The village where men are banned

[Liberal_in_LA]

The village where men are banned
Only women are allowed to live in Umoja. Julie Bindel visits the Kenyan village that began as a refuge for survivors of sexual violence – and discovers its inhabitants are thriving in the single-sex community


Jane says she was raped by three men wearing Gurkha uniforms. She was herding her husband’s goats and sheep, and carrying firewood, when she was attacked. “I felt so ashamed and could not talk about it to other people. They did terrible things to me,” says Jane, her eyes alive with pain.

She is 38 but looks considerably older. She shows me a deep scar on her leg where she was cut by stones when she was pushed to the ground. In a quiet, hesitant voice she continues her story. “I eventually told my husband’s mother that I was sick, because I had to explain the injuries and my depression. I was given traditional medicine, but it did not help. When she told my husband [about the rape], he beat me with a cane. So I disappeared and came here with my children.”

Jane is a resident of Umoja, a village in the grasslands of Samburu, in northern Kenya, surrounded by a fence of thorns. I arrive in the village at the hottest time of the day, when the children are sleeping. Goats and chickens wander around, avoiding the bamboo mats on which women sit making jewellery to sell to tourists, their fingers working quickly as they talk and laugh with each other. There are clothes drying in the midday sun on top of the huts made from cow dung, bamboo and twigs. The silence is broken by birdsong, shrill, sudden and glorious. It is a typical Samburu village except for one thing: no men live here.

My arrival is greeted by singing and dancing from the women. They wear traditional Samburu dress of patterned skirts, brightly coloured shirts and a kanga (a colourful wrap) tied on their shoulders. Necklaces made of strings of vividly coloured beads form stunning circular patterns around their necks. The colourful clothing contrasts with the dry air and terrain, and the harsh sun that picks out the dust that fills the air.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/aug/16/village-where-men-are-banned-womens-rights-kenya

Rebecca Lolosoli is the founder of Umoja and the village matriarch. She was in hospital recovering from a beating by a group of men when she came up with the idea of a women-only community. The beating was an attempt to teach her a lesson for daring to speak to women in her village about their rights. The Samburu are closely related to the Maasai tribe, speaking a similar language. They usually live in groups of five to 10 families and are semi-nomadic pastoralists. Their culture is deeply patriarchal. At village meetings men sit in an inner circle to discuss important village issues, while the women sit on the outside, only occasionally allowed to express an opinion. Umoja’s first members all came from the isolated Samburu villages dotted across the Rift valley. Since then, women and girls who hear of the refuge come and learn how to trade, raise their children and live without fear of male violence and discrimination.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/aug/16/village-where-men-are-banned-womens-rights-kenya#img-1

[840high]

1. kick

[Hydra]

2. Things like this need to happen to disrupt the narrative

That we have to do things male dominated...or else.

[riderinthestorm]

3. If you read the link it's not as rigid as the headline implies...

but that this village is matriarchal and female empowering, is absolutely true.

I hope they grow to many millions strong in order to fend off the inevitable male assault on their enclave....

[MisterP]

19. unless of course it's Borough Park

[jtuck004]

4. K&R n/t

[mountain grammy]

5. I'm terrified for them.

But their courage is amazing and their spirits will infect others.

what a good story.

[smirkymonkey]

10. Yes, you know that men won't put up for it for very long.

Women living in peace without violence tends to upset them.

[Liberal_in_LA]

11. The village has lasted for decades. Hopefully they will get more support and protection from this

publicity.

[Cleita]

6. There was a documentary a few years back about them when the news channels actually

did some real reporting back in the '90s. I'm pleased to see that they still exist.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

7. "Umoja" means "Unity".

[u4ic]

8. This is what bravery, what courage - and what ingenuity looks like

If you'd like to donate - http://www.umojawomen.net/HOME.html

I truly wish there was more international outrage -and response - for the horrific crimes against women worldwide.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. Thanks for the link.

[smirkymonkey]

9. +1000

Good for them!

[snooper2]

13. So when the boys in the village start growing up what age do they get kicked out?

First sign of a woody when sleeping?

[geek tragedy]

14. thanks for the mature and sensitive contribution to the discussion of abused

women in the developing world

[cyberswede]

15. +1

[snooper2]

16. sorry for asking a simple question...guess nobody knows the answer

The women escape abuse, sometimes with young children some of whom are boys...

Over time if they are not removed they would become part of that local society yes?

[lostnfound]

17. It would be nice if they stayed and became liberated too

Liberated from the infection of the violent patriarchy from which their mothers escaped.

[appalachiablue]

21. +2

[BlindTiresias]

18. To address your concern in a serious and non-dismissive manner

They only bar traditional men from outside the village because of their habits that harm women. The male children raised in the village are allowed to stay and iirc there are many teenage males that stay there with their families.

[niyad]

20. k and r and bookmarking. thank you so much for posting this