#JusticeForUwaila: When Will the female gender truly be Safe? By Woli Bukola Kafilah

  Picture of Uwaila,The girl that was raped and murdered

When Will the female gender truly be Safe? By Woli Bukola Kafilah

“The streets are not safe ”. That was the only thought replaying in my mind as I read about a rape and murder victim named Uwavera Omozuwa, a 22-year-old student of Microbiology in the University of Benin. This won't be the first case to shake the internet, many more cases like this which never see the light of day are buried deep within layers of traumatized individuals. Which brings the question of what can be done to stop cases like these from reoccurring? 

Our churches and mosques are places where we attribute safety and peace. These places have now been stripped of their holiness and “Safe ” is a fiction far from reality. When family members cannot be trusted with our young ones and the elderly defile the fountain of wisdom they should have. The female gender is blamed for this crime based on her natural biology. She is subjected to scrutiny by some people who claim either her way of dress or lifestyle was the cause of such predicament befalling her. How do we protect the female gender when people have forgotten what it means to be human?

There is a shocking number of rape cases in Nigeria and it's on the increase. A lot of victims do not report due to the fear of stigmatization that follows, so they hide their suffering and the perpetrators continue to inflict more damage to more victims. In a country like Nigeria where rape kits, needed to effectively take samples for analysis as evidence in court, are not available in most hospitals in the country begs the question of “do the government care about these victims getting justice?”

It's tiring to know we continue to fight and scream the same words daily and nobody listens. No action is taken to protect the female child so we are left to do nothing but mourn our losses and tend to our pain. It is left for the citizens to protect their loved ones. Knowledge is power, therefore communities should be sensitized about this growing disease. A rapist can wear a known face so the enemy doesn't dwell only in strangers. We need to take action to protect our young ones, governments should pay more heed to the sanity and wellbeing of its citizens. We should build a society where justice is served and the female gender can truly feel safe.

Woli  Bukola  Kafilah  is  a  Nigerian-born Medical Laboratory  scientist  and writer who currently resides in Kwara State, Nigeria.  She is the Grand Winner of 9japarrot's Essay Writing Competition May 29 2020 and an  alumnus  of  Achievers’  University,  Ondo  State, Nigeria,  where  she  obtained  a  Bachelor’s  degree  in Medical  laboratory  science. 

She has a brand named EmeraldsArt, an Online art gift store. She hopes her writings and art bring immense joy to her viewers.Her poem has also been featured in the Kofi Annan Tributes.  She loves to read, draw and embrace Nature. Her works can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.