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Tanaka Last Jere

Correspondent

African societies share a concord of culture and customs that stretch back to a period exceeding thousands of years.

African culture did not originate with the coming of Europeans, but bounces far back to the time of the paramount societies.

Thus Africans made their own culture while the introduction of human rights adversely impacted upon the African culture underpinned by the Ubuntu philosophy.

This is attributed to the fact that the western driven human rights agenda disregards African value systems and/or cultural norms as well as laws when implementing the so called “human rights”.

Accordingly, colonisation has to a greater extent led to the devastation of African creeds, norms and values which constitute the African culture.

Africa’s cultural and/or value systems are firmly rooted on commonly shared interests. Just like the concept of Europe, Africa is a single and amalgamated continent or geographical unit with commonly shared values.

The continent bonds common colonial and early post-colonial antiquity. While the continent cannot be pronounced as culturally homogenous, the people are connected to a significant degree.

This is evidenced by marriage systems, division of labour, way of dressing, freedom of speech and polygamy. The following sections in this opinion piece will briefly outline some of these prior listed concepts.

Division of labour

In the African culture people used to work together with combined families of two or more to make work easy and fast. But what was or is important is that in these tasks women have  certain jobs that they will be assigned to as well as the men. For example, in most African societies women are supposed to look after children.

However, with the adoption of the human rights due to gender equality, men are now supposed to do the same work which becomes difficult to some, as they grow up with the belief that women are the only ones who were/are supposed to do all household chores and responsibilities.

In some societies, when men are found doing laundry or sweeping the house whilst the women are sitting the rumour will be he is/was given a love potion.

Parenthood is highly prized. Women even in the historical and present biblical narratives mainly operate within the household, naming the children and being responsible for their early education.

Elders are to be honoured, feared and respected.

Men took responsibility for and protected women and if there were no male heirs, women could independently inherit property.

Marriage systems

When one wants to marry, the groom pays lobola either in the form of cattle or money. This clearly shows the conflict between culture and human rights. African societies practiced what is called “kutema ugariri”/exchange of gifts whereby an underprivileged man can work for the family where he wants to marry if he is not able to find money or cattle to pay for lobola.

He can work for more than one year till the family is satisfied. “Kugara nhaka” is a term which is widely practiced. This is practiced when a man dies, the young brother or a relative will be asked to take a widow to become an inherited wife.

These processes differ from the human rights values such as the reproductive and sexual rights where anyone has the right to choose their own partners, determine who they want to have children with and time. But with the introduction of human rights some are not adhering to these systems and they can have children with several people without paying or receiving lobola all  because of the so called human rights. However, women in most societies are not allowed to approach a guy or even to pay for lobola while equality is preached everywhere.

Polygamy and polyandry

In most societies monogamy was/is the ideal and well-known, polygamy was structured rather than condemned. Men were/ are permitted to marry more than one wife and this process is called polygamy. In most societies a man is supposed to pay cattle to the first wife if he wants to marry another wife so that permission is granted. And in case where divorce is needed, the court of either the chief or the aunt will ask a men or women to pay something as a way to make the divorce acquired. Thus polygamy in some societies is not sexually immoral, since it institutes a recognised marriage state though it is generally shown to be inadvisable. However, this is in conflict with the gender equality principle when it comes to the issue of polyandry and homosexuality since it is not acknowledged as marriage both biblically and in most cultures. In African culture polygamy is  legalised while the human right gives one the right to do what they want with their bodies.

Going out

Moreover, in the African norms it is a taboo for a woman to go in the beer hall especially in the night because she will be regarded as a commercial sex worker. However, with the adoption of the human rights a woman now has the right to go anywhere at any time she wants because she has that right. It can be noted that this type of privilege can lead to conflict in the home. A child with 16 years is regarded as having these same rights yet the culture does not allow them. This can result in other problems in the society like divorce and the spread of diseases like

Aids and even gender based violence (GBV). In African cultures, when partners want to divorce, they will go to an aunt or the so called intermediary “munyai” to give the reasons why the divorce is asked for.

It is clear that Africans were able to make and follow their culture even before colonisation.

Respecting of the elders remains essential even  with the right of freedom of speech, but there are certain words/language that one cannot say in front of the elders in the African culture.

Missionaries were the ones who brought the bible in Africa yet most of the verses support what Africans used to believe. Therefore, the battle is, if the bible was brought by the whites why then do they ignore it when making laws like the gay and lesbian rights yet such practices are not recommended in the bible?

It is also clear that African culture is ignored when making these laws since they are not linked to Ubuntu and the human rights discourse.

Human rights therefore, is contributing to some challenges in African societies like divorce, gender based violence and crimes because people are trying to apply them even where they are not valid.

Accordingly, governments and non-governmental organisations must consider cultures when adopting and implementing human rights since people are resistant to change so that there is correlation between culture and human rights.

Thus the article advocates that since human rights and culture clash it should be one’s duty to choose/follow between culture and human rights.

However, sovereignty remains subtle in Africa.