is punishable by imprisonment of up to life under Zambia’s Penal Code. The right to protection of the law and protection of young persons from exploitation is also provided under Article 11 of Zambia’s Constitution. Article 12 of the Protocol to the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the “Protocol”), which Zambia ratified in 2006, obliges States Parties to take all appropriate measures to “protect...the girl-child from all forms of abuse, including sexual harassment in schools and other educational institutions and provide for sanctions against the perpetrators of such practices.” Article4 of the Protocol, which was cited in the court decision in R.M.’s case, obliges Zambia to prevent, punish and eradicate all forms of violence, “including un-wanted or forced sex.” Zambia is also obligated under Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to take all measures to protect children from all forms of violence, including sexual abuse, “while in the care of parents, legal guardians, or any other person who has the care of the child.” Yet the rape of girls in schools in Zambia is a frequent occurrence and is rarely punished.
The coalition convened by Equality Now continues to work on R.M.’s case, in the hope of making a change in the lives of schoolgirls all over Zambia. Coalition members have engaged in various advocacy efforts and strategic activities aimed at publicizing this landmark case. Zambia Media Women’s Association (ZAMWA) is developing a series of call-in radio shows aimed at furthering public education on the issue of teacher rape. The Young Women Christian Association (YWCA)is starting a hotline for girls facing sexual abuse. The coalition is exploring ways to put pressure on the Attorney General to drop the appeal in R.M.’scase and to push for the prosecution of Mr. Hakansenke. Their cause can be significantly strengthened by international activism.
“Woman is born free and her rights are the same as those of man...

(Olympe de Gouges (1748-93) French writer and revolutionary
....