Human Rights Advocacy; A Lifestlye.

Several human rights instruments have underling principles of equality and dignity of all human being. The first sentence of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Article 2 further prohibits any form of discrimination in the enjoyment of the Human rights irrespective of any differences. Compare these provisions with different human rights instrument in the world and you will see the common highlighting principles yet we hear of various abuses in different parts of the world and my country is not an exception.

Today, news and stories all over the media showcase the various forms of violence, discrimination against women and the girl child questioning the faith of many in humanity. This is shockingly a glaring reality staring us in the face and almost daring us to act. I have taken up the challenge by getting involved in the protection and promotion of human rights especially rights of women. I was not born a human rights advocate but growing up I learnt that a life of silence in moments of truth is equivalent to dying several deaths before my grave. My passion stems from the heart of my upbringing, having people treat my family as incomplete because we were all girls at the time. My father however, taught my sisters and I to grow a tough skin to derogatory comments his words inspired thus;

His Words, My Actions

You are my pride, my joy, my life
My four pretty gems for whom I thrive
I have been blessed with love and a wife
Four times blessed, each birth an addition to my pride
I heard this song each day as a child
I grew to fight for my kind to have a life
To believe and live free as the day and night
Never faltering to speak to save a wife
A sister, a mother be she my colour or tribe
I see a new world connecting me with voices of my kind
Breaking all barriers together we shall fly
My dream to fight for her just took a bold stride
Reliving the song of my father with my life
May our voices reveal her beauty and pride

Being an advocate for human rights especially the rights of women and youth in my community is thus my lifestyle. Starting up a youth NGO with some friends in my second year in the University which promotes Human Rights, Democracy and Good Governance with gender rights imbedded in our programs, provided me with a wider opportunity of viable partnership for the entrenchment of human rights in all spheres of living in the society and various experiences of women. One of such partnership led me to worldpulse, a miracle indeed.

In the words of Martin Luther King; injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. We only enable injustice against all women if we are passive to the suffering of a woman in our community.