Is it all in Vain

My dear friends, my story today has a different tone from the others. Today while preparing to to start my day I decided to do a little surfing on social media to kill a little time before I had to leave, then I stumbled upon a post where another woman was complaining about how she was sexually harrased while shopping in a big Nigerian market, then I went to the comments and I saw some people trying to make it her fault. There were talks like 'why was she being rude by snubbing them when they called her' and other annoying phrases were used. It filled me with sadness that genuinely made me start thinking of all the recent events that had occurred. The particular event that I want to talk about is one that occurred in Nigeria, Ozoro Delta State specifically where under the guise of a festival, young men went and groped and assaulted young women in public in broad daylight with onlookers and bystanders doing nothing but watching. Were they entertained ? I do not know, all I know was the heartache I felt watching the victims of this evil. Nigeria is besieged by a lot of insecurity already which also directly affect women and children but the thought of people being brazenly encouraged in the name of a festival was a whole different blow. It once again shows how horrible the patriarchy is in Nigeria. There was a serious outcry online where everyone joined voices to condemn this but I pausedand asked myself, what exactly does this fix? What change if any is this making at all? Will any justice come to these poor women and girls? Will the perpetrators of this crime face any consequences? Or is this just another post on the internet that will lose relevance by the next day.

When you look at this issue on a global level I am sure I am not the only one who thinks like this. A lot of countries have created an environment so hostile to women especially that their basic human rights have been completely stripped from them. You look on the news you see young girls forced into early marriage, women being forced to marry their rapists, women being human trafficed, women being beaten in public, being denied education, health care and so much more. It brings tears to the eyes, and can really make you ask yourself if we're fighting a losing battle.

My friends, I am here to encourage you. I am here to tell you to keep on fighting. Every word, every action you take might seem like just a drop but do not forget these drops make an ocean. Think of any great human activist or feminist faced serious push back and resistance and it might have even seemed like their efforts were in vain. But the decision to keep fighting for what they believed in is what brought about the changes they are now celebrated for. So also my dear friends it is our own turn to fight for the world we believe in. If we give up now we will be giving up on the generation coming after us. You might not be able to move a whole city, and you do not have to. Just aim to change, console or encourage just one person at a time. Just one! That makes a difference. Speak to one person, fight for one cause, contribute to one thing, do what you can. If you get overwhelmed rest, take care of yourself, then go back and fight as change never comes easy and without a fight. A saying in Igbo land is Obere obere ka e ji erichaa ofe dị ọkụ which means little by little a hot plate of soup is finished. So it does not have to happen now, just do your part and one day the big picture will be revealed.

Once again my dear friends, it's not wasted effort. Give it your all.

Have a beautiful day ahead