There was a song I listened to when I was younger. The lyrics said:
“Ama m na mma bu okwu, chineke m oo! ewo!, Amaghi na mma bu okwu…”
(I didn’t know that being beautiful is a crime.)
As I reflect today, those words carry a deeper meaning. 🌹
Many girls and boys have become victims of this “crime” — the crime of being innocent, beautiful, free, and simply being children. ❤️ No child should ever suffer for existing in their purity.
In Igbo culture, it is a grave wrongdoing to abuse or force oneself on anyone, let alone a child. Every sane society condemns such acts. Yet, what is heartbreaking is that the incidence continues to rise. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 35% of women globally have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or non-partner.
In Nigeria, a 2015 UNICEF report revealed that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 10 boys experience sexual violence before the age of 18. About 31.4% of girls reported that their first sexual experience was coerced or rape. These numbers do not even fully capture the reality, as many cases go unreported. 🌹
This is a global concern. While some nations are making deliberate efforts to curb this menace, we must also confront the cultural dimensions that sometimes silence victims. No human being should ever be reduced to an object of pleasure. ❤️
Yes, modesty and responsible conduct are virtues worth encouraging. But the greater emphasis must be on holding perpetrators accountable. Justice must deter evil. Both boys and girls should be raised with strong values, especially self-control, respect, and empathy.
We cannot ignore contributing factors such as weakened family structures, unhealthy societal pressures, and economic strain. As parents struggle to meet rising demands, children’s formative years are sometimes left unattended emotionally. Teachers are treated as hired hands rather than partners in raising morally grounded children.
We must admit the truth: we know how we got here. But we cannot continue to normalize what is destroying our society. 🌹
Institutions meant to protect and guide have, at times, failed. We hear of abuse in places of learning, in religious spaces, within political circles, and even among cultural custodians. Teenage pregnancy is sometimes “resolved” by marrying off a child to a much older man — silencing the crime and burdening the victim instead of holding the offender accountable. That is not justice. That is negligence wrapped in tradition. ❤️
My humble call is this: let each of us speak up and act in defense of our children. Wealth, business, and ambition are important — but they can never equal the safety and wellbeing of a child.
There was a time when any parent could correct a child seen in harmful company. Today, discipline is often replaced with denial, emotional presence replaced with financial compensation. Yet statistics and lived experiences remind us that much abuse happens within familiar spaces — among relatives, neighbors, even trusted family friends.
I once watched a woman share how her 15-year-old daughter tested positive for HIV. Investigations revealed that a neighbor had been abusing her since she was ten years old — for five years under their very roof. If illness had not exposed it, the abuse might have continued. Painful, isn’t it? 🌹
Ndi igbo si na aru gbaa afo o buru omenala — when a sacrilege is allowed to persist, it will be mistaken as a culture.
Let leaders in politics, the armed forces, religious organizations, and every institution speak clearly and act decisively. Let laws not only exist but be implemented. Let homes become the safest spaces for children. ❤️
Dear children, do not be afraid to speak up. Go to a police station. Speak to a trusted adult — a priest, a parent, an uncle, an aunty, a teacher. Your voice matters. Do not suffer in silence. 🌹
Taa bu gboo — the earlier, the better. Let us protect our children. Their innocence should never be used against them. A child is a child, no matter how tall or grown they may appear. ❤️
If you have ever experienced such pain, remember: what happened to you does not define you. Healing is possible. Your courage to rise can help protect another child. May God bless you, keep you, and grant you the grace to pull through. Isee. 🌹
May the good Lord stir the hearts of all people of conscience, that they will not rest until our children are safe and protected. Isee. ❤️
I remain your friend and brother,
Maazi Onuora Obodoechi
Pen it down. 