18/08/2023
In hopes of providing a little insight to the problem of r**e, I wrote this this morning in response to a comment by someone in one of my LGA platforms: BY JESSE UNOH
_The truth is that many men are closet ra**sts. It can be argued that in most of Nigeria, nay Africa, our traditional cultures encouraged r**e in the past. For instance, in my own community of Agwagune, there is a stage of customary marriage we refer to as *egara ugbugba*. It is roughly translated as *capture of a maiden*. A number of the groom's friends will hoist the beautifully dressed young woman on their shoulders and take her from one end of the village to the other, the women will ululate in joy while shots are fired into the air periodically. A very beautiful and joyous atmosphere. But I believe this scene is a reenactment of ancient times when victorious warriors returned from wars with the maidens of their enemies on their shoulders as war booties and were lionized for their bravery. You could do as you pleased with your war b***y and were celebrated as a strong man. My late dad told us of cases where a powerful and dreaded warrior would see a beautiful maiden in his own community and would not bother to ask her out. He would go to the home of her dad and physically grab her right in the presence of her father. If her father was strong enough to resist him, she would be safe. If he was not, the warrior would take her away to r**e her. If he liked her thereafter, he would then go to her father to discuss her bride price. The culture of r**e is pervasive. That is why r**e convictions by our courts are so low even when r**es are so common. Victims have a hard time proving their case- where they are able to muster the courage to report it in the first place. The police, comprising men many of whom endorse r**e and see women as fair game for their beds, would mentally put the female complainants in a witness box and cross examine them: "Why didn't you scream while the r**e was going on? Are you sure you were not enjoying it?" "Why did you dress skimpily? You brought the r**e on yourself!" "Why did you visit him in his house?" "Why did you accept his money if you were not prepared to sleep with him?" "But you are not a virgin. Why are you calling the s*x r**e?" "She was examined by a doctor and the examination shows she has been having regular s*xual activity." And so on and so on. Many people in our society also ask these questions when a woman alleges r**e. In the end, the r**e victim becomes the suspect while the actual ra**st is defended. So the fight against r**e is a daunting task. We need to deploy not only the law but also education and conscientization_.