War on Women’s Bodies – By Arnold A. Alalibo

Posted by admin Arnold Alalibo, Articles, Columnists, NNP Columnists, Women Politics Saturday, June 9th, 2018

By Arnold A. Alalibo | NNP | June 2018 –

The proliferating cases of rape in Nigeria will soon assume a rebarbative dimension that may eventually aggravate the already tensed insecure milieu and put the country on the edge. Then the experience of South Africans in their own nation will be a child’s play.
The blossoming rape cases in court and the daily reportage of underage defilements in the media indicate the level of social disorientation and aberration among deviant persons in the society. This is appalling and precarious. One is particularly disturbed about the numerous cases of males assailing children as young as six and below; fathers repeatedly desecrating their daughters who are minors. These occurrences are absurd and mind-boggling. For instance, in Benin, Edo State, a man was arrested for severing the leg of a neighbour for defiling his six-month old baby.
Another man in Oyo State almost killed his own son for preventing him from consistently violating his daughter. The disclosed cases of rape are literally endless. There are others that are concealed by parents who would not communicate rape incidents involving their children to prevent stigmatisation.
Unfortunately, most of the social dilettantes who perpetrate this criminal and dastardly act mete it to victims whose families are well known to them. Yet, they find it cozy to sexually assault such minors whom they have a duty to guide and protect.
Parents and guardians who depart their homes in a hurry and unwittingly relinquish their children or wards at the mercy of morally-extravagant persons must remarkably be circumspect. The times are indeed atrocious and dreadful.
How can the attraction a sane male adult has to a girl-child or sometimes a baby who hasn’t developed physical and sexual attributes like those of grown-up females be explained? What kind of sexual pleasure can such adult derive from the erotic act? It doesn’t just rate highly with a sensible person.
This development is rather puzzling and ridiculous. There must be something about paedophilic undertaking that explains its relentless upsurge in the country. There is something complicated, exceptional and magical about it.
A man was arrested for sexually assaulting a 10-year old girl. During his interrogation by the police, he unusually claimed that he relished hanging out with young, immature girls to satisfy his sensual urge. These are the wrenching times we are passing through in our country today. It is time this nuisance attracted exceptional official attention. The law must be enforced to punish offenders maximally. In other words, there is need for strong judicial intervention to curb crimes that tend to compromise or even besmirch the sexual sanctity of women, especially the girl-child.
Unlike the slow prosecution of corruption cases in the country, the judiciary must exhibit more than a passing interest in the speedy trial of rapists and paedophiles to deter those who may otherwise indulge in the crime. Doing this is certainly not rocket science. What is important here to note is that the legal process in bringing rapists to justice witnesses many hitches and this must be rectified. Too much time is wasted in awaiting the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) before commencement of trial.
Another thorny issue is the attitude of the police. The police sometimes compromise their mandate of conducting painstaking investigation and diligent prosecution of cases after receiving monetary inducements from suspects or their relations. One thing needs to be done urgently. Both the department of social welfare and non-governmental organisations have to be involved in women and children rights’ advocacy and demonstrate interest in cases of rape within their jurisdictions beginning from the police stations.

It has been established severally that a great deal of perversion of justice actually happens in that area. The incidence of miscarriage of justice or police cover-up will surely abate if there are credible third parties who show interest in such cases. Women and children deserve to be protected from the activities of scatterbrained adults and sexual beasts of prey. That is why there is need for intensive national enlightenment campaigns on the evils of rape and the exigency for families of victims to always speak up to expose offenders.

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