By Mmaditaba
Sex!
It has brought down empires and made men walk hundreds of kilometres to get lucky.
But historically sex has been used to oppress and abuse women. So when you speak about women and sexual pleasure, it’s no wonder studies suggest that up to half of women who are having sex are not enjoying it.
In some cultures women are even told that they are not to enjoy sex. But African women have had enough and they are coming for their pleasure.
Hauwa Adam who is a Ghanaian sexologist says she spent years hating her body because of a sexual encounter at university.
“I grew up in a Muslim home. The typical conservative Muslim [home] in Ghana [where] you couldn’t wear trousers, couldn’t wear short skirts, couldn’t wear tight clothes because your body is sacred,” she told CNN.
She had grown up under the rule that a woman’s body is saved for her husband to unwrap on their wedding night.
When she went to university and had a sexual encounter, she hated her body and could not find pleasure in it.
And that experience has made her want to change this reality for herself and other young African women. She believes that by talking about sex and pleasure, as a society we are giving women the power to own their sexuality and that in itself is empowering women and protecting their human rights.
Sex comes with a lot of shame and most often it is women who are shamed for enjoying sex or talking openly about it.
The World Association for Sexual Health (WASH) published their first ever Declaration on Sexual Pleasure, which states that sexual pleasure which is free of discrimination, coercion, and violence is a fundamental part of sexual health and well-being for all.
They add that denying women the right to sexual pleasure is closely linked to denying women reproductive rights.
And in Africa where people are arrested for choosing who they want to have sex with, young women want to change this reality so that women feel safer to talk about sex and pleasure but also to just be a full human being with all aspects of life including sex.
Image source: CNN
