General News of Monday, 20 February 2017
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2017-02-20
The lady was stripped naked and kicked in her private
A gender activist is demanding justice for a young woman who was stripped naked and kicked in her private parts in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi for allegedly stealing GHS1,000.
In a video circulating on social media, the mob who accused the young woman of theft, beat her up until she lost consciousness.
The disturbing video starts at a point where the young lady had been stripped of her clothes. She had covered her waist with a yellow scarf given to her by a good Samaritan, but it was removed by the mob.
Another woman who offered a dress was shoved off and the young lady was not allowed to put it on.
The mob made up mostly of men, tore the young lady’s red brassier and panty. At a point in the video, the men spread her legs open and kicked her private part many times.
Attempts by the young lady to prevent the mob from hitting her private part was met with even harder beatings.
Executive Director of the Ark Foundation, an NGO, Angela Dwamena Aboagye, says the police must immediately ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice. “When it comes to women, this also sits within not just a social justice framework or criminal law framework, but within violence against women which is completely a human rights issue as well.
“Look at the manner in which they purported to arrest her, they stripped her and look at the acts of violence that were perpetuated against her”, she added.
She called on the Gender Ministry to resurrect its fight against the abuse of women, domestic violence and other human rights abuses.
She said she has no doubt that the police can deal with the issue and prayed for a quick action to be taken on the issue.
Human rights lawyer Francis Xavier Sosu has urged the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to step up its education of human rights to curb abuses as Social Justice Day is observed globally today.
In Ghana human rights advocates have bemoaned the increasing abuses of some citizens’ human rights.
Mr Sosu believes CHRAJ should also condemn publicly such acts even before a formal complaint is lodged with them.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has released a statement urging the public not to engage in mob justice.
They asked that anyone who feels threatened by the other person should call the police instead of engaging in assault.
