By Odolaye Aremu
…yet again the seriousness of Violence Against Women was brought to the fore these past couple of days, with the suspicious, reportedly “gruesome” death of a female doctor in Nigeria.
A tenaciously-strong indictment on our society- especially in the vicious way and manner we treat our women. It’s either these violent acts of harassments, molestations, assault, rape, and domestic violence are either on the up, or they only seem that way, cause of the ease of reportage, necessitated by the “Report Yourself” aggrandizement of the Internet and its many supportive social media platforms.
It’s instructive to note in this case…again, that the only person to probably help in the forthcoming inquest into how and why this young woman died- is now reportedly- unavailable. That person would be, the deceased own husband!
Nigerian men need to stand up, speak up, act up against DV! Our silence, indifference or inaction is costing us the lives of our precious ones! It’s factual to suggest we’ve all been touched one way or the other by the horrific indices of DV. Why can’t we see DV as a threatening scourge and route it expediently like we did the Ebola Virus? Why wouldn’t parents start being pragmatic, preventative and teach their daughters self-preservation rather than treating them as expendable items and marriage as- a “One-Chance” night bus to Hell?! Why wouldn’t fathers treat mothers with respect, consideration and some cordiality, even when the love between the two is long gone and all that’s left is nothing short of familiarity, rather than berate or slap them around so sons wouldn’t grow up erroneously thinking women are domestic Circus animals good to poke around, yell at or whip to shape to make them do their bid?! Why are our various Religions usually complicit entities- accessories before or after; in most of these regrettable turn-outs?!
And to my women out there, whether you want to believe it or not- you lot are now endangered- and the animals on the “endangered species” list are treated better at the moment! Therefore the next time you find yourself before a Minister to be wedded or to renew your vows; it’s cool to be selective in the marital vows you abide by. As a matter of fact, take it as the wisest thing to have at the back of your mind! For “poorer and for richer; in sickness and in health”, ought to be just about it! Following it all up with: “in sickness, in health and till death do us part” ought to be optional or conditional! For the vows you recite could certainly prove all true, well down the line! He could just truly and eventually put your ass-under!
Be smart!
