The media is agog once again with incredible reports of the horrific and rapacious acts of men who should be living in the caves and wild forests.
Rape is the talking point now even though this is not the first time. Remember the sad story of the misguided and naive daughter of a retired army officer who was brutally raped and murdered by heartless business prospects who ensnared her to her doom. The media shouted and howled; the perpetrators were quickly apprehended, but the matter was soon forgotten. Can any of our (investigative) journalists tell us the status of the trial of those beasts long after they had been arrested and charged to court? Your guess is as good as mine!
The topic of rape is back again on the front burner of public discourse because a university student was recently attacked inside a church library, raped and murdered!
Statistics are being rolled out from across the country of increased incidents of rape during the lockdowns that were put in place to stem the spread of the Covid-19 Pandemic. And as was to be expected, organisations of all types are busy postulating and explaining the WHYs and the HOWs and proffering solutions and counter solutions.
Ideas have been traded on how to effectively stop this malady and also on the level of sanctions and punishments to be meted on the criminals. And as always, women are in the streets with banners protesting the spread of this societal cancer – the violation of women.
Parents are being advised on how better to raise their daughters; important to note is that some (if not most) rape perpetrators are close relations and regular callers to the homes of their victims. Educational institutions, also, are required to play their roles in teaching the girl-child how to anticipate the slayer.
On preventive measures, a one-size-fits-all approach is not possible and outrightly unworkable. Babies in cots have been ravaged; nursery and primary school pupils have been attacked and, of course, adults in higher institutions, as well as other women (wives, mothers, etc.) have fallen victims to these human beasts. Even old women in their 70s and 80s have not been spared.
What then can be done to deter these billy-goats?
Some have suggested outright execution of arrested and guilty ones; others would rather that a long stay behind the bars would be alright, while another school of thought say that castration would serve the purpose of sending the appropriate message to those who may contemplate such a crime.
While opinions may differ on appropriate punishments, it would probably be more profitable to invest our energies into finding how to truly discourage the crime itself. Shouldn’t mothers, for instance, spend more time with their children rather than leaving them with maids and relations who may turn out to be rapists and abusers? Shouldn’t father’s likewise spend more quality time with their sons showing them what it means to be a proper man? The hustle for money by both husband and wife exposes their precious children to all sorts of danger.
As for grown-up women (including teenagers and young girls), one would suggest that they be taught self-defence by experts in non-armed combat and martial arts, which will include psychological lessons on how to contend with fear.
A girl with adequate presence of mind can successfully ward off a lone attacker by kicking him at the appropriate spot. She can be deliberately inducted on how to give a shrill as she grabs an attacker by the balls. A properly instructed young lady can even take on more than one attacker.
One must commend the heroism displayed by a number of victims who defended their honour even at the point of death. For the young lady who was assaulted, raped and murdered in the church, when one reads of a portable fire extinguisher being used to hit her, one conjures a scenario of a brave girl giving the men a good fight before they overpowered her, as “one cannot fight a dozen.”
For the army officer’s daughter mentioned earlier above, the criminal gang admitted that she startled them by the fight she gave them.
Rapists are beasts on two legs. They do not belong in the community of homo sapiens. They deserve any severity of punishment. That could include:
- Long term jails
- Castration by prison surgeons, and
- Public execution for those who are guilty of killing their hapless victims.
Attacks on our women folk are not to be treated with kids’ gloves. Even the wild animals do not tolerate mistreatment of their females!
Mazi Nwigwe, a member of the class of ’57, is a veteran journalist and Public Relations Practitioner.
