I rarely would make a post related to violence, security, killings, and other heart wrenching happening that trend from time to time, not because I don’t have an opinion but I think it is beyond just having an opinion. One episode after another episode we come online rant, get distracted by some entertaining gist, then we move on as nothing happened. How many people have been jailed for the killings in our country? I don’t know. How many women have gone to the Police to report rape cases and got mocked or silenced by the police? Our law enforcement has trivialized rape. We are all shouting justice for Uwa, there are many Uwas among the “living-dead”, they may be physically alive but broken.
Many Nigerian women have been abused, raped, molested and have watched our reactions to other victims of rape which makes it look like it is not such a big deal. I have even heard some people say if you are not a Virgin you can’t say you have been raped. Do you know our culture and some religions encourage rape? Over time, we have converted rape to marriage. Some women are married to men who raped them because it is a way of covering shame. Look around you, you will find people who married because they got pregnant for a rapist. I have met many and the rape continues even in “marriage”. We often don’t talk about it, we have made it easier for perverts to have a face in our society.
When I was doing community outreach for girls. Some women admitted that they were raped by their Husbands. A particular lady’s story was sad because the best her family could do was send her to his house and made him pay “something on her head”. Even though she is his wife, He never stopped raping her, it was the replay of the first time. Her experience of sex is violence. She has kids for him but she is treated as an object. There are many women we have killed by enabling perverts and rapists as long as they are willing to convert rape to Marriage.
So it is hard for me to bring myself to trend hashtag justice for whoever just to sound woke. I really hate the hypocrisy I see in our advocacy.
I heard some people even women argue that a woman who is not a virgin can’t complain of Rape They believe you can easily let go and convert rape to consensual sex, that’s why rapists pay “heavily” to silence victims.
I even saw a screenshot of a Facebook post where someone asked “Your boss raped you and offered you 2 million. Will you take it o report to the police. See responses “ I will take it O with all pleasure, blessing comes in mysterious ways. The one that I willing give, wetin I gain? another lady said “ Who police Epp? continue raping me jare, money coming in please”. A third lady responded, “ hmmm, I will take it, resign, go for a check-up and start up a business”. Another said “ As far as I am no virgin and may not be married. I wll just build a relationship to keep the raping going on and the money coming in, if possible seal the deal with a child”
If you take a poll on how people see monetary compensation for rape victims and you will be suprised at the outcome.
Do you know some rapist have paid for the treatment of their victims, paid money to the parents and they worked away freely? Poverty also weakens the voice of those who advocate for justice as the victim will soon turn around and ask you to leave it for God. Dig further and you will find out she got compensated.
We sometimes don’t see rape cases progress Because some people see monetary compensation as an atonement for rape. I also think those who accept such compensation for rape should be punished because letting a rapist go without facing the law means you are putting other women at risk. More women will become victims of these monsters.
Our markets are full of molesters who drag and touch women. It took a campaign called the market March to get us talking about abuse in our markets. After the Hashtag, where are we with inappropriate behaviors in our marketplaces like Yaba?
As for those who use religion to silence rape victims, don’t you see your hypocrisy in trending justice for Uwa? We should stop asking rape victims to drop their cases in the name of Forgiveness. Even with Forgiveness, there is atonement. Rapists should atone by serving their term in a correctional centre(prison). You don’t just ask a rapist to repent, they should be allowed to serve their term in prison and go through some kind of reformation. I know our prisons have not done well with the correctional part of their work but lets at least keep perverts away from our communities, save our Women, Youth, and Children and men from sexual predators. They should be JAILED!
I have seen those who supported Biodun Fatoyinbo a renowned PAstor accused of molesting women trending Hashtag on justice for Uwa. How dare you? Bunch of hypocrites who can’t call out their Pastor. A good number of people who go to COZA know their Pastor has a “sexual weakness”, they call it a weakness because he is their Pastor but they think justice should be served for other rapists, double standards everywhere. Stop fooling yourselves, any clergy who is a sexual predator should never be spared!
We also have corporate hypocrites who look away or plead when there is a rape allegation against their benefactors. A lady, just shared that she was abused by someone in the tech community in Nigeria, she got deafening silence. So as you ask for Justice for Uwa, also add justice for All who are victims of all forms of violence. Demand justice for the many we have failed by our culture of silence, compensation and selective forgiveness. Many young women and men were molested by uncles, aunties, and relatives but they were hushed as they don’t want to disgrace the abuser. How do you even do that to your child? Some young girls got pregnant early, they become frequent victims of rape, and when they speak nobody hears or believes the story. She is already labeled promiscuous because she is a teenage mother. So it is easier for rapists to get away with molesting vulnerable teenage mum. We need to be ready to listen and Act, and demand justice for All.
