Sunday, July 18, 2010

Wife Beating in Africa

In Stephen D. Levitt's book Freakonomics, there was a survey taken by women in Africa on the subject of wife beating. According to the survey taken in 13 African countries, between the years 1999 and 2004, 52% of women said that they think wife-beating is justified if she neglects the children; around 45% think it is justified if she goes out without telling the husband or argues with him; 36% if she refuses sex, and 30% if she burns the food. Remember, the key part of this survey is that the women took the survey. Think to yourself as a United States citizen about the talk about domestic violence. In this country, is it not clear that if you beat your husband or, in this case, you beat your wife, chances are things will NOT go well for you if you are taken to court? Yeah try to get out of that one alive. But here, women, yes WOMEN, say that it is all good to be beaten for this and that. I mean, really, if she burns the food it is okay to be beaten? Look I have no idea what is going on in these countries, but if a woman burns the food, that means she will get kicked around? I look at this in disgust, but I also remember that some African countries may not have a strong government as other countries do. They may also be ruled by men, and whatever the men say is what will happen; any back talk and, you guessed it, the women will be beaten. This fear that is displayed in Africa can be seen almost anywhere. Here is another example I will share with you that will better help my argument on women living in fear and the men having absolute control: In a 2009 BBC News report, one of four South African men were surveyed, and they reported that they have raped someone, and more than half of them have done it more than once. That's not where the horror ends: The study also found that three our of four who admitted raping someone said that their first rape was in their teens. It is already clear that the upbringings of a child in African countries is frightening. Although that doesn't exclude countries such as our own, it is evident that African countries have promoted this fear that is instilled into the hearts and minds of any child growing up in these countries.

For more on the BBC News report, here is the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8107039.stm

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