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From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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4 RISK AND VULNERABILITY VIOLENCE AND CONFLICTThroughout his<strong>to</strong>ry, societies across the world have condonedviolence <strong>to</strong> enforce inequality between men and women, and obligewomen <strong>to</strong> conform <strong>to</strong> expectations of childbearing and child rearingand household work. It is terrifyingly widespread – enough <strong>to</strong> makewomen who have not experienced it personally sufficiently scared not<strong>to</strong> take risks of their own. The UN estimates that at least one in threewomen has been physically or sexually abused at some point in herlife. 128The traditional view of marriage as a contract through whichmale-led families purchase a woman’s body and her labour powerremains current in many places. Far from being a haven in a heartlessworld, in most settings home remains the place where a woman ismost at risk of violence. In parts of Africa, South Asia, and LatinAmerica, wives are still routinely beaten <strong>to</strong> ‘correct a fault’, an act thatmany women and men view as normal. In one survey, over threequartersof Ugandan women agreed with at least one justification forwife-beating, while in Nigeria’s Zamfara state the Sharia Penal Codepermits a man <strong>to</strong> beat his wife, as long as he does not cause her <strong>to</strong> behospitalised. 129 In both developing and industrialised countries, aman’s right <strong>to</strong> have sex with his wife whenever and however he wantshas only very recently been questioned.Pervasive violence outside the home also severely restrictswomen’s participation in public life. Simply <strong>to</strong> attend an eveningmeeting, never mind speaking out publicly or running for office,entails risks that are <strong>to</strong>o often prohibitive. While violence of this kinddoes not discriminate between rich and poor, wealthy women can atleast reduce the risk by paying for transport or security guards.Over the past three decades, the international women’s movementhas made great strides in lobbying states <strong>to</strong> criminalise violenceagainst women. Domestic violence laws have entered the statutebooks and the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is supposed <strong>to</strong> hold states<strong>to</strong> account. Rape during conflict is now recognised as a war crime andcan, in principle, be prosecuted as such. While very significant, theselaws often fail <strong>to</strong> protect women. The attitudes of public officialsmay be quite hostile, women may lack the education or money <strong>to</strong>understand or pay for the law, and many women, particularly in rural275

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