SEEK HELP BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

Swollen black eyes, lip lacerations, bodily bruises and stab wounds. And no, these are not wounds from a fight. Instead, they represent harm inflicted on a person by an abusive partner. When asked, the abused individual could tell you they fell off the stairs, bumped their heads on a door or simply fell. A curious number of “falls” for one person if you ask me.
 What’s worse is when the victim never seeks medical attention, seems to have answers for every question and staunchly defends the abusing partner. Some do seek medical help and go further to lodge complaints with the police but withdraw after a couple of days to have their cases settled “at home”. Even though neighbours, friends and concerned relatives try to intervene in certain cases these abused individuals do not seem to budge and one can only wonder what makes people remain in abusive relationships?

Domestic violence is physical or verbal abuse directed towards a spouse or partner and can happen across all socio-economic classes: among the poor, rich, educated or the uneducated. Though some men are abused by their wives, women are more often at the receiving end of spousal abuse. In a complex patriarchal society like ours where women were (and in some parts of the country still) expected to be totally submissive towards their husbands, women could be “disciplined” by their spouses so long as the man could prove his wife was disrespectful to justify his “disciplinary” actions.
 There are instances where battered wives who run off to their parents are sent packing back to their matrimonial homes after being lectured about the importance of respecting one’s husband at all times irrespective of what ensues between them. They could not remain with their parents because leaving one’s matrimonial home was considered a dishonor to the father. Even though there are situations where some families try to seek redress by taking the case to the elders of the clan/community, little or nothing is done to improve the problem.

But I sit here and question: what criteria do they even use to determine whether a husband’s “disciplinary action” is beyond acceptable to seek redress? Is it when the victim is beaten to near death? Disfigured? What about pregnant mothers, are there special exemptions in respect of their peculiar condition? And what should be a “justifiable” reason for a man to lay his hands on his wife to begin with?

I’m only very glad that today we have concerted global efforts to fight these abuses and possibly eradicate them. The fight against domestic violence in Ghana has been spearheaded by organisations such as Ark Foundation, Women in Law and Development in Africa, ActionAid Ghana, the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit within the Ghana Police Service among many others. Furthermore, the support from parliament with the passage of the Domestic Violence bill into law helps the situation.

Needless to say, we can only win this fight when women or abused partners recognize the fact that they are in an abusive relationship and seek the appropriate help rather than continue in these relationships as many women unfortunately do. These women choose to stay for many reasons – some being the fact that they lack the formal education or qualifications in accessing jobs. And if they are employed at all, what they earn is barely enough to sustain their needs and they must therefore depend on their husbands for financial support.
They further feel “trapped” when they have children in the relationship. We can give them all the motivational talk they need but so far as the means to stand on their own two feet are non-existent they are more likely to remain till one last unforgiving blow sends them to their graves. To re-affirm Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – unless physiological needs are met, safety needs cannot be achieved.

Some studies show that more women live in poverty than men. Whereas education has been identified as the greatest equalizer in helping people access opportunities, our society needs to go a step further in using education as a means to get people, especially women out of poverty. To make education of these women more meaningful we need to increase their access to opportunities such as harnessing their entrepreneurial skills.
There are great entrepreneurs among us and we see them daily in our busy markets. Unfortunately, these people are limited to little stores without the prospects of expanding their businesses to earn better incomes – what they earn is barely sufficient to fulfill their daily needs independently, let alone enough to reinvest and expand their businesses to grow their incomes.
Therefore, we need to make opportunities such as micro-finance loans more accessible to them. Investing in women in ways like these will not only make them achieve greater things but also empower them to sufficiently provide for themselves and other dependants. They will also not be compelled to remain in their abusive relationships due to economic reasons.

While we try to find ways in curbing domestic violence through economic empowerment, you, as a neighbor, friend, relative of an abused person can join in the cause by ensuring these abuses do not continue once you’ve identified a victim. Help the situation by encouraging the abused person to seek assistance as there are organizations out there to assist them. Some will definitely try to make excuses but be persistent in getting them out of the situation before it escalates beyond the reparable. People who stay in their destructive relationships with the hope that their abusing partners will suddenly stop will never see that happening. Their situation will improve only when they are willing to help themselves.

INVISIBLE CITIZENS

Kayayei, a term in the Ga language meaning female head-potters; the “visible” people in our markets yet “invisible” in our society; the people who tag unto your clothes in the busy markets inquiring whether you need their services; the girls or women carrying babies on their backs in the scorching sun and on their heads basins full of goods by shoppers they’ve managed to negotiate business with.
The strains on the faces of these girls or women indicate the load on their heads is far from light, but do they have a choice? Some are as young as age seven and others can be as old as in their thirties, forties, who knows, maybe more? And when they try to rest their tired bodies at night perverted men lay siege to their sleeping corners to sexually abuse them, impregnate and leave them with an additional mouth to feed on the scanty income they earn.

These girls are usually from the northern parts of our country which have relatively bleak economic prospects as a result of certain systematic economic decisions made under our colonial governments. Under the British colonial administration, the southern parts of the country experienced more economic activities than the south as the southern parts had abundant mineral resources such as gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese, etc and the land good for cultivating cash crops like cocoa.
As a result, mines were built to extract these minerals, railway lines and more roads constructed to transport the extracted resources to waiting ships at harbors at our shorelines en route to Europe. The improved transportation systems propelled business activities which benefited the south more than the north. Additionally, whereas schools were built in the south, the north saw less of those; and even though efforts especially after independence were made to increase educational and economic opportunities in the northern parts of our country, more needs to be done.

Aside from the economic reasons driving these kayayei to southern cities, some embark on these journeys to escape early (arranged) marriages especially to suitors they have no interest in. In their desperation to escape they go as far as hitching rides on trucks (yes cargo trucks not buses) where they sit on top of the bags of cargo being transported to southern cities in which some lose their lives in the events these trucks get involved in accidents. Most of them come south with intentions of saving money to buy items such as sewing machines so they can return to their hometowns to set up dress making businesses.

There was a recent news article where a girl was willing to – had it not being for the by standers holding her back – jump into the fire that had engulfed the shop containing a sewing machine she had saved really hard for. It’s appalling that we live in a society where some of our citizens have to save for years just so they can buy a simple sewing machine yet others in this same society can walk into shops to buy items worth ten times the cost of these machines on a day’s shopping spree.

Due to the fact that they usually leave their hometowns without any specific address in mind they are forced to sleep in the streets, at bus stations, in front of shops when they get to the city. To avoid being raped or sexually abused they sometimes come together to organize sleep schedules where one is assigned to stay up all night to watch out and alert the rest for an approaching rapist. Unfortunately, some of these kayayei never make it back to their place of origin to accomplish what they came down to our southern cities for; they end up making babies in the streets, perpetuating an already unfortunate cycle.

So, why do we suddenly get surprised when these street children grow up to become armed robbers, for example, to rob and torment us? Did we create opportunities for their mothers that would trickle down to them so they can also have a chance for a better life? In our last election their plight was politicized where one political party campaigned they would build hostels for these women. Well, building hostels is not a bad idea as they do need a decent place of accommodation for the time being. But what about proposing long term solutions by making opportunities more accessible to them up north so they wouldn’t be forced into the marginalized lives they live now?

What makes their plight even more sad are instances where people at market centers verbally abuse them, stereotypically judge them to be rude just because some draw the line to avoid being taken advantage of. There are instances where people refuse to pay them or if anything at all, pay half the price initially negotiated after these women carry the neck and back breaking goods of the patron. In such instances, while some kayayei will simply cuss and walk off, others in retaliation would throw the goods on the ground or trample them, and that is when everyone in the market suddenly realizes the kayayoo is rude; what about the client who started the drama by refusing to pay?

I do acknowledge significant efforts are already being made by certain non-profit organizations, individuals and the government to reverse the plights of these girls or women but the fact that we still have a good number of them on our streets means more work needs to be done. Increase their access to education and improve what they currently have. Whatever developmental projects we embark in southern parts of the country should reach the north as well.

In the meanwhile, the next time you come across a kayayoo, take time to acknowledge their plight. Do not look on when they are being taken advantage of – speak up and oppose mean treatment from insensitive people towards them. Help transform their “invisible” statuses into “visible” ones. Your kind gesture, no matter how small it may appear can go a long way to make a difference in their lives.

ACCUMULATING DUST IN STORAGE AREA

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles increasingly became popular in Ghanaian households around the mid-1990s. It was greatly encouraged by the government such that LPG was subsidized to enable households make the switch from charcoal and firewood. One of the reasons behind this move was to help save our forest from deforestation or extinction. Whereas in other parts of the world gas pipes are specially connected to stoves in kitchens, homes in Ghana have to depend on pressurized gas cylinders which are routinely sent to filling stations for refills.

I vividly remember our first gas cooker at home, it was a day of joy and I believe I was the happiest of all because it meant I was no longer required to go buy charcoal and kerosene with the annoyance of having them stain my clothes. No more extra chores of scrubbing blackened pots from soot emanating from the kerosene stove. Better still, I no longer had to go through the pain of lighting a thousand match sticks just to make a little fire for warming up food!

The coal pot and kerosene stove are now relics, though we still have them in the storage area to remind us of an era gone by but they sure do come in handy when the country experiences acute gas shortages. The gas cooker did not come without its own regulations for me. For safety reasons, I was responsible for checking to ensure it was off before going to bed or leaving the house.

Fast forward to 2013 and a gas cooker can be found in almost every home despite the fact that we have increasing number of gas related accidents – from explosions, people losing their lives to houses being burned down to ashes as a result of these cylinders being mishandled.


The recent and ever persistent LPG shortage not only revealed how almost every Ghanaian household relies heavily on LPG but also brought out the short, tall, new, fairly new and the “I-have-seen-better-days” cylinders all queued up in “one logologo line,” waiting their turn to be refilled. Therefore, considering the fact that almost every household uses LPG, have we thought of addressing, implementing and adhering to strict standards for manufacturing and importing so as to avert some of the gas calamities we are experiencing? At this stage I doubt it. Instead, all I see round me is a huge supply of these gas cylinders – of high quality, inferior quality and second hands without any easily accessible information to avoid some of the gas disasters occurring.

I do not recall our first gas cylinder coming with an instruction manual, information about the lifespan of the cylinder and how to handle it in case of an emergency etc. I believe we figured things out by tips from the occasional fire safety talks on radio, television and from other users.

How often do people replace the tube connecting the gas cylinder to the cooker? What about the regulator? The last time I bought a gas regulator I was offered a variety of choices where the attendant told me the depth of my pocket determined which type I could buy. I asked him what the difference was between the pricier regulator and the less pricey ones to which he replied: the pricier one was of better quality – duh! Even a child would know that. But well, the price was not the issue; the issue was, how was I sure that buying a relatively expensive regulator would guarantee me safety? What parameters was I to look for in making the purchase?

Furthermore, after using the cylinder for a certain number of years, what happens to old ones? How does one dispose of them? How does one even know if their cylinder is too old to be used any longer (when their outer appearances look relatively new)? I’ve heard a couple of fire safety personal advocate the replacement of these cylinders when they start leaking – but wait, what if my cylinder never leaks even after fifteen years of usage? And if for my own safety I routinely decide to replace my cylinders after five or seven years of using them, how am I assured that an unscrupulous person wouldn’t pick it up, give it a good wash, re-paint it and place it back onto the market confidently knowing he or she would easily get away with it because no one barely checks?

LPG manufactures or importers, Ghana National Fire Service, we greatly need more work from your end in tackling these issues. Intensify public education for handling gas cylinders – especially addressing the importance of routinely replacing the tubes, the regulators and disposing the cylinders when they are no longer safe to use. In the meantime, do give me a heads-up if you are reading this article and know of a place I can safely dispose my old gas cylinders. They are accumulating dust in my storage area as I’m yet to locate a place for disposing them. Thank you in advance for your help in this direction.