What will Donald Trump tell the world?

I must admit that I was not following news about the US elections. I got sick of the ugliness that marred the elections. Albeit I was excited about a woman being at the helm of affairs at the White House, I think the elections were jaded with utter show of disdain for humanity from Donald Trump as he continued to abuse his campaign privileges. He seemed to have bought the public as he is a wealthy business man. Trump’s public show of hate for immigrants, Muslims and other minority groups was incitement which made these set of people very insecure in their own country.

Yet, the world including me, woke up on the morning of Wednesday 9th November to the news that Mr Trump had won. I experienced first-hand the first stage of shock; denial. I refused to accept that the celebrity businessman had won until I turned the TV on and got it from CNN.

Mr Trump’s campaign was marred by allegations of sexual harassment, misogynistic and a raw objectification of women as mere sex tools, meant for the satisfaction of wealthy men like him. I will not belabour myself with his upsetting comments such as referring to Mrs Clinton as ‘nasty woman’, bragging about ‘grabbing them {women} by the pussy, his attempt to have sex with a married woman, or his lewd comments about Fox news’s anchor Megyn Kelly, his GOP primary opponent Carly Fiorini, former Miss Universe Alicia Machado and a host of others that depicts his outright disdain for women and blatant sexism.

Meanwhile, what bothers me is the direction our world is taking. When there are issues of political impasse in developing countries, mass human rights abuse, corruption, abuse of power, conflicts, widespread violence against women, we call on the international community; the US and the UK to pressure governments to treat the ordinary people right. For instance, in the 90s when Liberia was at war in which women bore the brunt of the atrocities, it was the women headed by Leymah Gbowee who staged a peaceful protest calling on the international community to help them gain lasting peace. It was the same during the Rwandan genocide, the Sierra Leone conflict and even the Chibok kidnap that lead to the popular social media #BringBackOurGirls campaign which gained the support of important global actors like first lady Michelle Obama of the US and Pakistani Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.

However, now that the world’s most powerful country is in the hands of president elect Donald Trump and with all what he’s popular for, what will he tell a leader like Jacob Zuma of South Africa who in 2005 was charged with rape? What will Trump say to Zuma for making outrageous sexist comments against women, which he Trump is equally guilty of? What will Trump say to Mohammadu Buhari of Nigeria who very recently relegated his wife to belonging to the rooms in his house?

The prevalence of rape and sexual abuse normally generate fear and silence attempts to challenge social, economic and political inequality. In conflict regions, such as Syria, Bosnia, Rwanda, Liberia and even the abduction of the Chibok girls, women suffered diversely from fleeing the conflicts to becoming carers for dependent families, children and aged. When disease break such as the recent Ebola outbreak, women are more likely to suffer because of their roles as carers. Moreover, male-dominated structures (which Trump seems to endorse) in many global societies have not provided mechanisms for the implementation of gender protocols that call for the protection of women’s rights. I am worried about the US global role in ending violence against women under president Trump. How will the USA continue to speak up for the rights of women? With all what he’s known for, who will listen to Trump?

According to the UN, one in three women still suffer physical or sexual violence such as what Trump and his mate in South Africa Zuma have been accused of. In some countries, up to 70% of the women have suffered a form of violence. Globally, one in ten girls experience rape. while in New Delhi sexual violence in public spaces is as high as 92%. In the US, a 2010 intimate partner and sexual violence survey showed that 22 million women have experienced rape in their lifetime.

Having somebody like Mr Trump as the next US president, worries me because of not only his disregard for women but because I don’t see anyone listening to him on changing the harrowing global statistics of violence against women. For Mr Trump to be a relevant global actor for the rights of women, he must first make a global apology to all women.