On September 2011, a video of a Nigerian woman being gang raped emerged on the Internet. As the five men took turns molesting her, she pleaded to her rapists to kill her. She knew that being raped was not only hurting her physically and psychologically, but she knew that her honor would also be permanently stained in the eyes of Nigerian society.
Despite the explicit nature of the 10-minute video, local authorities dismissed it. In fact, university and government officials denied the video’s authenticity and claimed that the rape did not took place on or around the university campus. Thus, they excused themselves from any duty to bring justice to the rape victim, or to enforce the criminal laws regarding rape.
Nigeria’s Youth Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, was the only official to come forward and issue a statement calling for the university and the police to arrest and prosecute the men shown in the video. He even did something unheard of: he offered assistance to the woman.
In 2001, Bariya Ibrahim Magazu, a Nigerian teenage single mother was given 100 lashes for adultery. Bariya claimed she had been raped by three men but, in accordance with Sharia law, she was required to show proof that the men who raped her had indeed forced her to have sex with them.
Under Sharia law, Bariya’s rape was interpreted as fornication because she was unable to present witnesses who would confirm the veracity of her rape accusations. Fornication, a Hudud offence under Sharia law, can result in punishments as severe as death by stoning.
Whether addressed by the Nigerian law, or under Sharia law, both these women ended up bearing the burden for being raped. As if having been victimized once were not enough, they were further punished by archaic laws that place the blame on women. This legal approach to rape has continued to bring suffering to Nigerian women across the country.
In order to find out more about people’s conception about rape, Delta Women conducted a local survey in Delta State, Nigeria. Our sample included 12 female and 10 male respondents between the ages of 15 and 50.
: Rape in Nigeria: Theory and Reality
http://.blogspot.com/2012/02/rape-in-nigeria-theory-and-reality.html?spref=tw
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