Women should take care of themselves

Mmegi Editor | Tuesday April 11, 2017 11:36

Some of them take this risk of walking home alone even when they are too drunk to remember their names. Young women are a common sight at entertainment centres where they are either in company of the male counterparts or as part of a group. It is at these places where they meet strangers who buy them alcohol expecting sexual favours in return.

It is also common these days to see a dead drunk young woman at night behaving in such a manner that her parents would die of heart attack if they were to see her in that state. Some of them drink until the following day riding with strangers in vehicles whose owners they do not know.

All these are a recipe for rape and ultimately unplanned pregnancies and even Sexually Transmitted Infections. Our country is struggling with the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which is claiming lives of young people, especially young women between the ages of 20 and 32 years.

In addition, the country is facing a big challenge of teenage pregnancy victims of which are high school students who are supposed to be spending their energy studying hard preparing for the future.

The police have in the past indicated that ex-boyfriends were perpetrators of some rape offences.

While there are many efforts being made to teach the girl-child about independence, self-worth and others, very little has been said or done to teach the girl-child to move on. There are many instances where girls return to their abusive partners, or send them wrong signals when their love affairs have come to an end. This results in rape when the two find themselves in a secluded place. Men should also accept a request or wish by a woman to end a love affair and as such, the fight against rape can be won.

 Without discipline from all, especially women to desist from trusting strangers and imbibing alcoholwith strangers, we will continue to see an increase in rape and HIV/AIDS statistics. Nobody, not even the police, can provide security for all of us at all times if we do not care about our wellbeing.

We therefore call on all to exercise caution and desist from walking alone in high risk places such as dark streets and bushes. Most importantly, let’s all respect ourselves. 

Today’s thought 

“If you want to be respected by others, the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others to respect you.” 

– Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Insulted and Humiliated