It happens on a daily basis. I have experienced two
separate incidents in the recent past. One involving a pick pocketer who could
not resist my three-week-old phone. His planned back fired so badly that he
resulted to using force. He chucked a dagger to which I obliged. Then chokoras and extortion. I was actually thinking
of investing in pepper spray because apparently the chokoras along Landhies Lane have made it their life’s mission to
extort money from me. Just last month I was being given choices. To either
chuck 500 bob or be smeared with human waste. You should have seen me bargaining
as if he was selling me a commodity. Nkt! That is small-scale harassment. And
it breeds to large-scale proportions and extends to what we have seen.
I have been smoked out of my hibernation hole by the
hash tag #MyDressMyChoice. We cannot say that! Before you draw daggers (Sandra
Sudi, relax. Don’t crucify me yet), allow me to immediately stress that I do
not support barbaric, uncouth, primitive, uncivilized and evil acts like
stripping women. Catch my drift? The spirit of the hash tag is in good taste.
Very sensible but unfortunately some ladies are getting it all wrong. I’ll demonstrate
the gross misrepresentation of facts, in a few.
Let’s go the philosophy way, shall we? Intrinsically
evil acts are judged solely from their object independently of the intention
that inspires them or the circumstances that surround them. So, whether the
Embassava (hope I got that spelling correct, autocorrect has no suggestion)
touts were intending to ‘teach a moral lesson’ is not the question. Stripping
is evil.
Confession 101. I am a member of the Facebook page called ‘Kilimani
Mums Nairobi’. Crazy, right? I did happen to do my industrial attachment in
that area code so I am not so lost after all. I am there to read the troubles
and/or achievements of those mums. Most of them are professionals with
reputable careers. The admin better not be reading this post. I don’t want my
membership to be revoked. That group is a good sample to do research because it
is representative enough. I’m assuming a 95% confidence interval and of course
a 5% degree of error. Why? Because I have read most of the tweets with the said
hash tag. Including the tweef between Esther Passaris and Robert Alai.
Now, to my point. Let’s start by understanding some
concepts that will give my argument and premises the traction it deserves.
Freedom. Choices. Truth. Liberalism. Relativism. If we all agree on the basic
definitions of the 5 words, my case is closed. I’m not lecturing. Let’s just be
clear that truth is not relative. It is one. Ontological. Existing beyond
ourselves. It originates from reality. When your mind conforms to reality, now
that is what you call the truth. Not the other way round. Below is a comment
from the Facebook page by some mama.
“Why can’t we
learn to accept diversity? We are different. Period! What is the measure people
are using to tell us to dress decently? What is decency anyway? We are supposed
to dress to impress and not to accommodate the views of perverts…period.” After
reading that comment I thought…mmhh… how inaccurate and fallacious.
The comment
suggests that decency is relative. What is the measure of decency? Remember the
concepts I introduced up there? Decency is not relative. From Instagram, the
taste of the hash tag is very bitter and to be quite frank, misses the point.
Terming men perverts. Why have some women shifted the debate from an incident
of violation of the first and most basic human right of dignity to demonizing
men as perpetrators of heinous crimes against women? So now the touts are
representing all men? What a vague generalization.
If #MyDressMyChoice campaign is to bear fruits, it has to clearly demonstrate that absolute
freedom bring about liberalism. Everyone thus can do whatever they want. Wrong!
Human beings are endowed with reason and conscience which clearly shows the distinction
between good and evil. Then some people bring the argument that oooh… Turkana
women..And I say, we need to purify the spontaneous moral knowledge and correct
the errors therein. Just because you can expose your thighs doesn’t mean you
should.
I think the main focus would be men and women
uniting to eradicate demeaning behaviour and to spearhead effective recognition
and observance of rights and freedoms of others simply because all human beings
are born free and equal in dignity and rights. This is where political common
good comes in. Try walking along Ngara or near that matatu stage and you will
have your arms grabbed by hawkers, touts and whatnot. They do it because there
is no law against it.
Let’s start by having some airtight legislation. Right
now if the assaulted lady is to get justice, the police will tell her to file a
formal complaint and the court will require evidence. What more evidence does
the lady need? Is the video not evidence enough? Do she need to lodge a formal
complaint for an obvious gross violation? The law is an ass! I hope the
culprits will be brought to book and that justice shall be served. You saw how
Kanyari’s case was ignored like a wet weave?
Hope you all feel the conviction of a burning
sincerity, of that fire in the belly which will better our society and produce
the unity of purpose. My two cents ladies and gentlemen.
