Should women undergo drug test before marriage?

The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mohammed Mustapha Abdalla, has proposed that drug test should be carried out for single women.

He said the tests would be among premarital screenings due to the rising cases of drug addiction among girls and married women and that the agency was considering collaborating with religious leaders to ensure that drug test was among prerequisites for marriage.

NDLEA proposes drug tests for ladies before marriages

Kaduna residents lament rise in drug abuse among women, youths

Nigerians speak to Daily Trust Saturday on this issue.

-Josephine Habba, 53, Civil rights activist, Makurdi-

Are women the only drug users?

Drug peddlers or users are mostly men.

Besides, which law in Nigeria supports this NDLEA proposal?

I think the proposal is derogatory and NDLEA should apologise to women in Nigeria.

– Ben Eguzozie, Communication expert and economic analyst, Port Harcourt –

It should be the young men that should be tested to curb the growing incidents of domestic violence and not the women.

The government should rather implement policies that would grow the economy so as to provide employment to the young people, including women.

Idleness is the major cause of youth restiveness.

– Bassey Willie, Journalists, 35, Yenagoa –

I think the NDLEA suggestion is ideal considering the societal ills.

Women nowadays take hard drugs more than men, and if they get married without check, they may become a burden to their husbands and the family.

A drug test should form parts of the preparation for marriage because it will help partners know the quality of persons they want to spend the rest of their lives with.

It should not be limited to only women; men should also take the test because they are the most affected.

There have been cases of spouses killing each other; most of that violence is caused by the influence of drugs.

I think NDLEA carrying out drug test before will go a long way in reducing domestic violence and enhance better society.

– Hembadon Orsar, 35, Journalist, Makurdi –

Such a proposal is gender bias.

I think men should also undergo potency test before marriage because some of them do not disclose facts about that aspect of themselves to their partners before tying the knot.

The NDLEA proposal is just a way to return to the ancient practice of women marginalisation.

I strongly condemn the idea proposed by the agency and urge the body to rather furnish Nigerians with quarterly statistical data of women involvement in drug-related arrests, as well as their male counterparts, as evidence that warranted such a proposal.

– Dennis Ibeh, AidFoundation, Kaduna –

If there is a need for drug test before marriage, it should not be for women only.

Both partners should be subjected to drug test just like for HIV and other tests carried out before marriage.

If only the woman is tested, what happens after the marriage and the man is a drug addict?

– Barnabas Omali, Public Commentator, Kaduna –

Why are they testing only women, what about the men?

Both men and women should be tested equally, but does that really prevent marriages if two people like themselves and they want to get married whether one is taking drugs or not?

How are you even sure that it is not the man that introduced her to the drugs?

The men needed to be tested because they are probably guiltier than the women and most times, it is the men who are introducing the women into drugs.

– Mfon Obot, 30, self-employed, Makurdi –

Is it only women?

Well, if the reasons behind the agency’s proposal are based on the outcome of investigations or researches that show women are more involved in drug-related activities, then I applaud the idea.

But if the proposal is not backed by facts, the right thing would be for both men and women to do drug test before marriage to balance the equation.

– Juliet Oyoyo, Activist, Kaduna –

I don’t think women should undergo drug test before marriage because most of them do not really do drugs.

You will find out that if a woman is doing drugs, it could be out of depression, and most women that indulge in drugs are mostly married and its due to depression or family issues.

They do not have a confidant so they resort to drugs.

We should rather see how to get women out of depression.

Society should look at what women are going through to help them deal with depression, but saying women should undergo drug test, I would not subscribe to it because most women don’t do drugs.

– Farida Dasuki, Humanitarian worker, Kaduna –

It is a welcome development and it is high time we started such tests before marriage.

But it has to be conducted on the man and the woman.

If the man is into drugs, I feel it is easier than a woman because if a woman engages in drug abuse, and they start having children, the children are in danger.

If a couple wants to get married, they should subject themselves to the test with an NDLEA certificate freely given to them because marriage is a lifelong institution.

– Rose Ejembi, 42, Journalist, Makurdi –

Why must it be just women?

What about the men?

Between men and women, who is more susceptible to drugs?

The proposal is a ploy to relegate women to the backwaters while depicting male superiority.

The agency should rather advocate such a proposal twice for men.