The right kind of echo

‘How I wish we had this kind of simultaneous response, it would have helped our cause greatly.’ I said to Tahir, when he handed the newspaper to me after reading it.

‘What response do you mean?’ He asked, sitting down to pick the TV remote.

‘I’m talking about the response of our ulama to the death sentence given to the Kano blasphemer. It was prompt and simultaneous. They unanimously agreed with the court sentence and some are even calling on the governor to sign the death warrant for a speedy execution of the sentence. And it’s got me thinking that if our quest to have rapists killed or at least jailed for life could have this kind of grand support, we would be able to stop this inhuman scourge. But for some reason the issue of rape just doesn’t seem to bother our scholars.’ I lamented.

‘I’m sure you are wrong Bint. How can such a horrible crime, with far-reaching implications for the victims not concern our ulama?’ He asked.

‘Well, if you believe it bothers them, tell me just one thing that you’ve seen them do since rape became an epidemic around us. Did you see any group of ulama calling a press conference to denounce the offense and insist on the death penalty for offenders? No, we all never saw such a thing. And the death penalty is what any rapist deserves, because at the end of the day he is an adulterer, who additionally takes his partner by force. This alone makes his offence double. So if he is married, widowed or divorced, he deserves the full penalty for adultery while for a young man, who was never married, it’s a case of fornication plus the use of force, so in addition to his hundred lashes, the court can give him any prison term it deems fit.

But we heard no such pronouncement from our sheikhs, indeed there is such a deafening silence from them you’d think no such crime is being committed in our midst. Is it because the victims are female and the scholars are male that they don’t have empathy for them?’ I queried.

‘No, I don’t think so Bint. In any case lots of young men and boys are being raped these days, that it’s become a rampant phenomenon. In a newspaper report I saw recently, statistics obtained from an NGO showed that every month a certain percentage of rape victims are male. Sometimes the figures are up to 25% of the cases for that month. It’s scary really, I mean every month rape cases are reported without fail and also unfailingly some of them are boys who were sodomised by force. What an unfortunate situation.’ Tahir concluded.

‘So you now agree with me that the ulama ought to have found their voices long before now, so that they can insist on the proper punishment for rapists and hopefully help end the scourge. But they didn’t and when the Kano House of Assembly decided to legislate on the dreadful offense, by intending to pass a law that prescribes castration for rapists, the ulama quickly jumped to say no, there are Sharia provisions for rapists. But why didn’t they say so earlier? Why did they keep quiet and look the other way when young children were being defiled, almost daily, and their lives ruined in the process? I mean rape is a life-long trauma even to a full adult, let alone a child or even an infant in some cases.

This is why many of us were ready to settle for the castration verdict, because it will at least guarantee that the offense weapon is no longer there to hurt innocent children and ruin their lives. But the ulama are against it. I just hope that the Sharia provisions for rape that they wish to table before the House of Assembly will be accepted and implemented, otherwise rape victims will continue to be deprived of justice.’ I prayed. ‘I hope so too but don’t be too quick to condemn the ulama, just wait and watch, they’ll surely end up doing something that you’ll applaud very soon.’ Tahir encouraged. ‘I don’t know why I don’t share your optimism. But I’ll keep hoping just like you. All I’m asking of the ulama, because they are highly respected and consulted by our secular authorities is that they learn to echo our concerns so that our problems will get the necessary attention they deserve. With the right kind of echo, problems like rampant cases of rape with become a thing of the past. The right legislation and justice system will surely bring an end to it.’ I insisted.

tell me just one thing that you’ve seen them do since rape became an epidemic around us. Did you see any group of ulama calling a press conference to denounce the offense and insist on the death penalty for offenders?

I just hope that the Sharia provisions for rape that they wish to table before the House of Assembly will be accepted and implemented, otherwise rape victims will continue to be deprived of justice