Judge Fadilla’s ‘kid gloves’ justice

Maryam strode fast into my sitting room, saying the salams as she walked in, which betrayed the fact that observing this social ritual today, was actually an afterthought on her part.

‘Where are you rushing to Maryam?’ I asked, ‘you walk like the devil himself is after you.’ I added, rising up to hug her.

‘You did tell me to leave all I was doing and make it to your house immediately, didn’t you? Well, here I am, though I must say that nothing here suggests that your house is on fire.’  Maryam joked.

‘Yes, alhamdulillah, my house is fine, no emergency here. And remember that I offered to go and see you but you insisted on coming here because you needed to get out of the house for some fresh air. So I let you come but warned that you had to make it fast because I needed to see you soonest. Any way, welcome to my humble abode and what can I get you to drink? We have zobo drink, kunun aya ( the tiger-nut beverage) and fresh fruit juice.’ I offered.

‘No Bint, I don’t want anything to drink. I just want to know why you urgently summoned me here.’ She demanded. 

‘’Sorry, I didn’t mean to get you all worked up Maryam. But after what I read in this paper, I decided that I should see you, so we can set a date for our parliament’s meeting, in order to discuss what to do. Of course as the secretary, you should be the first to know and therefore alert everyone about the need for this extraordinary meeting.’ I explained.

‘I see, so what is in the paper?’ Maryam asked.

‘It is a story that says a female magistrate judge, sentenced four men to six strokes of the cane and five months imprisonment or a fine of seven thousand naira each, for abducting and raping two teenage girls in Katsina metropolis. It must have sounded incredible even to her ears, because the judge herself, Magistrate Fadila Dikko, added that she was only handing this lenient judgement because the men were first time offenders. 

Can you believe this Maryam? Is there anything like first-time offence in rape? To the victim, rape is a life sentence. She will never get over the trauma of being forcefully defiled. Even in the best of times, the first time for a virgin is naturally a painful experience, now imagine it happening in horrible circumstances, with an unsympathetic, possibly drunk stranger, who will not care a hoot about being gentle or affectionate. In short rape is something that scars every woman for life. Yet these four men will get away with such light sentences, when their have their lives ruined forever?’ I asked, rhetorically.

‘You are right Bint. The girl who has been raped has many things to contend with. Top on that list is the loss of virginity which can never be regained. And unless she confides the truth about her rape case, any future husband will continue to believe she had been immoral in the past, which led to her no-virgin status. Add to this the possibility that she had sustained injuries in the process of being raped. There is also the exposure STDs due to the encounter with a dirty and immoral stranger. Even the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy is there. Yet with all this, a female judge, who should empathise with these teenage girls, because she is also a woman, decided to treat these criminals with kid gloves? This judgement is truly outrageous.’ Maryam opined.

‘’’Yes Maryam, outrageous is the word. And that is why I want us to take up the issue and demonstrate against this unfortunate judgement. How can men who conspired and kidnapped two underaged girls and then defile them deserve any sympathy, even if they were first time offenders? And look at this, the men’s offences are actually two, abduction and rape. Yet they get away with six lashes and a 7- thousand naira fine? Don’t the future of these girls matter? Why should the rapists get more consideration from the judge than their victims?’ I queried.

‘I wonder, but I think it’s in keeping with recent trends in our society. There seems to be a growing lack of concern for children. The other day we heard about a man who sold his children in order to raise money for his mother-in-law’s funeral. Then there was the mother of twins who attempted to sell them before she was reported to the police by a man who posed as a buyer. Then another man, a 50- year old connived with his 60- year old neighbour to turn his teenage stepdaughter into sex slave, until she got pregnant and they were caught. Again there is the recent case of a father who was sentenced to six years for incestuous rape and violence against the daughter he raped. To my great amazement his wife pleaded for leniency on his behalf and had the judgement reduced to four years because he was known to be of good character. Which man of good character will sleep with his own child and then beat her up because she blew the whistle on him? I really can’t say what’s going on but there is a rising trend towards anti-child policies that suggest our country is not sympathetic to the next generation.’ Maryam concluded.

‘This is very true. Though I’ve never been one to believe in global statistics but with all the cases you have mentioned, if anyone were to say that Nigeria is the worst place for a child to be in, I’ll believe them. Children do go through harrowing experiences, both from their parents and other satanic adults, yet the law doesn’t stand by them or pursue their due rights diligently. We have to do something to arrest this unfortunate anti-children attitude.’ I insisted.

‘Yes and our first step towards that is to demonstrate against Judge Fadila’s unfortunate concept of justice. We must make sure that in future, all rapists and child traffickers get hard, long prison sentences, so they can pay for their sins and also to deter others. The punishment should be doubled if they are related to their victims. These monsters deserve no sympathy.’ Maryam concurred.