For the love of a fellow humanbeing.
If i were in their position, i'd die. If you were in their position, you'd probably die too. If you have the time, I urge and plead you to read this. A heart-wrenching culture that you never knew still exists till today. Beyond our self-centered nations fighting for more lenient internet censorships and more concerts, there are thousands of innocent, naïve females younger than you who face life-and-death situations every single day of their lives. They are physically beaten up, raped and held at gunpoint literally every single day. And that's a norm on that side of the globe.
I have come across this article days ago. Following that read, I have read dozens of other non-related articles. But none of those affect me quite like this one. No article has ever put me awake in the middle of the night, crying over something so out of reach from me. But this.
Going through the newspapers everyday has been my job for over a month now. I come across different kinds of complaints and woes voiced by our people: censorships, potholes, footballs, etc. And reading about this piece from Al Jazeera has made all these issues in Malaysia seem... petty. Trivial. Childish.
Remember during our puberty years when someone teases about boys or marriage, we girls would go "Yuck!" and we diverted the topic. And no one would talk about boys again. And that was it.
In rural areas of Africa, it doesn't matter if the 14-year-olds say "Yuck!" or not. It doesn't matter if they have a crush on a boy or not. One day in broad daylight, a fully grown man, old enough to be their own father would come to the place these girls call home and snatch, abduct, drag them away from their own parents in exchange for some commodities. It is abominably unbelievable that their own parents have priced their girls at a dozen of cattle?! After taking care of your child for more than a decade, giving them education, nourishing them with love, and that's how much she worth to you? I can picture them struggling to escape. I can imagine them screaming at the top of their lungs, dragged into the vehicles. But as these incidents frequently occur at noon, none of their neighbours is at home to hear them as they are all out working their crops. And these girls are brought straight to their new 'homes'.
Forcing your own flesh and blood to get married is condemnable enough. But the real hell begins after marriage. These girls are treated turned to sex slaves, raped every single day of their lives. Should they refuse, they are strangled, beaten up, whipped and suffocated. Tortured in a way that i can't even imagine. They are treated worse than the actual commodities living outside of their houses. If they ever try to escape, they will be held at gunpoint. And God knows, worse brutality than the usual. Blood may be streaming and dripping from their body, but who is there to save them? I may be strong, you may be strong. But i know that i can never endure the pain that these women go through every single day. Pity. They'll never find out how amazing they are, will they?
These girls are so naïve. Their future are so bright. They deserve education, they deserve exposure, they deserve to decide their own destiny. It's heart-wrenching how the two people who raise these girls can betray them such a way. The two people who are supposed to be the protectors, the guardians could feed them straight to the mouth of their predators.
As much we condemn these barbaric acts, the culture itself is just as to be blamed. This ludicrous culture that gauges man's success by alcohol, women and vagina needs to go! While first world countries and other developing countries are trying to shine some light on the alarming rate of sexual abuse on children, the other part of the world are condoning sexual abuse.
In rural areas of Africa, it doesn't matter if the 14-year-olds say "Yuck!" or not. It doesn't matter if they have a crush on a boy or not. One day in broad daylight, a fully grown man, old enough to be their own father would come to the place these girls call home and snatch, abduct, drag them away from their own parents in exchange for some commodities. It is abominably unbelievable that their own parents have priced their girls at a dozen of cattle?! After taking care of your child for more than a decade, giving them education, nourishing them with love, and that's how much she worth to you? I can picture them struggling to escape. I can imagine them screaming at the top of their lungs, dragged into the vehicles. But as these incidents frequently occur at noon, none of their neighbours is at home to hear them as they are all out working their crops. And these girls are brought straight to their new 'homes'.
Forcing your own flesh and blood to get married is condemnable enough. But the real hell begins after marriage. These girls are treated turned to sex slaves, raped every single day of their lives. Should they refuse, they are strangled, beaten up, whipped and suffocated. Tortured in a way that i can't even imagine. They are treated worse than the actual commodities living outside of their houses. If they ever try to escape, they will be held at gunpoint. And God knows, worse brutality than the usual. Blood may be streaming and dripping from their body, but who is there to save them? I may be strong, you may be strong. But i know that i can never endure the pain that these women go through every single day. Pity. They'll never find out how amazing they are, will they?
These girls are so naïve. Their future are so bright. They deserve education, they deserve exposure, they deserve to decide their own destiny. It's heart-wrenching how the two people who raise these girls can betray them such a way. The two people who are supposed to be the protectors, the guardians could feed them straight to the mouth of their predators.
As much we condemn these barbaric acts, the culture itself is just as to be blamed. This ludicrous culture that gauges man's success by alcohol, women and vagina needs to go! While first world countries and other developing countries are trying to shine some light on the alarming rate of sexual abuse on children, the other part of the world are condoning sexual abuse.
When I was 14, I already had my own laptop. I had my own phone. I had an MP4 player. I kept making excuses to skip school because I didn't want to study. At 15, I started bringing my laptop to school. My dad got me a DSLR on the day I requested for one. At 16, i didn't even apply to many boarding schools because i wanted to stay at home. And i think my parents were fine with the idea too. My father even gave me a MacBook the same year. At 18, i had to stay in college and my father wasn't too fond of the idea. He didn't mind visiting me all the way in Melaka every other day. He even offered to transfer me to Taylor's because he was concerned if i couldn't fit in at UiTM. That's my life. My parents pampered me as i was growing up. To know that children who are way younger than me are treated worse than animals just kills me.
Writing about this probably does not even help them in anyway. But this issue desperately needs to be addressed. Writing this post may not change the culture in Africa, but i believe that the pen is mightier than the sword. At least those of you who read this can repost or tell a friend about this. The least i can do is to help create awareness and inform as many people as possible. Hopefully, this info will be passed on and reach someone who has the power to change and fight for the rights of these children. Yes, that is too much to ask, but I'm helpless. I don't know what else i can do to help them. I don't know how.
The sexual abuse of one person gets media coverage from the whole nation. So why doesn't sexual abuse of one huge community gets the attention from our worldwide media?
They do not deserve to be treated like punching bags. They do not deserve to be treated like prisoners. They're just like us. Help them.
Writing about this probably does not even help them in anyway. But this issue desperately needs to be addressed. Writing this post may not change the culture in Africa, but i believe that the pen is mightier than the sword. At least those of you who read this can repost or tell a friend about this. The least i can do is to help create awareness and inform as many people as possible. Hopefully, this info will be passed on and reach someone who has the power to change and fight for the rights of these children. Yes, that is too much to ask, but I'm helpless. I don't know what else i can do to help them. I don't know how.
The sexual abuse of one person gets media coverage from the whole nation. So why doesn't sexual abuse of one huge community gets the attention from our worldwide media?
They do not deserve to be treated like punching bags. They do not deserve to be treated like prisoners. They're just like us. Help them.
Comments