Image and story of the day: elderly women and rape in Africa

What is special about this photo of two elderly African women?  They are at a martial arts class.  for defending themselves, as this photo essay at Foreign Policy explains:


Two elderly women wait for their martial arts class to begin in a slum in Nairobi, Kenya, in January. By some counts, one in five adult rape victims in Kenya is older than 60 -- one survivor is 105. Intercourse with the elderly is believed by many would-be attackers to bring good luck, purify one's sins, and even cure AIDS. Starting in 2007, a program called I'm Worth Defending has empowered women to fight back by teaching self-defense classes in Nairobi slums.

I followed up on one of those hyperlinks where it reads:

The Nairobi Women's Hospital, home to the country's largest gender violence recovery centre, treats about 230 cases of sexual violence every month - the oldest survivor was 105 years old.
"When it comes to rape, I am my only defender," said Veronica Njeri, 65, another member of the class. "Here in the slums, people act like there is no law."

Yet another piece of evidence that we live in one screwed up world.  Though, I suppose it was not any better in the past--perhaps even worse!