By Michael Adesanya/ Abeokuta
The Shabaq Ladies Foundation on Friday advocated a review of Nigerian laws to include death sentence for rapists in order to halt the disturbing scourge of rape in the country.
The Foundation made the disclosure during a campaign trip to the three major markets – Kuto, Omida and Itoku – in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Armed with placards with various inscriptions, such as ” Say no to rape”, “Rape is a crime” and ” End sexual Violence gainst women and girls”, the NGO held an enlightenment session for the market women on how to teach their children on ways of preventing sexual assault.
Speaking to newsmen after the movement, the President of the Foundation, Mrs. Olashalewa Bakare, lamented the high rate of rape cases in Nigeria, charging the federal government to take the bold steps of executing rapists.
She noted that it was high time the government stop treating rape cases with kid glooves, saying that the cases keep rising due to no stiffer punishments for sexual offenders.
Bakare said, ”We are here because of the high rate of rape cases across the nation, and that is why we have decided to visit three different markets today ( Friday). We believe that the best idea is meeting with the market women one on one so that they can talk to their children when they get home and educate them on how to prevent them from being victims of rapists.
”We are here also to enlighten the children on the need to shun indecent dressing and to let them know the proper way of dressing and also to know what to wear out even when they are indoors.
”We are hundred percent in support of death penalty for rapists, we are saying that any convicted rapists should be killed instantly because it is getting too much and we as an NGO we are against rape. We cannot fold our arms and watch rapists destroying the lives of the female teenagers, even the old women are not excluded, can you imagine a 25-year-old man raping a mother of 70 years old. It is so annoying, it must be put to an end. “
Bakare revealed that Shabaq Ladies Foundation has been in existence for three years, saying that the Foundation, apart from campaigning against rape, also help the less priviledged by sponsoring their education as well as providing school needs for them.
Secretary of the Foundation, Mrs. Oluwaseunfunmi Olumide corroborated Bakare’s statement, insisting that only death penalty would curb the menace.
Olumide noted that male children falls victim too, hence the need for joint campaign against rape.
”We know women play important roles in home, that is why we are meeting them today so they can educate their children and tell them all to do to prevent the children from rape”, she concluded.