Cerline Somses
Every day you buy a newspaper, you hardly page by without reading an article about rape. As a Namibian woman, I feel women are not safe enough around any men who they think is their defenders.
We are seen as victims ready to be raped. Each and every day, our days are numbered in the evil eyes of mankind, ready to be enslaved for sex, to be tortured just for an act of sin.
Men given the power by God not knowing what to use it for but rather on powerless women, young girls and even on their own children.
How does it feel raising and watching your own daughter grow up in front of your eyes just for you to rape her? How does it feel raping your own baby, who regarded you as her greatest protector just to become her greatest demon? Most rape cases happen in the rural areas, deep in the villages where young girls are seen as sex toys.
Apart from cases reported, it does not mean those are the only rape cases which occurred. Males are also victims of rape as uncles and fathers are raping their nephews and son. These young men have to fight a battle against men they were supposed to look up to and learn from.
Others are afraid to speak up not because they are weak but because of agitation lost in words on how to express what is happening to them, their lives hang on the strand of their own words. I strongly believe that some victims are not aware that whatever is happening to them is called rape, this is due to lack of knowledge and little understanding.
As such, they live with this ongoing horror routine that they have to forcefully submit themselves to. Men are not afraid to commit crimes and it’s starting to make me think that jail must be a nice place, because if it was such a bad place, men could be afraid to go to jail. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that only men rape women or other men.
Women also rape men and young boys but considering the fact that most of the rape cases reported were done by men, I hereby plead to men to please leave our women and innocent young boys alone.
We want to be free in our motherland without fear, without trepidation or fright. Leave our young girls to grow up and choose who they want to give up their virginity to. Do not be a cacodemon by taking her virginity at an age she is not ready for, let along killing her thinking you will never get caught.
Raping someone means taking away their identity and leaving them selfless. Raping develops shame, hatred and decent in a victim. It creates a terrifying memory in them that something like that might happen to them again.
It also brings difficulty in moving on and being happy with their future partners. Rape deforms the mindset of a victim as it’s a devastating which will have to follow the victim for the rest of their lives, it doesn’t matter where it happened.
Being raped by someone might lead to depression if the victim does not get proper help to cope with the situation. Rape cannot be a solution to your uncontrolled lust, rapist should learn to control their hormones, so that we can live in peace and harmony. Rape shouldn’t be the reason we live in fear forever. Let us feel brave in the land of the brave. So now I ask, is rape a new trend?