Wednesday 15 November 2006

Sex and the single (Naija) girl

I have been reading this blog - http://overwhelmednaijababe.blogspot.com/ and I am astounded at how open a Naija girl\woman is being about her sexuality. I am just not used to reading anything so honest and direct from a Naija woman. There is an overwhelming desire to see what she looks like which is impossible as she has to be very discreet especially with the stuff that she reveals. Shame.

I remember thinking, oh my God, when I heard that the Vagina Monologues, has been performed in Naija. The fundamentalists must have been turning in their fundamentals.

I hope that this leads to a greater openness about these and other so called taboo subjects as our democracy matures. I am not saying we should go all out like the developed countries - a bit of modesty never killed anyone - but it would be nice to be able to hear women express views about their sexuality more openly. Coincidentally, she is not the only victim of rape by an uncle, friend, family member that I have read about. It seems more common than we realise and I guess these people got away with it previously because it would never have been discussed or admitted (how many parents discuss sex ed. with their teenagers in Naija. At least to make them aware of what to beware of).

When we went to Naija recently for hols I sat my girls down and explained to them that unless I gave them the signal they were not to make any contact (besides being polite and saying hello)with the various "uncles" they would surely come in contact with. I was gobsmacked at how one uncle latched on to my 13year old after a few shots of the demon drink.

More grease to your elbows Overwhelmed Naija Babe. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by your writing. Keep up the good, no, great work. Open the doors, kick down the barriers, set the pace for others to follow. Wish I was as brave as you.

4 comments:

Dami said...

do you still want to go to nigeria?

Jeremy said...

Here's one example of a fora that needs to be developed in Nigeria - a group that campaigns against sexual abuse. It would be a no-brainer to get donor funding, and focus on ongoing media campaigns, conferences, research and creating linkages between different organisations - battered women's homes, the police, the Ministry of Health, other NGO's etc. There's stuff already happening in this arena but nowhere near enough. Paedophiles in Nigeria can pretty much do what they want at present. If they do get caught, they tend to get beaten or burnt to death.

Chxta said...

you need to read this one...

Ms. May said...

Yes, Overwhelmed is a new breed of Naija woman and there are many of us out there expressing our thoughts about sex, and sex-related issues and how it affects us. It certainly is important and it's cool to know that there are men out there who advocate more dialogue about it, especially to your children.