MAN I CURE OR MAN I CURSE?

I was sitting at the salon having a manicure and listening to a plump lady telling her friends about her penny-pinching husband when the news of the battering of petite Rihanna by pretty boy singer ‘Chris brown’ came on air. Bewildered by the incident, I decided to take some time to read more about it on the internet. It was appalling to know that this was happening right in the heart of so much wealth and power. I was under the impression that if a woman were empowered financially and education-wise and could make informed decisions about her life, no man would be able to talk down to her not to talk of battering her.

Violence against women (VAW) is a battle that is being fought in Africa and the world at large; a battle we hope we will win. I must ask ‘Is man cursed to batter woman?” I am sure you would probably say not all men. That is true. I applaud men who know that they should not and would never hit a woman. As for the men who take delight in battering, belittling, and tormenting women, I see women who have been victims of violence sitting round a smoky cauldron containing your names and green slime. I see them throwing in potent spells that would emasculate you in all aspects of your life. Upon more meditation I see calamity in cursing you so I am forced to picture myself sitting before God almighty asking for a cure to the diseases that cause you to treat women as you do. The only solution is to establish rehabilitation centres to care for these men.

I find out that there are many civil societies that are safety nets for victims of gender based violence with focus on women. I, however, have not seen any rehabilitation centre for men who perpetuate these crimes. If these women are taken out of their reach they are certain to find other women, who do not know much about them, falling as their victims. When you analyze the root of causes of these behaviours you would find out that these men are as battered as the women they batter. If anyone is looking for a worthwhile venture, or a way of contributing to the society he/she could start up an organisation in which these men can be treated. I am in no way sympathetic to their plights, I am only stating the need to have a society where men respect and cherish their women and it is reciprocated without fear or anger.