Incessant Rape in Nigeria: A Way Forward to Curb this Menace in our Society -By Sulaiman Azizat Oyinkansola

It always bring tears to my eyes whenever I see ladies being treated like an animal; this is unfair and is against the rule of natural justice. Nowadays, they have turned ladies to an instrument to satisfy their sexual urge and this has always be against their will and the act is nothing but a threat to their dignity.

However, I asked myself different questions on this issue; is it a crime to be a female? Is it our fault that God created us naturally, with beauty and attractive to our opposite sex? Why can’t we walk alone without fear of sexual harassment from our opposite sex? These are the questions that I asked myself.

God created us as a blessing to the world and a salt to the whole nation, but the society has depicted women to be an inferior nature who they can treat anyhow. We have heard a lot of rape cases in the court but no reasonable severe punishment has been imposed on the perpetrators. Some women have been raped, but they cannot report themselves because of stigmatization they will encounter in their society; some would regard them as a whore and may hinder the victim from getting married if care is not taken.

What will be the solution to curb this menace in our society? What step can we take to save ourselves from this sexual harassment? The answer to these questions would surely be answered in this piece of write up.

Firstly, the punishment that has been stipulated for rapists should be more severe; castration of the culprits would be better or the court should maintain and ensure the implementation of the life imprisonment on the miscreants which is the maximum punishment for the rapist.

Our courts have a vital role to play by ensuring that the perpetrators of these acts are brought to book and should face the consequences of their actions. The police should ensure that any complaint brought before them that is related to rape case or sexual harassment shouldn’t be taken with levity hand and they should conduct their investigation thoroughly. They shouldn’t allow the perpetrators’ families to seek a resolution by begging the family to forgive the culprit. They should make sure that all the culprits are apprehended and charged to court for prosecution.

The parents should enlighten their children on sex education, admonish them and enlighten them on the consequence of engaging in this cruel act, this would surely go a long way to curb this menace in our society.

Lastly, if all the solutions that I have mentioned in the above paragraphs are properly implemented, I believe the incessant rape would reduce in our society and the women would be safe from sexual harassment they are encountering from the opposite sex.

Suleiman Azizat Oyinkansola is a 200-Level student of statistics at
Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.