“…our Lazarus is not dead, he only sleeps.” Frederick Douglass.
By now, almost everything that has breath has heard about the seemingly ceaseless stream of sexual assault allegations levied against a certain Gucci Pastor. He claims there is no fire to the smoke; the billows we witness are utterly baseless. He speaks in silence as eloquent as a dead rat’s stench. I digress.
I write this week to reorient our attention to the real heroes of these happenings—Busola Dakolo and the other women who have cut loose the strings of shame and courageously come forth with their stories. Villainous threats that once wrought terror have fueled an energetic revolt. It is just the beginning and I salute the women who blaze this trail in the face of public reproach.
Across the nation, past and present, an innocent girl is violated, she cowers in shame. Who will believe her? Will they blame her? Will they punish her? Don’t you know others have suffered worse? Don’t you know you must forgive and forget? Girls and women, robbed of their dignity, left with no recourse in a system the inherently immunizes the villain. Thanks to the courage of women like Dakolo, the collective She is not only kicking delay off the path to redress; She is bringing emperors of villainy to justice; posting shame back to sender.
To the girl in hiding, may she find power in the light of these heroines to escape her prison of fear. May she find the will to snatch back her narrative—no longer a victim but a survivor, a fighter, a winner!
To the women who profit off the misery of others, I gift you with that saying: “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” Madeleine K. Albright.
Brave ladies, millions stand firm behind you. Your suffering is not wasted. The torch you light today will ransom many in years to. Our Lazarus is not dead, you have jolted him to life.
