Adelakun who took her inspiration from
some women and men in faraway Kenya that “protested a culture that
strips a woman naked– to enhance her dignity and protect the sanctity of
their society” had in the write-up surrendered to all values that are
antithetical to Africa, elevated even the strange modern culture that is
hunting the West and condemned African culture as a myth that never
existed.
In her words, ‘It never fails to amuse
how some folk paralyse themselves with nostalgia of an Africa that
probably never existed… Today, a number of the values people attribute
to traditional African values are Victorian ideals, prompted by colonial
incursion into their societies.’’
The writer also blamed “shame” about
nudity or being “naked” on social conditioning, quoting a misleading
anthropological account by Alfred B. Ellis – first published in 1894 and
“some other accounts” that debunk myths of sexual puritanism – where
people have sex only for procreation.
But Sado in an attempt to exonerate women
from taking responsibility through their subscription to lewd culture
that prompted men to prowl on them blamed the African and Arabian worlds
for sexual harassments of women. He also holds the puritan culture
responsible for allowing such other issues like the Kenyan woman
harassment to thrive.
The article keeps one wondering if Sado
had the slightest understanding of the implication of his assertion as
he failed to convincingly prove to his readers the particular aspects of
the African and Arabian social systems that encourage abuse and
disrespect of the women folk.
Contrary to his assertion on the
inappropriateness of the African and Arabian culture, the modern day
culture (not only Western) which has been imported from different
climates and region, is leading the womenfolk towards annihilation both
in substance and figure. There are various interpretations of what
defines a sophisticated woman, all of which defies the true essence of
her existence and impacts negatively on her natural purpose.
The woman these days dominates
discussions in many fora: seminars, symposiums and academic gatherings.
She is discussed in various media outfits: both print and broadcast;
online publications and tabloids. Some of the discussions often steer up
quite a lot of arguments, debates and in fact inspires further studies
which I suppose is because of her uniqueness.
The woman has also occupied an
interesting position in the hearts of many in these past few weeks;
thanks to the United Nations day tagged: the International Day for the
Rejection of Violence Against Women.
Writing about the uniqueness of the woman
can be very moving and amusing. Thanks to the woman, for without her,
the future of man is insecure. Thus, the woman, with her overbearing
presence in the society, deserves to occupy the most conceivable
elevated and honourable position!
Every man is required by the law of
nature to respect the emotions and position of every woman in his life
simply because he wouldn’t find himself in any meaningful relationship
and the associated nomenclatures; be it a father, brother, son or even
in-law, except for the consequential relevance and presence of a woman’s
figure in his life.
Violence against any female sex, be it a
child, adolescent, spinster, married, widowed or aged, is therefore a
despicable act, not only towards the individual but the general public.
Violence, be it sexual or physical certainly cannot be excused away on
any justifiable reason. Such appalling actions towards the female folk,
who according to some scholars, are the stronger of the two sexes (in
terms of life expectancy) should never be tolerated on the very
vulnerable member of a society.
Having said that, it must be stated
unequivocally that for every right, there is a corresponding duty or
obligation. We all might have read or heard recently in the media,
series of reports on the notorious ill-famed paedophiles who could not
seek legal and upright means of satisfying their canal desires than to
seek and wrongly trap the innocence of our female minors. How on earth
and why in all sense of decency will anyone who calls himself a man with
females in his family and lineage enjoy inflicting indelible stigma and
harrowing pains in the life of an innocent minor, all in the name of
gratifying ill-fated sexual urge?
It is either we have become more
incognisant of the rampaging effects of this act on our decaying
society, engendered by our negligence of good moral practices on the
mental health of people, or we are simply not paying attention to the
consequences of licentiousness and promiscuity on the society at large.
We seem to always want to emulate
everything from the West without a reason to look back and sieve the
grains from the chaff, the reverberation of which is ripping the society
apart.
It is obvious that every man who
gratifies his sexual urges from a minor doesn’t have the fire of his
animalistic passion lit by that minor, as women, we therefore must be
very cautious of any of our actions that may spur potentially rapacious
men on, for one innocent, defenceless child out there might be the one
to pay the price for our careless actions.
For crying out loud, why are women
usually the object often depicted as representing seduction and sexual
themes? Why do we allow ourselves to be subjugated by the society by
dressing and dancing dishonourably on TV when the men dress corporately
even at beaches? Why do we use ourselves as sexual appeal for men who
eventually go away with all the benefits and the profits of the promos?
Why do we sell our humanity and indeed our womanhood cheaply? And why do
women activists and civil society groups keep criminal silence with
none of them embarking on a campaign for the restoration of women values
and dignity?
As women, we owe ourselves the duty to
protect ourselves and our future generation from being constantly
reduced to agents of entertainment. This is depicted in the portrayals
of women in the various media as objects of sexual ignition. For
example, in a game of American football or rugby, the men are usually
well clad in their sport suits leaving no part of the skin bare, but the
reverse is the case in the female version. This is also reflected in
athletics, long tennis, wrestling and a host of other sports worldwide.
The question that now arises is: Who is
more deserving of a decent and protective sports suit than the women?
What social benefits are there in exposing so much, all in the name of a
game?
Our major problem is our inability to
make judgments based on the unfolding natural laws which, if distorted,
continue to impact negatively on the structure of the society. Men and
women play complementary roles in the society. That is the way of the
natural laws, which are in themselves inherent. Deviation from this is
usually detrimental, which explains the alarming rate of sexual
perversion in different garbs.
Paradoxically, Sado advanced security
reasons for supporting legislative actions against outfits that cover
every inch of the body, but he inadvertently contradicted the very
essence of his write-up, which is to show his solidarity for the female
folk.
Sado must understand that women who wear
apparels that conceal all parts of their body simply do so on the basis
of their religious beliefs and under the protection of the constitution
and universal laws. Curiosity of a prying eye to know the personality
behind the cloak cannot diminish this fundamental human right.
For men, who endlessly blame the women
folk for their uncontrollable sensual feelings and assault, why not take
to discipline. Lower your gaze, refrain from lustful gazes and shun
places and sites that engender those feelings which eventually stimulate
the animal instinct and incite you to anti-social behaviours!
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