It is ridiculously appalling how some self-righteous, egocentric rapist could defensively claim that women broadcast invites to be raped by the way they dress. Not only is this a pathetic excuse by a desperate rapist groping at dry twigs but a reflection of how low society can stoop because even in an ankle-long skirt, women still get raped!
By Mantate Q. Mlotshwa
Like in the case of any other being, male or female, the choice of dressing is entirely hinged on an individual’s perception of comfort and how the next person then chooses to manipulate this fact cannot at any point in life be excused as a justifiable reason for rape, or any form of gender based violence. Condoning this popularly encountered claim is society sanctioning the rape and abuse of any woman or girl who is rendered indecently dressed by some psychopathic males seeking to feed their hideously immoral sexual appetites.
Rape is a violation of an individual’s dignity, pride and privacy. It is nothing less than the inhuman treatment of women. It the objectification of the female child and her rejection as a beneficiary of the rights embraced by any nation’s constitution in accordance with the United Nations Human Rights Charter among other Human Rights obligations. To tolerate the claim that a woman was raped because she was dressed in a seemingly ‘short dress’ is to give the rapists a platform to justify themselves. I could talk of a six-month-old infant child raped in a pumper; a teenage girl raped in her school uniform or merely an ordinary vendor raped in her Zambia(ntsaro), it all boils down to this simple truth,” Rapists are animals and animals do not know the difference between decency and indecency, right or wrong!”
I am one female child who is not apologetic of her choice of dressing. If I feel comfortable and confident in a dress, then that’s me and that is the starting point all women and girls should adopt in the fight against gender based violence. We need to let the men understand that their sexual selfishness cannot force us into being what we are not because if we do, we will never stop searching for the mark of decency that these rapists claim should exist. Decent or not, a rapist remains highly capably of visually stripping you naked before physically assaulting you. There is no excuse for the violation of any of the Women and Girl’s rights and unless society is able to brand that realisation into the minds of abusers, these rapists will continue to slip past the fingers of the law all in the name of indecent dressing of their victims.
This writer Mantate Q. Mlotshwa writes in her personal capacity and can be contacted on the following details: mantatemlotshwa@gmail.com, www.theradicalmantate.blogspot.com,
