Ridding Nigeria of rapists

Many rape victims do not report the incident to appropriate authorities due to fear of stigmatization or because of the erroneous belief that the best way out is to let a sleeping dog lie.Relatively, innocent women, teenagers and toddlers are mostly the victims of this heinous and savage act. The worst is that such victims […]

Many rape victims do not report the incident to appropriate authorities due to fear of stigmatization or because of the erroneous belief that the best way out is to let a sleeping dog lie.
Relatively, innocent women, teenagers and toddlers are mostly the victims of this heinous and savage act. The worst is that such victims are sometimes abandoned without medical treatment. I can proclaim, and stand to be corrected, that there is no nation, community, system or religion or any belief that legalizes rape.  Even in the West, despite their deceitful and contradictory human rights advocacy which legalizes prostitution, lesbianism and homosexuality, rape is still considered a very serious offence.    In Islam, there is no amount of mutual acceptance or love that could legalize sex between a man and a woman outside wedlock, not to talk of rape. Rapists must therefore be seriously punished to serve as deterrent to others.  This is necessary in order to safeguard the dignity of women and all other human beings.
Possibly rape could be caused by factors such as drugs abuse, poverty, illiteracy, peer group influence, indecent dress by some girls, nonchalant attitudes of parents and lack of sound religious training, among others.  But all these are flimsy excuses that could not hold water. There will never be justification for rape. So, as a matter of urgency, the legislative arm of government should enact laws that would facilitate quick and effective prosecution of rapists, with a provision of a severe punishment (such as life imprisonment) for the culprits. Both the executive and judiciary arms of government should equally be courageous enough to see the full implementation of such laws without fear or favour.
Also, parents or relations of rape victims and the victims themselves should be bold enough to report any rapist to the authorities concerned for appropriate legal action. Such effort is expected to be supported by government, non-governmental organisations and the entire society.  Until this and other drastic measures are taken, rapists would continue to perpetuate their deadly and animalistic acts in our society.

Mohammed Bello Umar,  Azare, Bauchi State ([email protected])