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Sexual Health in Africa: Study Shows Dominant Women Have Less Sex

Empowered women in control of household decisions could be losing out on sex, says a new study out of Johns Hopkins University.

Published in the Journal of Sex in October, the researchers asked women about the last date of sexual intercourse as well as who had the final say on decisions ranging from healthcare to household purchases.

According to the Telegraph, the researchers surveyed women from six African countries who reported the more decisions made, the less physical intimacy they shared with their partners.

“The more decisions a woman reported making on her own, as compared to through joint decision-making, the less likely she was to have sex and the longer it was since she last had sexual intercourse,” said lead researcher Michelle Hindin.

The findings showed more dominant and assertive women had approximately 100 times less sex.

But the researchers also noted that this isn’t necessarily incidental for them — it could also be women taking control of their sexual preferences, the Daily Mail reported.

“Understanding how women’s position in the household influences their sexual activity may be an essential piece in protecting the sexual rights of women and helping them to achieve a sexual life that is both safe and pleasurable,” co-author Carie Muntifering told Health24.com.

The location of the women studied may also have played a role, though. Most recently, a study by Florida State University’s Roy Baumeister argued that more equality would lead to more sex. He pointed to a study surveying over 300,000 people from 37 countries which found that countries with a higher gender equality had more casual sex and more sexual partners. In nations with less equality between the sexes, the opposite was true.

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Rapist Women Gang Terrorizing Men in Zimbabwe

Kitsepile Nyathi, allafrica

Cases of men who have been sexually abused by women are common in the country and hardly a week passes without such a report being made in the media.

The motives of these women are not known, but there is speculation that they may be doing this for ritual purposes.

Indecently assaulting

“We appeal to members of the public to pass any information to the police regarding three women who have gone on a spree of kidnapping and indecently assaulting young men around town,” Harare police boss Angeline Guvamombe said in a statement.

“The women drive in posh cars and offer their unsuspecting victims lifts before spraying some liquid substance on their faces.

“Once the victim is drowsy, he is taken to a secluded place or house where he is forced to have sex,” said Ms Guvamombe. “I want to warn these criminals that their days are numbered,” she added.

On Monday, the Herald reported that two men were kidnapped last week and forced to have sex with women at gunpoint.

In one of the incidents, a 30-year-old man was kidnapped by three women and forced to have sex with them for five days.

In some cases, the women use protection and collect the men’s sperm, leading to speculation that they were in the activity for ritual purposes.

At times, the women are helped by armed men.

Since the strange rape cases began sometime last year, no one has been arrested.

Police have said the women cannot be charged with rape because Zimbabwean law does not recognise that women can rape men.

But they will be charged with indecent assault, which carries a lesser sentenc

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Molested Campus Woman, Amina, Contemplates Suicide

Molested campus woman, Amina

The young lady who was physically molested by some students of the University of Ghana is threatening to commit suicide.

Amina Haruna told Joy News’ Hannah Odame that she has been severely traumatized by the incident and could hardly see herself coming to terms with the disgrace and humiliation it has brought her, as well as her family and friends.

“I am feeling like killing myself. It was my grandmother who has been talking to me,” else I would have been dead by now.

About a month ago, Amina Haruna was subjected to what many human rights activists have described as inhuman treatment when some students of the Mensah Sarbah Hall, stripped her, accusing her of being a laptop and mobile phone thief.

The students filmed the molestation and distributed the videos.

Though she is on a police enquiry bail, she has vehemently denied the accusation.

“I am not a thief…I didn’t steal anything,” she stressed.

According to her, she has been doing business on the university campus selling clothes to the students – some of whom buy her wares on credit.

Narrating what happened on that fateful day, Amina said she had gone to the school for her money when a female student – who claimed to have lost a phone previously on a date Amina was there to do business – accosted and accused her of stealing the phone and before she could say jack, male students had swarmed her up and started molesting her.

Amina maintained no stolen item was found on her and that her only crime was going to hall after a student had lost a phone.

She said without giving her chance to explain herself, the guys at the Hall pounced on her, tore her dress, opened her legs and “one of the guys who was wearing shoe kicked me and my [private parts oozed] with blood”.

Recounting the effects of the ordeal on her, Amina said her fiancé, felt so ashamed that he broke up with her. “Who is going to marry me with this disgrace?” she asked, sobbing.

Meanwhile the Committee set up by the University of Ghana to investigate the incident has submitted its report to the disciplinary committee of the University for action.

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Who are The Women and Where are They?

Photo credit-World Bank

This is not supposed to be an essay. I’m just kind of talking to myself about some things that cheese me off.

Former Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once said

“There’s a place in Hell reserved for women who don’t support other women”

I mentioned in one of my earlier articles that the problems African women face are enormous and they begin on day 1, or before. This is why we’ve devoted so much time and space to discuss issues affecting women in Africa and around the world on this website.

But since this afternoon, I’ve being asking, “Who are the women and where are they”?

I wrote about a handful of occurrences of violence against women, mostly from Ghana, and a few from other regions. One involved the brutal murder of an elderly woman, Ama Hemmaa, (who was burnt to death) by a pastor and his staff on suspicion she was a witch.

The most recent was the unutterable invasion of a suspected woman thief on the campus of the University of Ghana, Legon. I wish I had the video here for you to watch, because describing the incident over and over again makes me feel like telling an ‘adult story’. You could imagine the worst guys can do to a girl or read some of the earlier post on this issue.

There have been a few comments here from those who think Amina deserved what she did because a laptop is difficult to come by in Ghana. You have a point, friend; individuals who engage in such behaviors need to pay for it, LAWFULLY. That is the job of the campus police and that’s what we pay them to do. To strip the young woman naked, finger her (did I say that?) and put it on video is just antediluvian.

Granted that Amina deserved what she got, what about Ama Hemmaa?

This post is not meant to rehash the episodes; I just wanted to raise a few questions and ask for opinions.

It irritates me that women groups and organizations on campus, in Accra and in Ghana as a whole, have been silent on these issues. The silence is deadening. Some of us have done, and will continue to do our best. We’ve sent petitions to the authorities and hope they respond, someday.

I would welcome demonstrations and strikes from women groups and organization demanding immediate response from both the University authorities and local law enforcement. Not heard of any yet.

You cannot ask for equality and justice while you will not articulate what you want and demand it. Equality is not about husbands changing diapers while wives wash dishes. There will not be true equality and justice when issues like these are seen as commonplace.

I do not assume this is a universal problem. Women in other places may be more assertive, aggressive and pro-active in fighting for their rights. Those in Legon, Accra and Ghana have not yet demonstrated such a spirit.

I’m not advocating for violence, but we would not have a black President of America if Martin Luther King and his colleagues were just pissed off and stayed indoor to watch cartoons.

My questions are:

  • Why do women not come out strong and advocate for each other and for their own rights?
  • Why would women just sit and watch, while an elderly woman who just needs to enjoy her latter years is burnt for being a witch?
  • Is this situation unique to Ghana or pervasive across the continent (referring to women not speaking out for their own)?

Have any ideas and suggestions? Please drop them here for me.

Thank you.

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Mob Justice: If It Happens at Legon, Imagine What Goes on at Mmaa Nse Hwee

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The urban dictionary defines mob justice as “When a large angry mob takes justice into their own hands. Usually ends with somebody getting hanged, torched or pitchfork’d. A common method of dispensing justice in the more rural areas of a country”

Mob justice is a social and public health quandary in several communities in some African countries. A survey in Tanzania showed that 1249 people suspected of various crimes were killed by mobs in Dar es Salaam during the period of 2000–2004 (Afr Health Sci. 2006 March; 6(1): 36–38). That is almost 250 people killed by mobs per year in one city.

As for the above definition from Urban Dictionary, forget about it. The dictionary definition may be true for Sweden or Norway where mob justice is a rural phenomenon, but not for Ghana or Tanzania.

In Ghana, mob justice is a campus fantasy. It is adored at the citadel of education and enlightenment.

On Thursday March 31, a mob of students offered justice to a suspected female thief caught in one of the dormitories of the University of Ghana. I watched the video and some of the stuff I saw are unprintable. I apologize, but I cannot describe them here, for fear Google may flag my website for hosting adult content.

Mob justice is not a new trend in Ghana. I witnessed a suspected thief stoned to death at Techiman Market in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. I was in Secondary School and had gone to market one Friday to buy some groceries and was unfortunate to encounter the mob in action.

What is new and disconcerting is the fact that such a practice is permeating academic environments and being condoned. I would not be writing about the Legon incident if it happened at Mmaa Nse Hwee, a fictional rural community somewhere not yet on the map. I would be irresponsible however to join the silence when such a despicable behavior is orchestrated in a place where people are being educated to become lawyers, doctors, presidents, and pastors.

An online petition that was launched on this website was signed by hundreds of readers home and abroad. A letter was sent to the University in which we asked the authorities to

  • Speed up investigation into the sexual violence carried out by some residents of Sarbah Hall against a suspected campus thief, Amina
  • Report on the findings to the public as soon as possible
  • Announce appropriate punishments for the responsible students.
  • Institute measures that will prevent such incidence from happening on such a respected academic environment. We believe that unless the definitional and substantive aspects of the rape law and associated set of laws which deal with sexual harassment, molestation, unnatural offences, are clearly spelt out with appropriate potential punitive measures, any response given to this incident will remain historically a hollow gesture.

It’s been over week. No response. And it’s been over two weeks since the students carried out their action. No actionable response yet from either the University authorities or the local law enforcement

Again, if this is accepted at Legon, imagine what goes on at Mmaa Nse Hwee.

Thanks for Reading 

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Molesters of Campus Woman Thief, Amina, to Be Dismissed, Vice Chancellor

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The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana has condemned last week’s sexual onslaught on a lady who allegedly stole a laptop and mobile phones from the Mensah Sarbah Hall annex B.

Some male students of the Hall molested and stripped the young lady entirely, exposing her private parts. Whilst she struggled to extricate herself from the over a dozen young men, others filmed her. The video was subsequently circulated and copies sent to some media houses.

The Vice Chancellor of the University Professor Ernest Ayeetey told Campus station, Radio Universe, that the act was disgraceful and the students involved will be punished.

“what we saw was a criminal behavior and that falls within the ambits of the law enforcement agencies of Ghana. One thing I can assure Ghanaians is that this University would not protect anybody who has broken the laws of Ghana. In the past students assumed that if they committed crimes their behavior could be excused on the grounds of being students and that the university would go and say they’re students so leave them: we will not do that” he stressed.

“If the law enforcement agencies want to pursue anybody, we will collaborate with them and cooperate as much as possible to ensure that justice is served. We will have our own mechanisms for sanctioning, we can dismiss and indeed we will dismiss”he noted.

Meanwhile the Legon Police command says it has identified some students who engaged in the act.

Crime Officer at the Legon Police Station, ASP Emmanuel Basin-Tale told Citi News “arresting the students is not necessarily a challenge but because they are students we just want to go through the school authorities before picking them”.

The young lady (Amina) now in police custody, is said to be responding to treatment. Professor Ernest Ayeetey noted that “there should be two aspects, the university sanctions as well as the criminal aspect being dealt with by the law enforcement agencies. This university would treat students the way the laws of Ghana require and the way our statutes demand”.

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Chromosome-Dependent Justice: The Pervasiveness of ‘Legal’ Violence Against African Women

John 8:10: When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?”

If you have been to church once in your lifetime, you would probably be familiar with the story behind the verse quoted above. A woman was brought to Jesus to be sentenced for adultery. The men who brought the woman to Jesus emphasized that the woman was ‘caught in (the heat of) the act’, perhaps to demand a more severe sentence from Jesus, which would be death by stoning. Jesus gave the permission to go ahead with a condition: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” He then bowed down his head. When he lifted up his head some minutes later, only the woman was left standing.

Late last week, we posted an article here about a Ghanaian woman, Amina, who was sexually molested by male students of the Mensah Sarbah Hall of the University of Ghana for stealing a laptop and cell phone from one of the dormitories. Amina was stripped naked, fondled and physically maltreated by the college rogues. According to news sources, the University Police who came to the scene arrested the battered woman and put her into custody while the male accusers were let go.

This was not an isolated case of violence against women and chromosome-dependent justice but a well-rooted tradition of male aggression against vulnerable women in most African communities. The village of Gambaga in Ghana has been a sanctuary for women accused of witchcraft. These women are ostracized and exiled from society by their accusers in a disturbing narrative while the Government of Ghana and local authorities watch on. Most of these women are elderly and through decades of neglect, want and lack of medical care are going through physiological and psychiatric disturbances that require counseling and therapy. However, in the absence help, medical or behavioral, the women are beaten and threatened with death and starvation until they confess to be witches under duress. In November of 2010, we reported the atrocious murder of a 72-year-old woman, Ama Hemmah, who was suspected of witchcraft in Ghana. She was beaten, tripped naked and doused with kerosene and then set aflame by her accusers who were also self-professed spiritual healers. The Foreman for the crusade, Pastor Samuel Fletcher Sagoe, asserted Ms. Hemmah was a witch who wished to do him and his family harm. A Gallup survey in Sub-Saharan African found that the belief in witchcraft is widespread. In the Ivory Coast 95% of people surveyed personally believe in witchcraft. In Ghana, the number is 77%, in Niger 75%, Zimbabwe 63% and South African 46%, just to mention a few. Changing these beliefs is a long journey, but changing the way suspects are treated should be attainable.

The introductory Biblical story suggests that this practice is a prehistoric custom that has lived 1000s of years. In the same vein that the men at Jesus time brought only the woman who was “caught in the act”, the University of Ghana Police apprehended the accused Amina and none of the law-breaking, irresponsible college students. When a person’s chromosomes determine how the law is applied to him or her in our time, Martin Luther King would probably not complain if the color of a person’s skin does the same.


For students in higher education to strip a suspected thief naked, insert their fingers into her private parts, fondle her breast and make fun of it on video is difficult to comprehend. I expect it to carry a more severe punishment that the theft because it was an assault on the woman’s personality and the dignity of more than 50% of human population. Our society needs to realize that illegality will never solve the problem evil.

I implore you to join hands in raising a loud voice against violence towards women in our society. Amina, Ama Hemmah and any of 1000s of the women in the Gambaga Witches Sanctuary could be my sister and your mother.

If you are interested in joining to fight these evils, please send an email to info@talkafrique.com or editorial@talkafrique.com find out how you can help.

We are sending a petition to the University Authorities and other influential sources to press the University to bring the rogues to justice immediately. Please click HERE to sign the petition.

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What I would Talk About if I Were a Celebrity: Spousal Rape

Valentine Day is about love, chocolate and kisses.  Mother’s Day is about extravagance, breakfast in bed and Women’s Fellowship service at church. International Women’s Day is about serious issues with dire consequences for millions of women in hundreds of countries. Marital or spousal rape is one.  The first celebration of International Women’s Day occurred on March 19, 1911, 100 years ago. Before this period, employers had their choice whether to hire women and most governments in the world, including the U.S. and Canada, prohibited women from voting. In fact, employers who decided to have anything at all to do with women relegated them to the sweatshop.

Significant progress has been made over the past hundred years but huge challenges remain for the women of today. On this anniversary, a lot has been written by more qualified experts to address some of these challenges women face. If I were a celebrity or a popular figure who people listen to, what I would love to write or talk about would be spousal rape or marital rape which occurs in several African communities and many countries.

Marital rape or spousal rape is an issue that has received very little attention internationally. I want to admit that the first time I heard the term ‘marital rape’, it sounded an oxymoron or a paradox. It was like hearing “useless treasure”, “precious garbage” or “holy dirt”. I asked myself how someone could be raped by her own partner. Isn’t that what the relationship is for?

There are millions of people, some highly educated, some not, who hold the mentality that I had. In many communities in many countries, when a woman (girl or adult) is forcibly made to have sex, it is reported as rape. No problem.  When a husband forcibly pounces on his wife and has sex with her, even when she’s least ready and least expecting it, that’s no news. She’s just the wife. In fact, journalist, don’t even cover it. Marital rape does not get any attention but it happens every single day. In many countries around the world, marital rape is either legal, or illegal but widely tolerated and accepted as a husband’s prerogative.

In a 2008-2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the report states that “at least 14 percent of married women said their current husband or partner had forced them to have sex in the past year, while another 37 percent had been subjected to sexual violence at some point in their relationship”. That is 14 out of every 100 women surveyed said their husbands had entered them forcibly in one year. And 37 women out of 100, overall! That is nearly 4 out of every 10 women! Again a World Health Organization conducted a study on violence against women in Tajikistan and Turkey. In Tajikistan they surveyed 900 women above the age of 14 and found that 47% of married women reported having been forced to have sex by their husband. In Turkey 35.6% of women had experienced marital rape sometimes and 16.3% often.  How many of these were reported? How many were covered in the evening news? And how many appeared in the local newspaper? Perhaps none. The societies accept these social behaviors and actually women who come out and report these behaviors will be stigmatized. A politician wouldn’t want to waste an ounce of their effort fighting such an irrelevant matter.

As we celebrate the international women’s day, I’ll end this by suggesting a few actions that governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and communities need to take to protect the rights and dignity of women in relationships.

  • Embark on aggressive community campaigns to educate the citizenry on what sexual violence and rape in marriage implies
  • Empower the women to assert their rights and report what they perceive as rape or other forms of sexual violence
  • Enact laws to police marital or spousal rape and related violence
  • Train and provide health care professionals at the hospital who can identify what rape and other sexual violence are, who know what the law is, and how to enforce it and can show the women how to move forward. Since some of these women will eventually end up at the hospital or clinic with lacerations and other ‘fingerprints’ this will be an effective method to identify women who may have been abused.

I wish all women a Happy Women’s Day. Violence against women is violence against civilization.
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