3 December 2014

Diamonds in a flame.

                I’ve been wanting to pen this down for some time now, but not until days back that the   over-whelming urge became unbearable. I normally let issues develop before craving out my own thought but it seems as time is lagging behind us and these injustices still perpetuated.
  ‘Gender inequality not only liberates women but also men from prescribed gender stereotypes. On the 21st of Sept‘014 Emma Watson(UN Women Goodwill Global Ambassador) gave a touching speech, encouraging men to raise their voices and openly speak about sexism in solidarity with women’s right movement. Well fast-forward to present…….
                                                         Shots from Jos, Mangu Plateau state                                                                                        
                       I was completely mortified when the judge passed a sentence by lethal injection on a poor young Iranian girl who when she was a mere 19 years of age was almost raped and in self defense shot the offender. This case has/was not tried in any court except under Sharia court; tag this as justice prevailing, strictness on the laws ….but am still trying to draw the rationale between conscience and reasonable doubts. The world at least the part where I belong was shocked to quiver when she took in her last breath and then a heart-breaking letter to her mum engulfed us with tears Read here. Rape is a thousand times worse; the ultimate theft of self-control, it often leads to a breakdown in the victim’s sense of self-worth and exposing them to various risky behaviors which is at least in part because their self-perception as autonomous ,worthy human beings in control of their environment has been taken from them.  Wonder what the resolution would have been if the shoe was on the other feet???    
             I beg to differ against all the claims masked as indecency from these women provoking the offender to pounce on them. Rape cases , fatal assaults on women has been taking a toll in the world and it seems, still a far cry from quenching. Beauty provokes harassment, the law says, but it looks through men’s eyes when deciding what provokes it. A common rape myth is that females need to alter their appearances and behavior in order to avoid being victims of sexual violence. This opinion has been vocalized in courts ,media and social platforms in the past but must be eradicated if we are to make any progress. We must know that sexual assaults is more about power and dominance than the clothes you are wearing. People have been raped while in the least flattering clothes. I hold strong opinions against the inequality between over-sexualized images of women in the media in contrast to 3-piece suited booted men.
            Back-track to Ist of Dec; YouTube watchers like me were stunned to see two young girls who would not be backed down ,intimidated or have their rights to ‘walk and live’ trampled upon, stand up and face these offenders .I say Kudos to these little girls. They deserve some form of recognition-rare gems. Not only were they publicly battered and harassed by these ‘pricks’ who felt entitled ,they were kicked out of the bus and attacked again. My only reservation is to all the other bus passengers and on-lookers who taught that to capture a rather non-exciting story of molestation than to offer some form of help to these ladies against those barbaric ‘no-goods’. Where has our moral jurisdiction left us; be the first to report an issue rather than part of its solution. Beats me!!!
                                                    Nest of Champions- Uyo,Nigeria                                
Soundtrack of the moment: You n I- John legend   
       As a measure, we have a huge part to play in this matter. These incidents have generated widespread of national and international coverage and has been widely condemned. But with all the public protests against the state and federal governments for failing to provide adequate security for women all over the world. There ought to be best ways to amend laws to provide quicker investigation and prosecution against sex offenders this,still raises dialogues among the masses lashing out to the authorities. Practically, speaking up against street harassment is not about being the hero, getting credits points to be in the good books or a chance to impress. It is about making sure that everyone has the right to enjoy that breeze, golden clouds and chirping without feeling uncomfortable. However we have seen massive improvements in the number of women willing to file a crime report and speaking up;more recently Read here. A welcome change is that the taboo in the discussion of rape and sexual violence has been broken but there’s still absolutely no change in the rape culture and related brutality.
                                      

                                                        ……Am grateful that I live in a world where no stone is left unturned in the preservation of my rights as a human being but what about the rest of us who aren’t….

                                                            Thank you for reading!!!                      

6 comments:

  1. Thanks, i try my best to stir the world towards some irregularities...

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  2. What an interesting and captivating read.

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    1. Tkss@Anon,sexual assaults is something we shouldn't shy away from discussing.A lot of people are suffering in silence.am happy you felt captivated.

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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