Women are own enemies

My greatest challenge and barrier in effecting change in my community are the womenfolk. So many women in my society have been brought up to always preserve the 'dignity' and 'pride'of a man even at the expense of another woman no matter the cost.

This is the major reason why laws protecting the rights of women in Nigeria have no real value because the female populace lack the gumption to put the law into practice for fear of being labelled feminists.

The only solution to this problem of positive change for women are the women themselves and the reason is simple. Women are change agents. We are home makers and raise children. More often than not, a child never forgets the instruction instilled in her by her mother. You can then imagine a society where children are raised by women who see themselves as equals. Men brought up by such women are less likely to be violent towards women or treat them as sexual objects. That society will be close to perfection.

Web 2.0 will be a powerful medium by which such change can be realised by teaching women especially those in the secondary schools and universities the importance of standing up for themselves through the right channels. I will like to recount a story here. Sometime last year, a video surfaced on Saharareporters of an undergraduate student who lured her lecturer to her off campus accomodation with the promise of sexual gratification. Now this young lady was being victimised by her lecturer and when the man showed up at her apartment, the student forcefully stripped him naked with the help of some male colleagues and videoed the whole charade. Unfortunately though, her male colleagues chose to extort money from the man forced him to sign a check to regain his freedom.

The outrage caused by this incident forced the reluctant university authority to take action and sack the lecturer but the student was also suspended for six semesters. Months later I went back to that school which also happens to be my Alma mater for my transcript and was disappointed when a highly placed female staff in the school told me she had gone to the lecturer's house in the company of other staff to sympathize with him. Not once did she mention this hapless student or the victimization she had suffered.

Now if this girl had known how to properly use Web 2.0, she would have got justice instead of the unfair punishment she is now receiving.