GIRLS' SAFETY AFFIRMS HUMAN DIGNITY

April 15 saw 230 girls kidnapped by militants. #BringBackOurGirls

The feminine gender of young age are described as girls. This set of individuals are very vulnerable to the societal ills. The society have made it very easy for this group of individuals to undergo all sorts of abuses ranging from abduction, rape, kidnapping, molestation, genital mutilation, discrimination, early marriage, child marriage, sexual abuse, and even denial of the fundamental human rights, basically the right to life. We need to retract this ugly trend now in other to affirm the intrinsic dignity of the human person and in effect achieve "World Peace".

Ensuring girls' safety is tantamount to  achieving "World Peace". According to Baruch Spinoza, "Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, state of mind, disposition for benevolence, confidence and justice". It will be a travesty of justice for us to work towards ensuring "World Peace" without first of all assuring and affirming the safety for girls. Going by the popular saying "train a man and you only trained one individual; while when you train a woman (girl), you trained a whole nation". Let us realize that a single girl that was not trained is a whole nation that was gropping in ignorance. Let us also bear in mind that the amount of knowledge that radiates from various facets of our societies are determined by the number of girls that are trained from a particular facet of the society. Why then should we be playing ignorant of stable world while we have already known that assuring girls' safety and her education have a greatest effect on it?

The cardinal step to take in ensuring safety for girls is by affirming the dignity of the human person. We have to develop a culture of life that will sustain a free and just societies. We need to affirm the inalienable dignity of the human person. We need to defend the intrinsic right to life from conception to natural death. We need to foster a social climate favourable to integral development, solidarity, and mutual respect.

It would be noted that ensuring safety for girls by affirming the dignity of the human person buttresses on eradicating domestic violence. Domestic violence is about one person in a relationship using a pattern of behaviour to control the other person. It can happen to people who are married or not married, people living together, separated or dating. Domestic violence occurs when a family member,partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another. Domestic violence occurs in all cultures, people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, and classes. 

Domestic violence is perpetrated by both men and women. In as much as there is no universally accepted definition of domestic violence, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has proposed the following as a working definition "Domestic violence is intended use of physical force or power threatened or actual, against oneself or another person or against a group or community, that either result in or has a high likelihood of resulting injury, death, psychological harms, mal-development or deprivation."

Creation and not destruction should dominate human actions. Education prepares minds with universal love and tolerance irrespective of differences in religion, ethnicity, language and culture. Through education, a culyure of peace is impressed in the minds from early childhood,that it is peace and not violence that helps human civilization to survive and progress.

Non-violence is a power which can be enjoyed equally by all, rich or poor, as well as strong and weak. Through education qualities like fearlessness, self-control, tolerance, humility should be cultivated which help in developing proper attitudes towards life and a healthy  culture of peace. We need to examine our existing curriculum and textbooks to identify if there is any such components in them which promote a culture of violence and hatred for difference in religion, ethnicity, culture, se and other prejudices. Often, the study materials give too much emphasis on violent activities and war heroes. We should understand that victory begets conflict or enemity and the defeated party always have the tendency to retaliate.

No religion preaches hatred. Basic tenets of all religions should be taught in our schools. Also, too much emphasis on materialistic aspect and consumerism make man self-centred and narrow minded. Inclusion of some aspects of spiritualism in appropriate form should be included in our curriculum which may induce some magnamity in the character. Proper humanistic education taking care of developing scientific skills, accumulation to knowledge and promoting humane faculties will create a society where conflicts may be resolved amicably with justice.

This post was written by our volunteer blogger from Nigerian, Emepuru Albert Somkelechukwu.

A Writer, Youth Activist and an International Affairs Analyst.

If you have any comments, questions or concern, feel free to share them.