EDITORIAL: That's No Excuse to Rape Ma'm

The Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, Mrs. Gladys Asmah is reported to have said that some of the "flimsy" dressing styles of some women is the reason why they end up having themselves raped. (READ). We beg to differ. Even if a woman chose to walk naked, that should be no excuse for any man to rape her. If her walking naked breaks any laws, the rule of law must apply and not the passion of the beast. We must not in any way give the impression that women are to blame because as women, men have the right to pounce on them merely for the reason that they have aroused them. The issue of morality is a highly delicate one and we must look at it from the angle of individual freedoms and rights and so when in our haste to apportion blame we seem to make excuses for rapists, we are way off target. The state is there to protect law-abiding citizens, even those whose sartorial choices we may not like. Rape is rape; even married women do and often suffer rape. Let's leave our young kids alone to enjoy what is their generation's self-expression.