探秘肯亞「女兒村」！全村住著48名婦女及其孩子，男子別想進

She grew up in a community where women rule and men are banned

她生長在一個由女人統治、男人被禁止入內的社區

素材來源：CNN 翻譯：世界播

Rosalina Learpoora has always been surrounded by women.

一直以來，羅莎琳娜?李爾波拉身邊圍繞著的都是女人。

At age 18, she lives in an all-women village in northern Kenya, where she spends her evenings doing homework, fetching firewood or beading colorful jewelry.

18歲時，她住在肯亞北部一個全是女性的村子裡，每天晚上，她都會在那裡做家庭作業、打柴或串五顏六色的珠寶。

Learpoora has called Umoja home since she was 3. There, a group of 48 women live with their children in huts protected by thorny brush to keep away intruders. When a man trespasses, they notify the local police, who either issue a warning or arrest the culprit -- depending on the number of offenses.

李爾波拉從3歲起就把烏莫加村當作自己的家。在那裡，48名婦女和她們的孩子住在用帶刺的灌木叢保護的棚屋裡，以阻擋入侵者。當有男性入侵時，她們會通知當地警察，警察會根據犯罪次數發出警告或逮捕被告。

The village was started in 1990 by 15 women who became stigmatized in their communities after they were raped by British soldiers from a base at nearby Archer"s Post, a trading center bordering Samburu and Isiolo. Some of the rape survivors say their husbands accused them of bringing dishonor to their families and kicked them out. They found a piece of land, moved there and named it Umoja -- Swahili for unity.

這個村莊是1990年由15名婦女創建的，她們在附近的Archer"s Post（一個與桑布魯和伊西奧洛接壤的貿易中心）被英國士兵強姦後，在自己的社區受到了歧視。有些強姦倖存者說，她們的丈夫指責她們給家庭帶來恥辱，並把她們趕了出去。她們找到了一塊地，就搬到那裡，給這塊地起名叫烏莫加——斯瓦希里語，意思是團結。

It has since grown into a refuge, welcoming women escaping abusive marriages, female genital mutilation, rape and other forms of assault. Even some women whose husbands died have found solace and a home there.

自那以後，這裡慢慢發展成了一個避難所，接收那些逃離受虐的婚姻、女性生殖器切割、強姦和其他形式攻擊的婦女。甚至有些失去丈夫的婦女也在那裡找到了安慰和家。

Rosalina Learpoora, 18, has lived in Umoja village since she was 3. Umoja is the Swahili word for unity.

18歲的羅莎琳娜?李爾波拉從3歲起就住在烏莫加村。烏莫加是斯瓦希里語團結的意思。

She fled there to escape genital mutilation

她逃到那裡是為了逃避生殖器切割

Learpoora never met her father -- she was told he died when she was 3. Terrified that her extended family would force her to undergo female genital mutilation, her mother strapped her to her back and fled to Umoja, where they"ve lived as part of the sisterhood for 15 years.

李爾波拉從未見過她的父親——她被告知父親在她3歲時就去世了。由於害怕她的大家庭會強迫她接受女性生殖器切割手術，她的母親把她綁在背上，逃到了烏莫加，她們在那裡生活了15年。

The women of Umoja are all of the Samburu culture, an extremely patriarchal society that practices female genital mutilation and believes in polygamy.

烏莫加的婦女是桑布魯文化的體現，桑布魯是一個實行女性生殖器切割和信奉一夫多妻制的極端父權社會。

Umoja women span generations, with the oldest resident at the village aged 98 and the youngest six months old. Women of all ages flee there, some with newborn babies in tow.

烏莫加婦女已經跨越了好幾代，村裡最年長的居民98歲，最小的6個月大。各個年齡段的婦女都會逃到那裡，有些還帶著剛出生的嬰兒。

When the boys who live there with their mothers reach 18, they have to move out of the village, Learpoora says.

李爾波拉說，被母親帶到那裡的男孩年滿18歲時，必須搬出村子。

"I grew up surrounded by so many women," Learpoora says of the Umoja women, shown here on a recent afternoon.

「我是在這麼多女人的包圍下長大的。」李爾波拉談到烏莫加婦女時說。

At the village, traditional Samburu huts known as manyattas dot the landscape. The sounds of cackling chicken and giggling children fill the air.

在這個村莊，傳統的桑布魯棚屋點綴著這片土地。到處都是小雞咯咯叫和孩子咯咯笑的聲音。

Like the other women in the village, Learpoora lives with her mother in a small manyatta made of wood, twigs and cow dung. Inside, the only light is from the glowing embers of a fire anchored by three large rocks.

和村裡的其他婦女一樣，李爾波拉和母親住在一個由木頭、樹枝和牛糞做成的小房子里。房子里唯一的光亮來自由三大塊岩石固定的火把。

In the evening, the tiny, modular structures are full of life, with chattering women sitting around the fire to talk about their day as beans and corn simmer in large pots.

到了晚上，這個小小的群體充滿了活力，嘰嘰喳喳的女人圍坐在爐火旁，談論著她們的一天，豆子和玉米在大鍋里煨著。

"I grew up surrounded by so many women," Learpoora says. "It"s like having different mothers all around you."

李爾波拉說：「我是在這麼多女人的包圍下長大的。就像你身邊圍著許多個媽媽一樣。」

They make beaded necklaces and pool the money

她們製作串珠項鏈，把錢湊在一起

Outside the huts, women sit on mats to watch children play. Sometimes, they sing and dance to traditional Samburu songs, their brightly colored ornaments and wraps moving with the beat. Other times, they quietly make the the round beaded necklaces that are a trademark among Samburu women, which they sell to make money for the community.

在小屋外面，婦女們坐在墊子上看孩子們玩耍。有時，她們會隨著傳統的桑布魯歌曲唱歌跳舞，色彩鮮艷的裝飾物和外衣隨著節拍舞動。還有的時候，她們會安靜地製作圓形串珠項鏈，這是桑布魯婦女的一個標誌，她們出售這些項鏈是為了給社區賺錢。

"Once they sell the necklaces, they give the money to the village"s matriarch, who then allocates the amount for food to each family based on the number of children per homestead," Learpoora says. "Some of that money is also set aside to go toward education, especially for the young girls."

李爾波拉說：「一賣掉項鏈，她們就把錢給村裡的女家長，女家長根據每個家庭的孩子數量分配食物。其中有的錢還被撥出來用於教育，尤其是對年輕女孩。」

In addition to selling jewelry, the women get income by operating a campsite for tourists going on safari to the nearby Samburu National Reserve. They also receive donations from well-wishers worldwide who"ve read about the village.

除了出售珠寶，這些婦女還經營露營地，供到附近的桑布魯國家保護區進行狩獵旅行的遊客使用，藉此獲得收入。她們也接受來自世界各地聽說過這個村莊的人的捐贈。

The women make brightly-colored beaded jewelry to sell to tourists who come to visit the village.

這些婦女製作色彩鮮艷的串珠首飾，賣給前來參觀的遊客。

She goes to a mixed-sex school and wants to be a teacher

她上的是一所男女混合的學校，她想成為一名教師

In a culture that does not believe in educating women, Learpoora is one of the village"s role models. She"s in the 11th grade at a nearby high school, and hopes to become a teacher.

在一個不相信女性教育的文化中，李爾波拉是村裡的榜樣。她在附近的一所高中讀11年級，希望成為一名教師。

"If I had not come here, I don"t know what my life would be," she says. "I probably would have undergone female genital mutilation and gotten married off as a second or third wife to an older man. These women raised me, allowed me to have an education and defied all those traditions."

「如果我沒有來這裡，我不知道我的生活會是什麼樣子，」她說，「我可能會經歷女性生殖器切割，然後作為第二或第三任妻子嫁給一個年長的男人。這些婦女養育了我，讓我接受教育，並蔑視所有這些傳統。」

Under Samburu culture, young women are forced to marry older men as second or third wives in exchange for a dowry, which is paid to their parents.

在桑布魯文化中，年輕女性被迫嫁給年長的男性作為第二或第三任妻子，以換取嫁妝，嫁妝會付給她們的父母。

"Wife inheritance and polygamy are culturally accepted practices and the society is patriarchal, hence women have no say and are less empowered," the Kenyan government"s National Aids Control Council says. Under the Samburu culture, it"s not unusual to see girls "as young as 9 or 10" getting pregnant, it says.

肯亞政府管理下的全國艾滋病控制委員會表示：「妻子過繼和一夫多妻制是文化上可被接受的做法，社會是父權制的，因此婦女沒有發言權，權利也更少。」在桑布魯文化中，「9、10歲」的女孩懷孕並不罕見。

While times are changing and some of those practices are slowly dying out, Samburu remains one of Kenya"s most patriarchal and traditional cultures, which makes the village more of an anomaly.

雖然時代在變化，其中一些習俗正在慢慢消失，但桑布魯仍然是肯亞最具宗法主義和傳統文化的一個地方，這使得這個村莊更像是一個異類。

Learpoora says when she grows up, she wants to be a teacher and help women fight back against that mindset.

李爾波拉說她長大後想成為一名教師，幫助女性對抗這種心態。

"I want to teach girls that education is important. That you don"t have to undergo FGM. That just because it"s tradition does not mean that it is the way it should be," she says.

「我想告訴女孩們教育很重要。你不需要經歷女性生殖器切割。因為這只是一種傳統，並不意味著它就應該是這樣的。」她說。

She says growing up at Umoja allowed her to thrive without the threat of female genital mutilation and forced marriages. And she wants to play a role in ensuring other girls get an education, giving them the power of choice. At least 73% of the Samburu community is illiterate, a majority of them girls, the NACC says.

她說，在烏莫加長大讓她在沒有女性生殖器切割和強迫婚姻的威脅下茁壯成長。她希望在確保其他女孩接受教育方面發揮作用，賦予她們選擇的權利。全國艾滋病控制委員會說，桑布魯社區至少73%的人是文盲，其中大多數是女孩。

Learpoora attends a mixed high school, where she says she"s learning to interact with young men. She wants to get married in future, she says.

李爾波拉就讀於一所男女混合的高中，她說她在那裡學習如何與年輕男性交流。她將來想要結婚。

"But her future husband will have to meet her many mothers and promise them he will not be abusive," chimes in Jane Lengope, 45, one of the women of Umoja. Learpoora"s mother was out of town and unavailable.

45歲的簡?倫格普是烏莫加村的一名女性，她說，「但她未來的丈夫必須要會見她的這些母親，並向她們承諾不會虐待她。」李爾波拉的母親出了村子，聯繫不上。

The husbands come looking for their wives

丈夫們來找他們的妻子

While the village has empowered some women in the community, it also has its critics. Some of the residents in nearby communities describe the women as too radical and capitalistic.

雖然這個村子讓社區里有些女性獲得了權力，但也收到了一些批評。附近社區的一些居民形容這些婦女過於激進和資本主義。

Lawas Lemoro, 25, says he does not believe the women live in a single-sex society. "They sneak off in the middle of the night to meet men or bring them into the village," he says. "Either that or they"re using the story as a way to make money."

25歲的勞瓦斯?勒莫羅說，他不認為這些婦女生活在一個單一性別的社會。他說：「她們會在半夜溜出去和男人見面，或者把他們帶到村子裡。要麼就是這樣，要麼就是她們在利用這個故事賺錢。」

When asked whether men come into the village, Learpoora and the women say no. The only men who try to come are husbands looking for their wives, she says, and they"re promptly kicked out.

當被問及是否有男性進入村莊時，李爾波拉和其他女人都說沒有。她說，唯一想過來的男人是尋找妻子的丈夫，但他們很快就被趕了出去。

Residents in the village live in traditional manyattas made of wood, twigs and cow dung.

村裡的居民住在傳統的由木頭、樹枝和牛糞做成的小屋裡。

Some say a more comprehensive solution is needed

有人說，需要一個更全面的解決方案

Faith Mwangi-Powell, global director of The Girl Generation in Nairobi, says while she applauds the women for becoming champions of change, their approach does not address the issue in the broader community.

內羅畢「The Girl Generation」全球主任Faith Mwangi-Powell說，雖然她為這些婦女成為變革的倡導者而鼓掌，但她們的做法並沒有在更廣泛的社區解決這個問題。

"I think the women are very brave and we need more brave women and that"s the only way FGM will end -- so the Umoja village must be congratulated," she says. "But we need to figure out how this change can cascade to the entire community so that the girls growing up in the village remain safe when they leave the village."

她說：「我認為這些婦女非常勇敢，我們需要更多勇敢的婦女，這是結束女性生殖器切割的唯一途徑，因此必須祝賀烏莫加村。但我們需要弄清楚這種變化怎樣能影響整個社區，這樣在村子裡長大的女孩在離開村子時才能保持安全。」

Mwangi-Powell says without a comprehensive change, the village only provides a temporary relief.

Mwangi-Powell說，如果不進行全面的改革，這個村莊只能提供暫時的救濟。

"What happens to them when they go back to those communities? Do they prepare those girls for the outside world? We have seen girls rescued from FGM at an early age and when they get married [in] to communities that practice FGM, they are forced to undergo FGM and this then counteracts that rescue and protection," she says.

「當她們回到其他社區後，會發生什麼？她們是否讓這些女孩為外面的世界做好了準備？我們看到有些女孩在很小的時候被從女性生殖器切割中拯救出來，當她們嫁到實施女性生殖器切割的社區時，她們還是要被迫接受女性生殖器切割，這就抵消了拯救和保護女性的作用。」

"Change needs to be holistic where there is total abandonment across communities through social change so that everyone is safe regardless of where they are."

「改變需要是全面的，通過社會變革，整個社區文化都被徹底拋棄，這樣無論她們身在何處，每個人都會是安全的。」

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