Thriving women-only village is attacked by jealous locals

[emad]

By Mike Pflanz in Archer's Post
(Filed: 16/07/2005)

A group of Kenyan women who fled abusive husbands to set up their own women-only community are facing increasingly violent attacks by local men angry at their success.

Turning traditional African patriarchy on its head, 15 women established Umoja village in 1990, as a refuge after their husbands' behaviour forced them to flee their homes.

Since then the village where women rule has expanded, its 48 members earning a living selling tourists brightly-coloured bead necklaces unique to their tribe, the Samburu.

However this revolution in their midst has outraged elders in the nearest town, Archer's Post, one dusty street lined with two dozen wooden shacks, in a scorched valley 200 miles north of Nairobi.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=0DI24AZI2ZHADQFIQMGSM5OAVCBQWJVC?xml=/news/2005/07/16/wkenya16.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/07/16/ixworld.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=35720

[Coventina]

1. nothing angers abusers more than a victim's success

Sickening.

:puke:

[Mari333]

2. Another scenario where , if the women in the village had M 16s

it would make a difference..Nothing pisses off patriarchal assholes more then when their bullshit authority is challenged..

[barb162]

6. yep

[Pirate Smile]

3. Here was an article on this village from WP on July 8th.

A Place Where Women Rule
All-Female Village in Kenya Is Indication Of Burgeoning Feminism Across Africa

By Emily Wax
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, July 9, 2005; Page A01

UMOJA, Kenya --

-snip-
Ten years ago, a group of women established the village of Umjoa, which means unity in Swahili, on an unwanted field of dry grasslands. The women said they had been raped and, as a result, abandoned by their husbands, who claimed they had shamed their community.

-snip-
What started as a group of homeless women looking for a place of their own became a successful and happy village. About three dozen women live here, and run a cultural center and camping site for tourists visiting the adjacent Samburu National Reserve. Umjoa has flourished, eventually attracting so many women seeking help that they even hired men to haul firewood, traditionally women's work.

-snip-
But the women felt empowered with the revenue from the camping site and their cultural center, where they sell crafts. They were able to send their children to school for the first time, eat well and reject male demands for their daughters' circumcision and marriage.

They became so respected that troubled women, some beaten, some trying to get divorced, started showing up in this little village in northern Kenya. Lolosoli was even invited by the United Nations to attend a recent world conference on gender empowerment in New York.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/08/AR2005070801775.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=137942

[Ripley]

12. Aw geez, I didn't know they were the woman who were forced to be cut

...female circumcision is the most misogynistic thing on planet Earth. Denying a woman the right to an orgasm is so unbelievably Evil I think these men deserve to be eliminated off the face of the planet.

I hope the women can prevail and get some kind of relief help since the UN actually recognizes them. As brutal as this story is, this type of behavior is not unheard of in America. Just because the MSM doesn't report the high levels of spousal abuse and rape in America (unless it is combined with a pretty young child and makes them a profit for pornographic news reporting) doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[Straight Shooter]

15. It's far more than suppression of the female orgasm.

Young girls get lifelong infections from this "ritual" which is often performed by an elder village woman who uses the same knife from girl to girl. The girls can hear the screams of the ones undergoing the unanesthetized procedure. Some young girls die. Many are left with physical problems that cause painful sexual intercourse for the rest of their lives.

Some "modern" women have their daughters circumcised in hospitals, with anesthetic. That's better for their health and of course to avoid the agonizing pain, but the message is still clear: you have no right to enjoy your sexuality and your femaleness is inherently evil.

It's brutal, it's heinous, and although I think all cultures have the right to their own beliefs, the circumcision of girls is just beyond the pale.

[Ripley]

16. That's right...I didn't mean to slight the physical disability side effect

Which are pretty awful too. I don't know the history of this practice in this culture, but why has it taken so long for those women to protest this? Or maybe they have in the past and were just murdered to shut them up. God, this makes me so sick in this day in age!

[Straight Shooter]

27. I didn't think you were slighting it, not at all.

It just gave me an opportunity to add more detail to your post.

It really is sickening.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

29. I once read a woman anthropologist's account of an African tribe

that practices female genital mutilation. Since all the tribes in the area practiced it, the women thought that it was just an inevitable part of life, because no man would marry an intact woman, and no woman could afford to be unmarried.

They also believed that if the clitoris remained, it would grow to be the size of a penis. They were stunned when the anthropologist told them that Western women were not mutilated and that their belief was untrue.

[bobbieinok]

30. have also read that many groups sew vagina after intercourse so that

each time it's 'having sex with a virgin'

I've wondered why no one seems to connect the bleeding with the high rate of AIDS/HIV in Africa.....apparently the rate in women in Africa is the highest in the world, or close to the highest

[Ripley]

37. THAT IS DISGUSTING!

I thought the Chinese were the worst when it came to mutilating the female body (other than just plain old murder which the Europeans I think come in hands down after their "witch" burning and drowning orgies), but I stand corrected. These African men are the worst.

There is something very selfish, evil and mentally, perhaps even genetically wrong with men who believe this is acceptable to do to another human being for their own pleasure.

This world is an awful place for a hell of a lot of females.

[ismnotwasm]

19. From some labor and delivery nurses I know

I understand that when these women have children, often, instead of stretching or even "ripping" downward, (around where an episiotomy gets performed) instead the tissue tears upwards, ripping through scar tissue...horrible pain to say the least. I agree, it's one of the most henious custom humans have ever come up with, and the fact that it occurs today, NOW, no doubt on some young girl makes me sick.

[jmm]

4. If the locals were half as concerned when

the women were being abused they wouldn't have needed to start a new community.

[Nay]

5. Now, where is the United Nations when this village is threatened

simply because it is a successful FEMALE village? I have always wondered why African women didn't do this very thing -- establish their own village -- until I realized that of course once they were settled, peaceful and successful, there would be a gaggle of envious men who would destroy them just to "show them who's boss."

In Africa especially, I would like the UN to establish a female STATE. It wouldn't have to be big. Let me tell you, once the word got out, thousands of women would flock there to be free of their male 'superiors.' And we would finally see what Africa could be, if it didn't have to deal with its millions of males chasing after sex, power and blood.

[chalky]

7. Chasing after Sex, Power and Blood--seems to be a universal problem

"And we would finally see what Africa could be, if it didn't have to deal with its millions of males chasing after sex, power and blood."

You could take "Africa" out of this sentence, insert the name of any country and this sentence would still hold true. One large country in particular, located many miles west of Africa, comes to mind.

[Mari333]

8. Hell I would flock there!

USA is far too patriarchal for me!

[sallyseven]

9. Not at all like the US. Women here are

being threatened by this administration. The powers that be are trying to put women back in their place with their attitude. Republicans hate the fact that women are gaining power and are good at it.

[OzarkDem]

21. Sounds like a good idea for US women

I hope someone tries it over here, it would be a great step forward in renewal for urban neighborhoods. Hey maybe they could get some block grant funds; have their own churches, schools, etc.

[Nikia]

25. I think that it would be a good idea too

Perhaps this is done on some level, but I suggested to my husband that it could help a lot of women. There are many single women with children, some of who were left by dead beat husbands or boyfriends and some who were abused or had children abused. Unfortunately, a number of these women go through a series of these men in attempt to find someone to help raise their children, emotionally and financially, and end up with just more trouble.
Single women banding together in a community providing each other with emotional support and perhaps child care support could help these women. This community could be communal, but it could also be a bit more independent too. They wouldn't feel the need to go find a man, who might be detrimental to themselves or children, right away. They could work on improving the lives of themselves and children before engaging in another relationship, if ever.

[OKthatsIT]

36. We're allowed to own ouziess in this country...

but the RightWing Patriarchy has armies of men with every kind of arsenal imaginable.

If they take away our right to choose in this country...I realy dont know what women wil do with their rage. A rage that can't be ignored for what it really is..a response to enslavement.

[Bluerthanblue]

10. is this not an excellent example of 'ethnic cleansing'???

These WOmen are being attacked and abused for no other reason than their SEX-

i wouldn't want to have had to form a 'female only' society when i left my ex, but i sure do believe that discrimination, and vunerability, and predjuce based SOLELY on whether or not one has a penis is absurd-
And it is a predjusce that exists all over the world-

and (to be fair) there ARE instances where men are unfairly 'judged' or pre-judged and rejected solely because of their maleness, and that is equally as wrong, - though less prevelant, and often less deadly.

HUMANS- is the only 'catagory' that should exist, when speaking of homo-sapians.

[cally]

11. Recomended

I hope the UN intervenes to protect these courageous women.

[Gregorian]

13. Someone put them in touch with Overstock.com

This company is searching out communities like these, and helping them sell their wares to the world. Maybe I am being foolish, but from my limited exposure to this company (ads/Charlie Rose interview), this could be their way back onto their feet.

We are in a continuous fight with jealousy and greed. It's like repubs are only one small facet of it.

edit- I just corresponded with Overstock to see if they could look into helping these women. I would love to see them flourish.

[OzarkDem]

22. Great idea

I've been trying to find a way to help rural Ozark women sell handmade quilts online. Tough times in rural America, too.

[barbaraann]

26. Wow, thanks for the info about overstock!

Here's a link to the handcrafted items you are talking about:

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?SEC_IID=9326&PAGE=STOREPICK&STO_ID=6&STL_ID=24

[Darwins Finch]

35. Ah, yes!

I used to buy from them when they were Eziba.com. Good stuff.

Novica (http://www.novica.com/) also sells imported good like that, too. They might be able to help out this community as well.

My heart goes out to these brave women, and I wish them all success!

[bitchkitty]

14. link to story -

http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/16/wkenya16.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/07/16/ixworld.html

[Behind the Aegis]

17. Just a note

Umoja means unity in Kiswahili. I think it is awesome what they have done! Perhaps it is the reoccurance of the Amazon Nation!!!

[whatever4]

18. When I first read about them, I feared retribution toward them. Sigh nt

[SoCalDem]

24. Precisely what a lot of us meant in this thread.from a few days ago

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4067158

SoCalDem (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-10-05 07:42 PM
Original message
It's really all about the women.
Radical Islam, The Taliban, The Religious Right, The African "Troubles".

The (mis)treatmment of women by any society is the measure OF that society.

In days gone by, societies were closed off and people didn't know what was happening a village away. Modern life has brought the whole world into their living rooms. Cloistered women in locked-down societies can now see that other women are treated better than they are, and they don't like it.

Even in western society, women have only been "equal" for under 100 years. Some would say that even now, in America, women are not equal...and they would be right, BUT women have it much better here (as a group) than anywhere else.

This is what is scaring the militant males of the world. Whether they are Taliban, Islamic, African..whatever.. they fear the rise of women, because it means they will lose power.

For centuries, males have been able to use females, and discard them at will.

Western culture frowns on this, and in order for non-westerners to be accepted, they must stop mistreating women.. They are not willing to do this. They want nothing to do with modernity if it means their women will stop obeying them.Nothing we say or do to them will change their minds...and they ARE willing to kill to preserve THEIR way of life.

In the US, we may not have honor killings" and arranged marriages, but women are still kept under the thumbs of men...and if the religious right has their way here, women will retreat to the sanctity of the kitchen and the car pool.

Women are the majority, but we have yet to act like it...

[whatever4]

28. I'm of the opinion women need to let go of the negative self images

And ridiculous expectations of having it all, doing it all and wearing it all. We do too much. We diet too much, loose too much sleep, and forget ourselves FAR too much. I think in many ways we're our own worst enemies...until I read the news.

Face it girls, unless and until "we" mount another revolution, they're never going to get it. Women's issues affect men only tangentially, and though we know how much it hurts them as well, to loose the contribution and human potential of half our human resource, they don't see how loosing us costs everyone, overall.

I think men may see their dominance as the "right" thing. Never realizing how much those egos cost us. I think violence is a man's problem, and I blame THEM for not reigning in and controlling their more violent lawbreakers. Their laws. Their bad behavior, the vast majority of the time. Their blindness.

Blindness for women for not seeing it. I've become so bitter over this subject over the years, womens equality, I hardly bother anymore. The young women don't have a clue what they're up against. I've heard, time and again, how there *really* isn't gender inequality.

All those bad, violent, unfair and life ruining things that happen to us at the hands of men, strangers, husbands, boyfriends, daycare workers...it's all just a shame.

But that stuff happens. That is what they think. To them, the VAST majority of all of us, this "stuff" just "happens sometimes" in any normal society. That is what they think, that it is NORMAL for women to be discriminated against, put down, and subjected to violence. And with that attitude, it will never change. It is key. They do not perceive a problem. Until it happens to them, and then they discover they're just one little story, chances are not even a very "bad" one, in so many stories...that no one cares. In fact, it's vile and embarrassing, and best thing is to not talk about it at all. No one want's to hear about how hard YOU have it for being female, it's just...old news. Then it starts to feel a little unfair, like, maybe the reason we have civilizations in the FIRST place is so we can live without violence, or hatred for the person we were born to be, that is, female. Like maybe what's the point, if we have to worry when we go to the store. It's not so radical, going to the store. But it can be dangerous. At night. Alone. Happens ALL the time.

No one blinks an eye.

It just happens. So we walk with keys in our hands (hefty weapon that, eh? But we're happy we're entitled to it) hoping no ones runs at us. Because, when you go to the store at night, that stuff happens...

What annoys me to no end is how horribly events like being attacked can ruin, or at the very least change, the rest of a person's life. Forget worrying about career; some don't want to leave the house. It's just one life event, it's just one problem, it's just one issue among TOO many issues facing women. Just one issue.

Just our problem.

I'm just sick of it. It's too damn stupid anymore, the ignorance and casual cruelty. We get raped in numbers that should shame any society, and our leaders target abortion. People I know, even some I respect, feel the same way. They don't get it. I'm just terribly sick of living in a place and a time when I "get it", and all indications are that my world is moving the other direction. It's too damn dumb after a while.

In many ways I agree with the future of this story, and as I get older, I agree more and not less. Unfortunately.
The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gate_to_Women's_Country

I wish I had one to move to right now.

Are there any matriarchal communities in the world? Strong ones? One's that might hold together in the coming storm of Bush and the neocons?

[femrap]

34. The Consciousness of Young Women needs to be raised...

I honestly think that organized groups of men in our government and corporations, such as "The Business Roundtable" and "The Bohemian Grove," have set out to undermine the Women's Liberation Movement. They are creating this massive Backlash and one of their mighty Tools is the Media....the TV shows on today....WTF? All of the family sitcoms have beautiful wives and the husbands are fat and ugly!!!! Hello...women are being told they need to be happy with a an ugly, fat, dim-witted man. Or there is "2 1/2 men...." I can't watch these shows....but on occasion will watch just so I see what young women of today are being exposed to....'The Bachelor.'

It's truly pathetic...Late last night I came upon a rerun of 'Murphy Brown' and the comparison to today's shows is just GLARING! Murphy was working on a story that exposed a CEO Takeover Artist of being not the 'nice' businessman his PR staff had worked so hard to create... it turned out he had 3 wives.

These TV shows, movies, advertisements are very very dangerous....they put a ton of pressure on young women to conform to these images....And it takes a true effort at Consciousness Raising to overcome what these Rich White Ugly Short Fat Corporate Boys are doing to keep women oppressed....

Bob Dylan doing commercials for Victoria Secrets....Again WTF? I just wanted to smack him for selling out to Corporate greed that exploits women.

I wish they were a class in all high schools for young women that would teach them to be aware of what Corporations and Society want them to be and to do.....at least a class in Women's History. Geez...women are truly the last of the slaves.

It's as if they have taught young women NOT to think for themselves....I have this feeling that these young women of today are going to create the 1950's for themselves all over again....

I am so proud of these women in Kenya....

[Ripley]

38. Welcome to DU femrap!

:hi:

I agree with you. There are so many women who have succumbed to the pressures to just "get along" "be nice" "don't rock the boat" that they actually believe things are equal. And then they attack the real feminists and call them man-haters when that is nowhere near the truth.

As the previous poster said, look back at things in the 1970's and it is absurd how far backwards women have gone and how many of them embrace that. I don't know why they are so masochistic.

[leftofthedial]

20. Didn't I see that movie on SciFi?

[anotherdrew]

23. what are the weapons laws like in kenya? these gals better get ready

stupid men are the stupidest of all creatures and sometimes can only be reasoned with by means of force.

[World Traveller]

31. I was in Umoja on July 5, 6

Visiting with a non-profit. It's an incredible place, with courageous women from a very traditional society, who are trying to make a better life for themselves and their children. In Samburu culture, most marriages are arranged, girls typically marry much older men, when they are between 13 and 15. Their families are paid n number of cows as the bride price and from then on wives belong to their husband's families. Wives do most of hard labor and own NOTHING (that is complaint I heard over and over from Samburu women). Wife-beating was another complaint. Husbands may have more than 1 wife. If husband dies, children belong to husband's family, so wife usually stays there and works for dead husband's family. Widows cannot re-marry, except to brothers of deceased husband.

As you can see, these women are breaking many cultural rules in their quest for automony. But they are determined and I am sure they will prevail. They have come too far to go back now.

[cire4]

33. Thanks for the report! Welcome to DU!

Getting first person reports on these types of stories is invaluable. Much appreciated!

[applegrove]

32. Persecution like this has been going on since the start of time. Really -

what was it that made us all love the Catholic Mystery book? The admission that female icons had been hidden by the catholics?

Let these women survive and set a precedent in Africa. "Treat your wife like too much shit and she'll go to the woman town and live her life there".

We need another town like this. And then another. And then another.