I used the word REAL in front of feminists to segregate women talkers from those who understand and advocate for what it takes to be a woman in a proper discourse…
I am currently writing a very long academic essay on feminism perspective on international human rights law and some of the feminists arguments are not only touching, they effectively highlight the deficiency of the law in taking into account the experiences of women, especially in cases of rape.
Women have been long marginalised by the law and society which are modelled on the concept of male dominance and they continue to suffer under this framework as the current societal structures as well as the legal framework do not really mirror their experiences. This is worse in Africa—the KKD’s rape case and the aftermath which has been full of insensitive talks in the face of the troubles of the victim clearly demonstrates this.
Women are still treated more like “things” than people, made effectively possible by even the law. As Catharine MacKinnon puts it in relation to rape in her book ‘Are Women Human and Other International Dialogues’; “the fact that the law of rape protects rapists and is written from their point of view to guarantee impunity for most rapes is officially regarded as a violation of the law of sex equality, national or international, by virtually nobody.”
Beyond that, the way society especially in our part of the world treats rape victims is extensively pathetic. KKD and his family have been talking loosely and no one in high authority dare asks them to shut up—after all, he is a man and whoever he allegedly raped is just a ‘thing’.
Apart from the talks, he has started glamorously appearing at events as though he has just won a boxing match—his victim and her experience, no one seems to care about.