By Adepeju Mabadeje, Guest Writer.
From domestic violence to emotional and psychological abuse, sexual harassment, rape, trafficking, forced prostitution and some widowhood rites, violence against women has become a universal act cutting across different cultures, traditions, ethnic and religious barriers.
Although Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states explicitly that
No citizen of Nigeria shall be discriminated against on bases of community, religion, circumstances of birth, political opinion and sex, acts of violence against women have continued unabated.
The Nigerian law on the surface appears to give adequate protection to women. From the life imprisonment jail term for rapists to a seven years imprisonment term for women traffickers, the prohibition of trial by ordeal and excessive chastisement of women, the commitment of the Government cannot be faulted.
These law and penalties nonetheless, some traditions still permits a husband to chastise his wife for “failing to perform her duties”, “laziness”, “wastefulness” and “destructiveness” while others require the widow of a deceased to drink from the water used in washing her late husband’s corpse while swearing to an oath that she is not responsible for his death.
Within the law itself, various technicalities have made achieving justice a huge joke. In an allegation of rape for instance, the burden of proof of lack of consent is with the prosecution. This means that the victim herself has to prove she did not consent. This is often difficult to do, especially as these offences frequently take place where there are no witnesses. Also, Section 55 of the Penal Code condones wife beating by the husband where it is for the purpose of correcting her.
All these are really making me wonder, is the Nigerian law and tradition really offering any protection for the Nigerian women?
HELL NO!
Good God, what happening there? Nigerian women need to push for independence. Education can also solve some of these problems.
education is everything, yasmin i agree. without it, i wonder if many of the women just think it’s normal?
Educate! I agree, but it is not as easy as it sounds. There are some groups who believes that men must be worshipped, women cannot even be seen talkless of being heard etc. The harsh economic conditions of the Country does not also help matters. I am sure some person or organization must be ‘educating’ but the problem still persists and increases by the day. As a man in Nigeria, if you belong to some tribes and you really love your wife, then you should start praying she predeceases you to save her from the agony. It’s the least you can do!
On a second thought, am tinking, would educating the public really work? The makers of those laws full of loopholes are educated you know!
I was talking about educating men.
This problem exists everywhere, not just in Nigeria. Women are under real threat.The problem is a peculiar mind set that men have. What can we do to change this?
The incident in the US where the parents of a raped girl declares “We don’t want her anymore!” comes to mind. Can someone explain this mind set?