Today around the globe too many atrocities are being committed with
impunity in the name of god, allah and other constructs, which have over
the ages, identified or associated with the so called supreme being.
The dream of a secular peaceful world where people of all faiths and
none can coexist in harmony- continues to elude many across the region.
Millions of people- theists and atheists- continue to suffer and are
abused due to superstition, religious fundamentalism and
supernaturalism. In this piece I will focus on two of such areas.
The rights of non-believers. I have heard it proclaimed at the UN
that the rights of women are human rights. I have also heard it
proclaimed that the rights of gay people are human rights. These
proclamations changed the way human rights are perceived around the
globe. Personally I have yet to hear it proclaimed at UN, or at our
regional and national human rights bodies that the rights of atheists,
agnostics and freethinkers are human rights. I do not want these rights
to be implied or assumed as currently the case in most countries. I want
them to be expressly declared as universal human rights.
In spite of the progress the world has made in terms of upholding
human rights and liberties, and getting states to honour their
obligations under various instruments and mechanisms, equal rights have
yet to be extended to religious non-believers in most parts of the world
particularly in Africa.
I still do not know any African country where one can openly and
truly say that the government recognizes the full human rights of
non-believers including their right to life, freedom of expression,
freedom from torture, inhumane or degrading treatment, freedom of
association, freedom of conscience etc. There is no country in the
region with an effective mechanism to protect the rights of those who
profess no religion; those who change their religion or those who are
critical of religious and theistic ideas. Religious non-believers are
treated as if they are not human beings, as if they do not exist or do
not have the right to exist.
There are no guarantees for the rights and dignity of infidels,
apostates and blasphemers as freethinkers are often called. Many
governments have caved in to pressures from religious fanatics, from
theocrats, jihadists and terrorists. So nonbelievers are denied their
basic rights with impunity, sometimes as a matter of state policy or for
the sake of ‘public order’ or ‘morality’. The situation is worse in
countries that have an official religion or official religions.
Unbelievers are targets of forced conversion, oppression,
discrimination, persecution and murder, sometimes by states. Many
governments pay lip service to freedom of religion or belief. Freedom of
religion is often understood as freedom to profess a religion-the
religion sanctioned by the state, by one’s family or community- not
freedom to change one’s religion or freedom not to profess any religion
at all as contained in article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
So most people who do not profess any religion or belief in god are
compelled to live or remain in the closets or to pretend to be
religious, paying lip service to religions they do not truly profess, to
religious dogmas that mean nothing to them or to a god they do not
actually believe in. Non-believers live in constant fear of their lives
because going open with one’s religious unbelief often comes at a price,
at a very heavy price. In Africa, by going open and public as a
freethinker, one risks being ostracized by families and communities,
being persecuted by state and non-state agents, being expelled from
schools. As an atheist, one can be sacked from jobs, domestically
abused, disqualified from posts, demonized by faith groups, taunted as a
person without morality or portrayed as the enemy of the state or
society. Atheism is a freethinking position that still dares not mention
its name in most parts of the continent.
In many African states, apostasy and blasphemy are crimes punishable
by death and imprisonment. Expressions of freethinkers are often taken
to be blasphemies. Hence freethinkers are legally denied freedom of
expression. Freethinkers are treated as criminals, not citizens; as
undeserving of human rights protection.
But we all know that the term, non-believer, does not always refer
to someone who does not profess a religion or who does not believe in
god. In multi religious societies, the term ‘non-believers’ often refers
to those who profess other religions, or to religious minorities.
So, protecting the rights of non-believers is critical to upholding
the equal rights of all individuals to freedom of conscience. I urge
anyone to show me a country where the rights of non-believers are not
protected and I will show you another country where the right to freedom
of religion or belief, or the rights of religious minorities, in fact,
universal human rights are not respected.
So now we need to get the world to break the ‘criminal’ silence over
the violations of human rights of non-believers. At the UN,
Commonwealth, AU etc, we must strive to get states to recognize and to
take measures to protect the rights of atheists, freethinkers, skeptics,
religious dissenters and infidels. We must ensure that states that
violate the human rights of non-believers or governments that fail to
protect the rights of non-believers are held accountable and
responsible.
Also we need to focus on human rights abuses that are perpetrated
against people of faith in the name of religion by state and non state
agents.
As I noted above, it is not only non theists or non religious
believers whose rights are violated in the name of religion, so many
theists and religious believers across the world suffer abuses in the
name of their own faith or the faith of others. Unfortunately, these
abuses are so many and have been going on for so long. Due to fear of
offending religious sensibilities, many states and human rights
institutions have failed to rise up to the challenge of addressing these
abuses. Many people are afraid of shining the light on faith related
human rights violations because of fear of being attacked or killed by
fanatics.
Highlighting the abuses is often deemed to be offensive or a form of
provocation and our governments do not want to offend or be seen to be
offending the religious ‘sensibilities’ of fanatics even when if it
means condoning grave human rights abuses, hence these violations
persist.
What we have in many parts of Africa and the world is a situation
where the victims, not the perpetrators, are blamed for the abuses or a
situation where harmful traditional practices are encouraged or condoned
because doing otherwise would offend the religious or cultural
sentiments of the people. Religious doctrines, traditions and
sensibilities are cited to justify child marriage, the death penalty,
corporal punishment, female genital mutilation, the denial of
reproductive rights, homophobia, witch hunt, the subordination of women,
etc. Even where there are enabling laws, governments lack the political
will to enforce these laws.
We must not only stand up for the rights of atheists and
freethinkers around the globe but also the human rights of people of all
faiths who are oppressed in the name of religion or god. For there are
many, far too many, around the world who are victims of religious
tyranny, violence and exploitation. They could be writers or artists
whose works offend fanatics. They could be women, children and elderly
persons who are persecuted in the name of witchcraft in Africa. They
could be muslim women who are subordinated in the name of sharia. They
could be christians and muslims who are shot and killed by extremist
groups in Nigeria.
They could also be albinos, people with hunch back and other
disabled persons being hunted down and killed for ritual purposes in
many parts of Africa.
In conclusion, I know there are risks involved in speaking out
against faith based human rights abuses. But I think we run a greater
risk as a society, country and continent by not doing so. We are worse
off by keeping silence in the face of religious tyranny and oppression.
So, let’s muster courage and serve as the voice of hope, freedom and
change. Let’s strive to herald this new dawn for Africa and for
humanity. Let’s work to realize a new civilization and enlightenment
with a global dimension.
by Leo Igwe
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