Women, Sexual Norms, Punishments and Current Realities in Borana Society: The Case of Hawo Godana

| June 6, 2011

I need to
inform the readers of this article that I decided to write this article
following an incident which happened on May 14, 2011. The very ugly story that
came out of Moyale was about to culminate in a catastrophic inter-ethnic
conflict between the Borana Oromo and the Burji tribe in Northern Kenya.^1,2,3 

The Borana Oromo and the Burji people have lived side by side
in peace and shared resources across common borders for centuries. The Burji
people are one of the Cushitic speaking minority groups in South Ethiopia⁶
who have an excellent symbiotic relationship with Borana and peaceful co-existence
in an area where there had been perennial conflicts for decades between rival
ethnic groups over scare resources, man-made disasters and politically
instigated inter-ethnic tensions.

The Borana Oromo like all other Oromo societies have a culture
of tolerating differences, appreciating diversity and gradually assimilating
peoples of various creeds⁴. 
To my knowledge there is one big precondition:  Respecting and abiding by Aadaa-Seera Borana (the customs and laws governing
the Borana people).  After someone
has been accepted formally into the Borana society, no reference is made to his
creed whatsoever following incidents or quarrels that are perceived to emanate
from personal conflicts. People are judged by their deeds, obligations and
duties they should discharge as community members.

The Burji
people are among the minority ethnic groups who sympathize with the Oromo over
many issues and that has been the basis for the peaceful co-existence in a very
turbulent region under the incumbent Ethiopian regime that has seen
inter-ethnic conflicts cooked between almost all tribal groups.  The Borana Oromo’s hospitality led
the Burji people to migrate and inhabit certain areas all over the Borana
country in South Ethiopia and North Kenya. 
They are either settled agrarians or urban-dwellers engaged in
businesses, unlike the Borana people who are predominantly pastoralists or
agro-pastoralists.  It is apparent
that almost all Burji people who migrated to Borana country eventually end up
speaking Afaan Oromo and having strong political affiliations with the Borana
people, especially in Kenya, although there are talks of the Burji recently
shifting affiliations and forming alliance with the Rendille
and Gabra tribes (Regabu)
in some constituencies³.

 The Burji in South Ethiopia are probably
the first among southern nationalities who successfully defeated a TPLF/EPRDF
engineered and sponsored party during the first parliamentary and district wide
elections in Ethiopia. For that the Burji were collectively punished and their educated
elites persecuted.  I personally
know some educated Burji elites who were persecuted and imprisoned under the
current TPLF regime for officially endorsing OLF or sympathizing with the Oromo
cause and speaking against the injustices perpetrated on ethnic Oromo subjects.
 The bed-rock of the Borana-Burji alliance
and mutual co-existence is further enhanced and strengthened by such
experiences. It is obvious that there are elements and interest groups who have
the desire to dismantle such foundations and create a dysfunctional and dependent
society that always look up to the government to solve its problems. There are
also naïve and immature politicians and frustrated elites who knowingly or
unknowingly contribute to the build up of inter-ethnic tensions and mistrust
after unfortunate, or possibly well orchestrated heinous crimes against human
subjects in the area.

 In Borana a crime is especially worse if
when it is committed on a defenseless women and children. This is what happened
recently in north Kenya- a Borana young girl was allegedly gang-raped and
brutally sexually assaulted by 3-4 men with the assistance of two women^{1,
2, 3}. The young lady who was punished through such barbaric way is
named-Hawo Godana. Some people believed that the act of gang-raping and then
putting foreign materials such as a bottle in a private sexual part is not an
ordinary and random crime committed by vagabonds but deliberate act of crime
out of lack of respect and sign of hostility toward the Borana people. This
could originate from the sentiment among the Borana that “an attack against
one is an attack against all”.

Presently,
this case is being mediated by community elders from Both Borana and Burji
communities and also being investigated by law enforcement bodies in Kenya. In
light of these facts, to the best of my abilities I would like to refrain from
using inflammatory remarks and making judgments of parties who are involved
until the dispute is resolved amicably, to give peace a big chance! Rather, I
would like to state that according to the tradition of the peoples living in
and around the Borana country, if a crime is committed by a member of tribe,
the issue is not left to the law enforcement authorities. It is customary that
the clan or tribe to which the alleged person belongs choose elders and express
sympathy to the family of the deceased and seek reconciliation, immediately.
Otherwise, there is a tendency that the incident might be assumed as a crime
committed with a blessing of the tribe. 

The Borana in Moyale were angered not
only by the horrible rape incident but by the absence of expression of remorse
by Burji elders during the days following the rape and subsequent killing of a
Borana man.  But, the call for calm,
peace and reconciliation from an emerging Burji young leader, Dr. Tekleab S.
Gala, is an experience worth-mentioning. He took an initiative to condemn the
acts of people he described as vagabonds outrageous. In his e-mail to more than
fifty people he called the Burji a minority who couldn’t survive the
wrath of the majority Borana, and begged his Borana Oromo friends to do
whatever they can to prevent bloodshed between these two friendly people in
North Kenya and South Ethiopia. In my previous experience the role of the
educated people in the Diaspora had been to fund-raise money to help the
casualties of inter-ethnic conflicts, rather than doing whatever they can to
prevent it. That is precisely the reason why I decided to support him and join
him in calling for peace and reconciliation. It is my sincere hope that the
Burji business people and elites in Kenya learn from wisdom of Dr. Tekleab and
do more to heal the wounds and move forward in the spirit of togetherness.  Unfortunately, there are also some
Borana individuals in the Diaspora who have lost the Borana wisdom of tolerance
and collective action. A vitriolic rhetoric during such time where a potential
bloodshed is looming is unwise at best and destructive at worst.

By all
accounts, gang-raping a young unmarried girl, especially with a support of
women as the crime is committed is deplorable, outrageous, barbaric and unheard
off in recent times in all of the Borana country.  I would like to use some facts from the
book I authored and published in 2005 to give the audience a brief description
of sexual norms, customary laws and penalties for sexual offenses according to
the Gada system of administration.

The Borana
Oromo has well-crafted laws and regulations to safeguard and promote sexual and
reproductive health of girls and women in society.  According to the Borana belief system
women are delicate human beings vulnerable to harassment and abuse; and
therefore deserve protection at all times and under all circumstances. This is
reflected in a popular dictum “Nadheen
muka laafaa-women are
like delicate sticks and they should be treated with utmost care”. The
Borana elders contend that since time immemorial there has been such rules and
laws enacted to protect women from physical abuse and harassment. This is a
cross-cutting belief that is reflected in most sexual norms and punishments for
transgressions of these norms at all times and places. A Borana girl is
required to maintain her virginity and chastity before marriage. This is not
the responsibility of the mother and the father only but also the
responsibility of all community members. 
No person is allowed to perform any sexual act with unmarried girl
including making gestures and deliberate touch with an intention to invite for
sex.

Sexual
intercourse with an unmarried girl of any age, bet it consensually or otherwise
is considered a serious crime that can never be forgiven let alone by Gada
councilors and elders but even by the biological parents. This is about
collective societal obligation rather than being an individual or family value.
Anybody who witnessed consensual sex with an unmarried girl has an obligation
to expose the crime and bring the case to elders to uphold Aadaa-Seera Borana. Otherwise, he/she is complicit in the crime and will be
punished as per the existing law and regulations at the time the crime is
committed.

Consensual
sex resulting in extra-marital pregnancy is usually exposed by family members
who want to be immune from being made complicit in the crime and to lessen the
shame brought to the family. According to the old Borana custom the person who
committed such crime would flee the area to foreign lands immediately or else
he risks being rounded up, punished to the fullest extent of the law, forced to
marry the unfortunate girl and if he is already married man, he would be forced
to divorce his wife and live in solitary seclusion away from all community
members.

Both the
man and the girl (now a woman) will forever be treated as sexual outcasts and
they will never be cleansed from their status as Cabana whatsoever. These
couples are not only forced to live in seclusion but also subjected to other
punishments such as being barred from taking part in all social occasions in
life and death. All persons are forbidden by law from having any sexual
relations with such couples or marrying their off-springs.  The Borana Oromo supreme governing
council-the Raba Gada, is mandated to enforce all the laws and regulations enacted
by the Borana law-making assembly: the Gumi Gayo (GG) and other customary laws
and norms passed down from generations to generation as Aadaa-Seera
Borana. All violations and alleged crimes that are not resolved by the village
elders and clan councilors, and grievances of such nature will be brought to
the Gumi Gayo for trial and final decision. The
Raba-Gada and the GG resolves conflicts and cases with out any impartiality.
All Borana community members are treated as equals in front of the GG and these
laws are applied everywhere the laws are applicable in the Borana land.  The Borana laws are applicable to
anybody who is a Borana and would like to remain a Borana or maintain his
Borana identity-Borana Guutuu. Those who refuse to abide by any Borana law or
run away from justice will be treated as non-Borana and shall have no rights
and privileges. He shall be treated as persona non-grata all over the Borana
land and Borana people shall have no obligations to him.  To many Borana people such punishments
are equivalent to dying while still alive and therefore, a Borana knows that
he/she has the responsibility to learn all the Borana customary laws and make
all the necessary precautions to refrain from violating the sexual norms and
values.

During the
first encounter with a woman, Borana men are required to ask the clan to which
a woman belongs, her own generation and the generation of her husband if she is
married. This is so because sexual relations are limited by many factors such
as kinship, the generation to which the woman belongs by birth and marriage and
whether a woman is breast-feeding or not. 
The Borana people contend that such strict sexual regulations are
important for sexual and reproductive health of the society and to control the
incidence of hereditary and congenital diseases. This is probably what
biologists might consider as a form of controlled human breeding. This is about
keeping Aadaa-Seera Borana above all the things. According
to the beliefs of the Borana society, this is the reason behind all the good
things the Borana is known and respected for.

What
are the possible scenarios of punishments for pre-marital sex and pregnancy
before wed-lock?

The girl
who became pregnant out of wed-lock as a result of consensual sex is considered Cabana– a sexual outcast. In some
Borana territories  such as Taltalle
( also spelled as Teltelle), up until these days such
girls are abandoned by their own biological parents and would be taken to
foreign lands and given to a person willing to marry her with gifts of cattle.
She has brought shame to the family and the family is required to abandon her
and never to see her again in life. These all is done with the conviction that
such severe punishments are a guarantee that similar crimes of transgression of
the Aadaa Borana are not repeated. 
In fact, until a recent past a case of pre-marital pregnancy (Cabana) is
an extremely rare phenomenon among conservative Borana communities where the Aadaa-Seeraa Boorana is
rigorously enforced.  However, with
erosion of cultural values, weakening of Gada system of administration, rampant
consumption of Arake (Alcohol), and ever-worsening
poverty, such crimes of transgression of Aadaa-Borana
is becoming more common.  Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority
of the Borana people still remain strongly opposed to pre-marital sex and
pregnancy before wed-lock, especially when this happens in a rural setting.

According
to the extensive researches I conducted on this subject, different Borana
communities deal with this problem in a different ways. It depends on the
degree of influence of Raba-Gada council, perceived prevalence of the incident,
availability of other alternatives to the culprits, etc.  The ever-changing socio-cultural dynamics
in the Borana society forced Borana people to unwillingly accept a compromise,
without ever condoning transgression of the Aadaa–
Borana. I always remember how such issues where discussed fervently at both
Gumi El-Dallo and Gumi Gayo
Meetings of 2003 and 2004 respectively. A gentleman and a man of high
integrity-Gollisa Roba
would dwell on the issues of maintaining Aadaa-Borana,
regulating societal sexual behavior and controlling all factors leading to
increased prevalence of girls’ premarital pregnancy including religious
cults which allow inter-mingling of boys and girls during night time prayers,
using young girls to serve alcohol drinks to clients at rural based alcohol
selling households, etc.  The GG
deliberated on cases of Borana councilors who failed to uphold the custom and
let alleged transgressors live among the Borana. On the other hand there were
cases when Borana girls were forced to flee to foreign lands. Such irregularities
he argued would open the doors for more transgressions and eventually destroy
the very foundation of the Borana social fabric⁵.

In another
scenario, Cabana girls are compelled to immigrate to urban centers, often far
away from the reach of their family members. They are forced to seek refuge in
alien communities as co-wives of whoever is willing to accept them; make their
living as servants to better off families, or seek employment as housemaids and
the likes. The lucky ones may become self-employed single mothers, making their
living by selling alcoholic drinks in small urban centers.  Because of the nature of their work,
these women are vulnerable to casual sexual encounters with their clients who
are often drank and under the influence of alcohol and engage in unprotected
sex. Here, I would to inform the readers of this article that the chances of
formal marriage to another man is almost non-existent and may happen
occasionally if such women convert to other faiths and show their loyalty to these
faiths. It is widely believed that the increased prevalence of premarital
pregnancies and the subsequent degrading treatments would put these women at
higher risks of acquiring STIs including HIV. The strategy adopted by the HIV
prevention and control offices at national and regional levels seems to
strengthen the Borana tradition of strictly maintaining virginity and chastity
before marriage, namely sexual abstinence before marriage. Girls’
educational enrollment is dramatically increasing and more and more young girls
are forced to leave their home areas for post elementary education. Parallel to
this there is an alarming increase in school drop outs and increased incidence
of unplanned and unwanted teen age pregnancies. What is the solution? Preach condom
use where appropriate?  Promotion of
safe abortion services at health centers where there are no skilled
professionals to perform such procedures?  Or, empower young girls through community
support programs and help them advance their education further and then after
their chances of independent existence?

Coming
back to my main theme- the treatment of sexual outcasts, the Borana law
requires that no person should knowingly commit sexual intercourse with Cabana
women, at all times. Whoever committed sexual intercourse knowingly shall be
treated as a secondary sexual outcast-Cabana Burre.
They too are treated the same way as the primary sexual outcasts. My
big question and the main purpose of writing this article is this: If such are
the prevailing realities of sexual and reproductive health practices in Borana,
what would be the fate of Hawo Godana?

Hawo
Godana is gang-raped in a manner unheard off before. The news that a 17 year
old Borana girl from Ethiopia who was working as a housemaid for a Burji business
owner was raped by four men turn by turn and that two women supported those
criminals by luring Hawo to the men’s den went viral throughout Borana
land and the news circulated person to person among the Borana Diaspora. Later
on, the news was all over the place, on social media such as FB, Kenyan
newspapers and TV and even the voice of America Afan
Oromo Service. Hawo was initially treated in Moyale and then a few days later
taken to Nairobi Kenya where she received treatment at a women’s
hospital.  Before Hawo was taken to
NB, there was riot and looting of Burji owned businesses and subsequently a
Borana man was killed. This was followed by youth street protest and the Burji
where besieged at Manyatta Burji and all Burji owned
trucks were prevented from using the highway from Marsabit to Moyale. The
Borana people controlled the airstrip and prevented landing of aircraft
carrying a Burji business man and journalists. They were forced to return to
Nairobi. The transport businesses in the region came to stand still for more
than a week¹. This shows the extent of the popular uprising
following the alleged barbaric sexual assault.

 It is not difficult to imagine the
tremendous psychological and physical trauma Hawo suffered as a result of this
heinous crime.  The worst part of
the story, for me, is what she might face in the future; particularly if she
goes back to live in this very place where she was mentally and psychologically
abused. The Borana people may have huge sympathy for this young lady for what she
went through. But, given the Borana tradition, it is highly unlikely that she
will have a meaningful, productive and happy life if she goes back to live
there. This is a young woman who was making her living as a housemaid far away
from her place of birth.  It is
possible that her parents and immediate siblings are poor by the Borana
standard.  That is why she crossed
to the Kenyan side of the border to make a living. I have a gut feeling that
she may lack the skills, the capacity and social network to effectively deal
with the aftermath of this barbaric sexual assault for the several years to
come.  She may get some financial
assistance from somewhere including from tribe of the sexual offenders and
philanthropists (Borana and non-Borana) for her immediate needs such as costs
of medical treatments and other miscellaneous costs. Whatever the extent of the
financial assistance she may get now, nothing is equivalent to giving her the
life-changing life-skills training and tools she needs to cope with the inevitable
long-term consequences of rape, psychological torture and posttraumatic stress
disorder.  Given the high chance
that she would suffer from PTSD, which might be compounded by inability to get
a decent life including chances of decent marriage, there is no better
alternative to empowering her through skills training and psychological
therapy, which I doubt she may not get in the country where is residing now.

Going back
to her place of birth is not an option- that was the place she had to flee as a
teenage girl. There must have been enough of misery there for her and her
family which forced her to leave the area in the first place. In light of the
afore-mentioned facts and scenarios, I call upon all human rights organizations
and organizations working on supporting torture survivors and rape victims to
reach out to this poor young girl and give her hope for her future life. She may
live a productive and happy life and recover from her trauma best if she is
relocated to a third country where resources are available to help her.

My Best Wishes for Hawo Godana and other women who find themselves in
similar situations.

Kaayoo Qabna,

References: