The words Domestic Violence got a face in our yesterday’s issue, when a father tightly tied his own son enough to block any blood circulation, and beat him mercilessly. Reason? The son had sold a kilogramme of beans from the family store. The face of violence, the tortured boy, was rushed to Gashongora Health Centre for attention, but he was in bad  shape, bleeding allover from a body punctured by two days’ beatings while tied down.

There are so many things that we merely pay lip service to, and perchance ignore the moment another lighter topic crops up. But domestic violence, especially against women and children at the hands of abusive husbands and fathers, is very much alive and kicking.

It is not also by chance that most of these abuses take place in the countryside, away from the glare of urban centres.

Urbanites, however poor their abodes, generally have a more concrete form of their rights, and will not hesitate to read the riot act to their abusers should their hands start itching.

That is why towns are safer; but incidents of abuse are more common in the villages because of the traditional culture of men being regarded as supreme beings, ruling over every other creation with a heavy hand; and this is how their power is emphasized at any opportunity.

Our local leaders need to teach some human rights to all citizens so that everyone knows them.

It will go a long way to stemming incidents of such gruesome abuses like the Nyagatare incident, and both abusers and abused will know clearly what to do and what not to do.

Village cells should always be on the look-out for such unwelcome behaviour, and take as seriously as a security risk to harbour an abuser in their midst.

Idd Mubarak
To all our Muslim brothers we say Idd Mubarak. We hope that the season of fasting and prayer has been of great help spiritually, and we hope the goodness flows over to everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.

We also hope that such fervent prayers should not stop with the end of the season, but continue to our general benefit.
Ends