Earlier this month, we came across this shocking and unbelievable tweet.
According to reports on social media, 6-month-old Hajara was raped by Shuaibu Yakubu Abdullahi, a deaf 40-year-old teacher, which led to the rupturing of her intestines.
Miraculously, poor Hajara is still alive, but currently under critical monitoring in a specialist hospital in Kano State.
To aggravate the issue, after getting arrested by the NSCDC, the rapist was released on bail by the police!
Stand To End Rape (STER), a non-profit organisation advocating for an end to gender-based violence, took up the case, and tried to reach out to the Force Gender Unit of the Nigerian Police Force , but only got referred to an NGO.
According to them, the NGO has been unavailable to STER.
Twitter is understandably very angry about the whole situation.
Why should this man be allowed to roam the streets freely?
We need to see more affirmative action concerning gender-based violence and child abuse from the authorities as well as citizens.
The Nigerian Police ought to aggressively follow up on Baby Hajara’s case and all rape cases going forward. Rape is an extremely horrifying act of violence, especially against a child. The society should be safe for all; no parent should have to worry about their kids being raped or abused! It is doubly important that justice be served, and swiftly too!
Nollywood keeps getting better and has been serving even more awesome movies. These days, the industry is impressing us with movies that tackle social issues in Nigeria.
In this forthcoming movie, The Arbitration, office affairs and rape were defined and heavily highlighted.
The Arbitration takes us through the romantic affair between Gbenga, played by O.C Ukeje, and his employee, Dara, played by the award-winning Adesua Etomi.
However, things go south when Dara sues Gbenga for rape shortly after her resignation from the company.
An arbitration panel which features Ireti Doyle at her best, is set up to investigate the truth behind the story.
Nollywood is officially our BAE for creating a movie which will definitely educate viewers on the definition of rape.
The Arbitration is set to hit the cinemas on August 12 but in the meantime, check out the trailer below:
Rape is one of the most controversial topics discussed on the internet.
However, it would be unreasonable to still blame rape victims for getting raped.
This self-acclaimed Biafran Vlogger, Zara Udochi, who is currently based in Canada, thinks otherwise.
She recently shared her thoughts on rape via her Youtube channel and started by giving several shout outs to rape victims.
According to her, an indecently dressed person is asking for rape.
She says “If you dress a certain way, and you get raped.. In my opinion you were asking for it”.
And rape is caused by war and poverty.
“I know that rape culture is part of wars, I know that when you have wars, it comes with rapes, it comes with looting, is a part of a regressive society, I know rape is a part of poverty , I know that rape is caused when the economy is not going as it is supposed to.”
She also believes relationship rapes are not true because the woman probably enjoyed it.
“There are instances that at that point in time you didn’t want it and the guy probably still had sex with you, you probably still enjoyed it o, you’re now screaming rape, that’s selfish.”
Wait first…
When people with international exposure still manage to not have sense.
Sex is a topic that even in this day and age isn’t so openly discussed in Nigeria; and rape even much less than that.
In an article for Aljazeera, writer and broadcaster Wana Udobang talks about her experience at Lagos’ only support center, the Mirabel Center at Lagos University Teaching Hospital. It’s the only one in a city of about 18 million people and in an ironic twist, it is miniscule, which basically describes how seriously we take rape issues.
CNN
As much girls and women that bravely come forward to report their perpetrator, a lot more choose to keep silent.
Has it ever made you wonder why? Victims don’t report their rape, and it’s for different and personal reason.
Social stigma
We are in a society that often times blames the victims. Responsibilities are placed on women to not get raped, instead of on men –not to rape. In a society where virginity is revered, girls and women who are victims of rape are often times seen as damaged goods.
Self blame
Survivors often don’t open up because they think they did something wrong or didn’t do something right. Quite simply, they blame themselves. They assume there is something they could have done to stop the abuser. They regret what they did or what they did not do.
Disbelief
Some girls that do get the courage to talk are either told they are lying or shunned into keeping quiet about it.
Fear
In the mind of the survivor, there is much to fear. They are afraid of what will happen when they tell, if they’ll be believed, if they’ll I be supported.
Aljazeera
Protection
Some survivors do not tell to protect themselves and their families; it’s especially true with children. Perpetrators often tell them that if they talked, they would kill their loved ones.
Corrupt legal system
The Nigerian legal system is time consuming at best and corrupt at worst. Money will most times exchange hands, and those with power often emerge unscathed.
Life goes on
As Wana said, “For many survivors, the slow judicial process adds to the trauma – they want to be able to move on with their lives rather than having to relive what happened to them over and over again.”
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Wana wrote about the 5 brave girls that chose to speak about their ordeal. But they still face problems. One of the girls, Halima, was raped by her landlord’s son. Her father, in a bid to keep their accommodation, chose to let the perpetrator go unpunished.
Nike pressed charges, but the police officers gave her home address to the parents of the man who raped her and they are trying to settle the case out of court.
Mary was raped by a choirmaster from her church, her family was excommunicated when she chose not to keep silent.
What can be done?
VanguardNgr
The Mirabel Center is funded by DFID, the UK’s Department for International Development. Funding ends this year and so far the future of the center’s existence doesn’t look so bright. Most companies don’t want to be associated with such cause.
As they saying goes, charity begins at home. We don’t have to wait for them to do something, when we as individuals of privilege can do something about it.
Send your donations to:
Partnership for Justice,
0001462896
Standard Chartered Bank
Ikeja, Lagos
We live in a society that not only blames victims of rape but also tells potential victims, that it is their duty to make sure they are not sexually assaulted.
“What were you wearing?”
“Did you lead him on?”
“You should have know better than to put yourself in that situation.”
Here’s a prime example I found in the comments section of Linda Ikeji’s blog.
They are basically saying “I’m sorry, but if you didn’t want to get raped, you wouldn’t have been out by 11pm.”
Just to create some perspective for you guys, here is how ridiculous people who victim-blame sound:
“I’m sorry, but if you didn’t want to be burgled, you wouldn’t have owned any property.”
“I’m sorry, but if you didn’t want to be murdered, you would have killed yourself before it happened.”
“I’m sorry, but if you didn’t want to get racially profiled, you wouldn’t have been a person of color.“
“I’m sorry, but if you didn’t want to be kidnapped, you wouldn’t have been born into a rich home.”
“I’m sorry, but if you didn’t want to be hit by a drunk driver, you wouldn’t have gone out.”
“I’m sorry, but if you didn’t want a miscarriage, you wouldn’t have gotten pregnant.”
“I’m sorry, but if you didn’t want to be a widow, you wouldn’t have gotten married.”
“I’m sorry, but if you didn’t want to get hit by a stray bullet, you would have left home in a Kevlar vest.”
“I’m sorry, but if you didn’t want to become an orphan, you would have had immortal parents.”
“I’m sorry, but if you didn’t want to die in a plane crash, you wouldn’t have travelled.”
See how ridiculous it all sounds?
Once we realize that sexual assault can happen to anyone, no matter the time, or what they are wearing, then maybe we can stop wondering what the victim did to ‘deserve it’ and focus on punishing the perpetrator and letting the victim heal.
Images: Giphy
The fact that rape is absolutely unrelated to “indecent” dressing should not be up for debate in 2016.
Although rape leaves negative physical and psychological scars on its victims, many Nigerians find it difficult to simply condemn the act and move on without making irrelevant references to the victims appearance.
Obviously, more steps have to be taken in educating people on the consequences and logical causes of rape. Also victim blaming has to be unlearned because it defeats the purpose of actually combating the problems rape poses in the society.
Albeit being a violent crime, rapists on many occasions get away with their crime.
To add insult to injury, rapists usually give the most ridiculous reasons for raping their victims. Here are some that will make you angry:
Last week, Nigeria was shocked with a disturbing report that secondary school students in Kano had been raped by some unknown men.
How could this happen? Who let it happen? We have so many questions about everything but these are the biggest ones….
1. Why does the Nigerian press seem to struggle with the word “rape in this case?
We’ve read “sodomy” a few times but apart from Premium Times, has anyone used the word “rape” to describe what happened to the boys?
2. Is it inconceivable that victims were raped by senior students?
Why are the authorities insisting that the rapists came from outside the school?
3. Are the students getting medical attention?
Premium Times reports that the school is preventing the victims from receiving care outside the school.
4. Is this an isolated incident or an epidemic?
Has this happened before in this school? And are students being raped in secondary schools across Nigeria?
5. Will the perpetrators be caught and prosecuted?
Our history in this department is not very great. Especially since the proprietor of the school reportedly denies the incident.
6. If your child, sibling or relative were a student of that school, what would you do?
