Of Women and Domestic Violence.......A Lost Battle?

With regard to specific events happening in Kenya, the proposed appointment of Cecil Miller to the Internal Tribunal for prosecuting perpetrators of election violence in Kenya was strongly objected to by women Members of Parliament because he 'beats up his wife.' What was shocking was the afterward overflow of sexist and chauvinistic comments justifying the right a man had to beat his wife, as a sign of love as some even dared to say.

If educated men in the 21st century can speak like that, then can we say that domestic violence will ever go away? I do agree with the women MPs; we as a country cannot allow public appointment to such an important post of a man who is known to beat his wife, regardless of the titles, connections and position he has in society. But the problem is that majority of the men, and shockingly women, see no wrong in it. 'What is the big deal?' they ask. The big deal is that we have normalized domestic violence as a usual occurrence to a point where it seems normal. The men see no problem assaulting their wives, the women see it as normal to be assaulted once in a while and the nation sees it as normal to have a man in public office who beats his wife*.

*These allegations were made under parliamentary privilege in parliament and are yet to be confirmed. The issue at hand is not about Cecil Miller and his wife, but about societal attitudes.