Africa

As Awareness Grows, Women With Obstetric Fistula May Finally Have Hope

obstetric-fistula-main

By: Ashley Repp

News Desk Reporter, Africa

 

Nearly half of African girls are at risk for obstetric fistula.  This serious condition is defined by tears between the  birth canal and urinary tract, that causes the affected individual to constantly leak urine and feces.  This condition occurs at particularly high rates in Africa due to poverty, child brides, female genital cutting, sexual assault and rape, and unattended births.  Young girls are highly susceptible, as in rural parts of Africa, girls are often married and become pregnant before their bodies are sufficiently developed to handle the birth of a child. Furthermore, in rural regions with scare resources, unattended births compound the already dire situation that many women face.  In such conditions, women and girls giving birth may experience  exceptionally long labors that can not be properly or quickly addressed by medical personnel.  The child often dies in the situation of an unattended and prolonged labor, and if the mother does not die, she often sustains serious tears, or fistula.

Once a woman sustains a fistula, the condition is debilitating, humiliating, and there are few qualified individuals readily available to perform the surgery necessary to repair the tears.  As such, few women are able to receive medical care and are burdened by the stigma and pain associated with fistula.  Because of the constant fecal and urine leakage, affected women are often ostracized by their communities and families.  Husbands often abandon their wives; families of a rape victims who become pregnant and are then affected by fistula, are often ostracized for being “damaged” and “impure.” Communities may also abandon affected women, with the aim of avoiding the smell that  accompanies the fistula condition, and any possible fertility and birth “curse” that may follow affected women.  Abandoned by family and community, many of these women are left to suffer and die alone.

As debilitating and traumatizing as this disease is for women in rural and resource scarce areas, repair of the fistulas is relatively simple with involvement of qualified medical personnel.  As more awareness is called to the condition and the situations that underly the high occurrence of the condition, money, interest, and facilities can be focused to address at least some of the cases of obstetric fistula in rural Africa.  Attention given to the issues of child brides, sexual assault, and unattended births, may play a role in reducing the number of women who are affected by fistulas every year.

 

For more information, please visit:

Voices of America- Many African Females at Risk of Obstetric Fistula- June 25, 2014

Mercy Ships- Mercy Ships Provides Free Obstetric Fistula Surgeries in Africa- May 22, 2014

Aid For Africa- Fistula Foundation

Aljazeera- Fistula surgery transforms lives in Kenya- May 23, 2014

Bodies Recovered from Captured Libyan Base

By: Danielle L. Cowan (Gwozdz)
Senior Desk Operator, Africa

TRIPOLI, Libya – At least 35 bodies have been recovered from a Libyan military base that was overrun by Islamist-led militants.

Rival militias have been battling for control of Benghazi (photo courtesy of AFP)

 

The special forces base in Benghazi was captured on Tuesday, after two days of intense fighting.

An Islamist and jihadist alliance announced the capture of the main military base in the eastern city in a statement Wednesday, which was confirmed by an army official.

Libyan special forces fled from the Benghazi military base as militants overwhelmed them with rocket fire. A special forces spokesman told Reuters that militants have since assumed control of the military camp.

Libya has been facing violence since 2011. The violence came from militias uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

The new parliament is said to be holding an emergency meeting this week.

A Red Crescent spokesperson told AFP that “up to now we have managed to recover 35 bodies. But there are more to be found.”

Further, the spokesperson said that “Special forces under the command of [Colonel] Wanis Abu Khamada withdrew after several attacks.”

Many western governments – including the United States, UK, France, and Germany – have already asked their citizens to leave the country. Several have also evacuated their embassies.

At least 97 people have also been killed in fighting between militias battling for control of Tripoli’s main airport in the past week.

The government has blamed clashes between the armed groups for starting a fire at a Tripoli fuel depot, and for preventing firefighters from putting out the blaze.

The special forces are one of the units of Libya’s regular armed forces that support rogue Libyan general Khalifa Haftar, but they have not placed themselves under his command.

Hafta began his offensive against radical Islamist groups in Beghazi dubbed “Operation Dignity” in mid-May.

The militias reportedly agreed on a ceasefire on Wednesday to allow the blaze to be brought under control.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – ‘Dozens of bodies’ at captured base in Benghazi, Libya – 30 July 2014
Alakhbar English – Libya Islamists capture Benghazi base – 31 July 2014
War News Updates – Diplomats Flee Libya As The Violence Escalates Out Of Control – 30 July 2014
Gsbuzz – ‘Dozens of bodies’ at captured base in Benghazi, Libya – 30 July 2014

 

Boko Haram Blamed for Suicide Bomb at Nigeria College

By: Danielle L. Cowan (Gwozdz)
Senior Desk Operator, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – At least six people have been killed in a suicide bombing at a college in northern Nigeria’s biggest city, Kano.

Destruction from the bombing at the college (photo courtesy of Reuters)

 

The bomber is reported to be a female and had blown herself up as students waited in line to check off their names on the admission’s list.

In addition, the government states that a 10-year-old girl has been arrested in a neighboring state for wearing a suicide belt.

This attack has been the fifth one in the city of Kano since this past Saturday. Three of these five attacks have been carried out by female bombers.

Boko Haram, the militant group, has been blamed for all of these attacks.

These female attackers are said to be a new trend in the attacks.

No one knows if the female attackers are being recruited or forced kidnapped girls to carry out these suicide missions. Currently, Boko Haram is holding 200 girls that were abducted from school.

A witness stated that bodies were strewn around everywhere from the blast at the college.

An additional seven people are said to have been wounded from the blast.

This year alone, the militants have killed over 2,000 people in their attacks.

In 2013, Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, imposed a state of emergency in the northern states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, vowing to crush the insurgency.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Nigeria Kano blast: Boko Haram blamed for six deaths – 30 July 2014
AllAfrica – Nigeria: Kano Blast – Boko Haram Blamed for Six Deaths – 30 July 2014
GH Headlines – Nigeria Kano blast: Boko Haram blamed for six deaths – 31 July 2014
Hallmark News – Nigeria Kano blast: Boko Haram blamed for six deaths – 31 July 2014
Africa News Desk – Kano Blast – Boko Haram Blamed for Six Deaths – 31 July 2014

 

Ethiopia Arrests Most Wanted Opposition Leader

By: Danielle L. Cowan (Gwozdz)
Senior Desk Operator, Africa

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Ethiopia has confirmed it has arrested opposition leader Andargachew Tsege, who disappeared in Yemen last month.

Tsege leading the banned Ginbot 7 group (photo courtesy of BBC News)

 

Tsege’s wife, Yemi Hailemariam, told the BBC she was shocked to see him paraded on state television in the UK, where she currently resides.

Tsege has been arrested in Yemen and then extradited.

He has been sentenced to death in absentia on charges of plotting to overthrow Addis Ababa government, state media reported on Wednesday.

Tsege is a secretary general of the Ginbot 7 group and was among 200 opposition figures and journalists charged with conspiring rebels, plotting attacks and attempting to topple the government.

Ginbot 7 has been labeled as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian government.

He was sentenced to death in 2009. However, another trial put him behind bars for life.

Similar to his wife, Tsege also holds citizenship in Britain.

Now that Tsege is in the government’s hands, his family is worried about his safety. “The British embassy has still not been granted consular access,” his wife told the BBC. “We are deeply concerned he is being tortured and they will wait for his wounds to be healed before anyone can see him.”

There are also concerns that Yemen’s government did not follow the correct procedures for extradition. It is believed that Tsege was arrested and flown to Addis Ababa without British officials being formally alerted.

An extradition expert stated that the British embassy should have been notified that one of its citizens was being detained and given the chance to visit him.

“Sometimes there is no legal extradition process and then there is a risk that rendition can take place following informal contact between police forces,” the expert said.

In a statement on Friday, Ginbot 7 stated that Tsege has been given for slaughter. It has also warned Yemen that it has made a “historic mistake.”

Ginbot 7 also says that it declares a war in the name of Tsege for justice, freedom, and equality.

BBC correspondents have claimed that Tsege sounded hoarse and appeared to be incoherent during his appearance on TV.

He said he has accepted his arrest as a “blessing in disguise.”

An Ethiopian political commentator based in America stated that the region has always been dangerous for political activists.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Ginbot 7’s Andargachew Tsege: Ethiopia confirms arrest – 9 July 2014
Reuters – Yemen extradites Ethiopian opposition official to Addis Ababa: government – 9 July 2014
Economist – Snatched – 9 July 2014
Aljazeera – Yemen ‘extradites’ Ethiopia opposition leader – 5 July 2014
The Guardian – UK stands accused over extradition of Ethiopian opposition leader – 4 July 2014

African Leaders Vote to Give Themselves Impunity from War Crimes Prosecutions

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Managing Editor

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea – In a move Amnesty International called “a backward step in the fight against impunity and a betrayal of victims of serious violations of human rights.” African leaders voted to grant themselves and their allies’ immunity from prosecution for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide at the new .

 

During an African Union Summit in Equatorial Guinea African leaders voted to expand the scope of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, to include such crimes as crimes against humanity and genocide; however these leaders also voted to grant themselves immunity by preventing the court from having the ability to prosecute sitting heads of state and their allies for these crimes. (Photo Courtesy of Al Jazeera America)

The vote came Friday at an African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea. Journalists were excluded from the summit, Amnesty International said. News of the vote was communicated in a statement Monday night about the outcomes of the Summit. A paragraph of the statement listed the legal instruments agreed to at the meeting included the “Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights.” The amendment bars the court from prosecuting sitting African leaders as well as “senior officials.”

The court was formally created by the African Union six years ago. However, it is not yet operational nor is it clear when it will be. Last week leaders at the African Union summit also voted to expan the courts scope by moving to expand the court from its intial mandate as a civil tribuman to a criminal court with the authority to hear cases dealing with the most serious crimes including crimes agasint humanity, genocide and piracy.

Forty-two African and international civil society and rights groups had objected to the amendment, arguing in an open letter before the summit that giving impunity to these leaders violates both international and domestic laws as well as the constitution of the African Union.

Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International’s Africa Director for Research and Advocacy, addressed the amendment saying that, “At a time when the African continent is struggling to ensure there is accountability for serious human rights violations and abuses, it is impossible to justify this decision which undermines the integrity of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, even before it becomes operational.”

Some critics argue the newly expanded African Court of Justice and Human Rights is an attempt to limit the scope of the International Criminal Court in Africa. However, According to Amnesty International the African Union’s decision to grant immunity to African leaders at the African Court of Justice and Human Rights will not affect the International Criminal Court’s right to investigate sitting heads of state and government. The I.C.C. has indicted two sitting presidents; Omar Hassan al-Bashir of The Sudan and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. Bashir and others have attempted to argue that the court is a neocolonial weapon designed to punish Africans. However, the court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, who is from the Gambia, has said the claim that the court has an anti-African bias is “one of the biggest misperceptions about the court.”

For more information please see:

Al Jazeera America – African Leaders Vote To Give Themselves Immunity from War Crimes – 1 June 2014

Standard Digital – African Union Gives Presidents Immunity from War Crimes – 1 June 2014

The New York Times – African Leaders Grant Themselves Immunity in Proposed Court – 1 June 2014

Al Jazeera America – Does The ICC Have An Africa Problem? – 7 February 2014