Related
Stories
 |
| Isabelle Ameganvi said holding the strike would ensure women's voices would be heard |
Women in
Togo have called a week-long sex strike, starting on Monday, to demand the
president's resignation.
The ban has
been called by opposition coalition Let's Save Togo, which groups together nine
civil society groups and seven opposition parties and movements.
Opposition
leader Isabelle Ameganvi said that sex could be a "weapon of the
battle" to achieve political change.
The
coalition wants President Faure Gnassingbe, whose family has held power for
decades, to stand down.
"We
have many means to oblige men to understand what women want in Togo," Ms
Ameganvi, leader of the women's wing of the coalition, told the BBC.
She said
she had been inspired by a similar strike by Liberian women in 2003, who used a
sex strike to campaign for peace.
"If
men refuse to hear our cries we will hold another demonstration that will be
more powerful than a sex strike," she added.
'Like
fasting'
Togo has
been run by the same family for more than four decades.
President
Faure Gnassingbe took power in 2005 following the death of his father,
Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled Togo for 38 years. The president was re-elected
in 2010.
The strike
was announced at a rally on Saturday in Lome, attended by thousands of people.
The rally
was held to protest against recent electoral reforms, which demonstrators say
will make it easier for Mr Gnassingbe's party to win re-election in the
parliamentary polls set for October.
Activists
say that the strike will motivate men who are not involved in the political
movement to pursue its goals, which include an end to the system allowing
unlimited presidential terms.
Earlier
this month, two anti-Gnassingbe protests were dispersed by police using tear
gas and more than 100 people were arrested.
The sex
strike was welcomed as a political tool by some women in Lome.
"It's
a good thing for us women to observe this sex strike as long as our children
are in jail now. I believe that by observing this, we will get them
released," Abla Tamekloe told the Associated Press.
"For
me, it's like fasting, and unless you fast, you will not get what you want from
God."
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.