INCIDENCE OF RAPE AMONG TEENAGE HAWKERS IN KAWO KADUNA NORTH

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of Study

Rape is pandemic and women and children are still caught up in a cycle of human right violation since the first United Nations conference on women in Mexico, 1975 (Ward & Rumble, 2007). Estimate show that one out of three women born anywhere in  the world  has a chance of being raped, beaten, coerced into sex  or otherwise abused in lifetime (Reuter, 2006).

The absence of strict functioning of criminal justices system encourages a culture of impurity associated with this abuse. In the western world that issue of rape is not left out but laws have been part in place to punish any individual guilty of the crime. The crime of rape is peculiar in the sub-Sahara.

In Darsfur, Sudan the united national has since accused the Janjaweed – Arab Militanmen – of abducting and gang, raping thousands of woman and girls (Akosoli, 2007).There are reports of American troops raping fellow female troops in Iraq (Moffeit & Herdy, 2004) .It is estimated that a third of all women, and girls in Sierra Leone were subjected to sexual violence in the country conflict of 1991 and 2002 (Amnesty International, 2007)

The Burmese Army also committed savage and rampant sexual violence on ethnic Chin woman with impunity (Burman Net News 2007) Entrenched attitude about women also mean that rape goes unpunished in many Arab countries for examples Saudi Arabia where Islamic law forbids women in appearing in the public with men who are not relative: king Abdullah sentenced a 19-year old girls rape victim 90 lashes for appearing in the public with an unrelated male (women, living under Muslim Laws (WLUML, 2007)

Saudi like Nigeria has strict gender segregation laws, and women are not allowed to mingle with unrelated men, and adultery is a punishable offence. Judges are also given wide powers to impose custodial sentence or corporal punishment. The country system of male guardianship severely limits the basic freedom of women, the right afforded in the 1979 Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women -EDAW. It can be said that the country Islamic Sharia law turns on international women’s right threaty that Riyadh signed in 2000. In such situation, the prevalence of a Patriachal ideology with stereotypes and the persistence of deep rooted cultural norms, customs and traditions discriminate against women thereby restricting marriage, devo ice, child custody, inheritance property ownership and decision –making in the family as well as choice of residence, education and jobs.

The child whose education been deprived and maltreated in terms child labour- is a work carried out by children which endanger the health and safety of the child. The child labour that is commonly seen in this area in hawking.

According to Oxford Advance learners Dictionary (2012) states hawking entails the carrying of wares for sale. It may be involve by calling around or by moving from door or door. The child grows into a teenager. Teenage hawking is not an entirely new phenomenon in Nigeria society. Everywhere you go, you find girls who should naturally be in school hawking eatable and non eatable e.g bread, drinks and broom. Hawking is one of the aspect of child labour that is commonly seen both, in rural and urban area of the north. In addition hawking is largely carried out in the morning for those who are not going to school and evening when they are either back from school. But the situation is however different in the urban area. Hawking goes on from morning till the evening.