Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie has revealed that she
was sexually harrassed at the age of 17 by a big man in the media in Lagos.
She made this revelation during an address at the just
concluded Stockholm Forum for Gender Equality.
Chimamanda told of how she had taken a book of poems she
wrote to a “big man in the media” so he could support her in making the book go
public, instead, he sexually assaulted her.
She said he was friendly at first and impressed that someone
her age had written a book. But the man soon came to her, slipped his hand
under her shirt and bra, then squeezed her breast.
She said she was so taken aback that she did nothing for
seconds, then she pushed his hand away “gently”.
She said:
I was so taken aback that I did nothing for seconds. Then, I
pushed his hand away, but gently, nicely, because I didn’t want to offend him.
Later that day, I broke into a rash on my chest, my neck, my
face, as though my body were recoiling, as though my body were saying what my
lips had not said.
I felt a deep loathing for that man and for what he did. I
felt as if I didn’t matter, as if my body existed merely as a thing to be done
with as he wanted. Yet, I told no one about it. And I kept talking to him,
being polite, hoping he will help with my book.
The victim never forgets...
1 comment:
But why are the names of these offenders always always always withheld. Why? It only shows its either a lie or just indirect wickedness (allowing others to go through the same bad experience in the hands these offenders).
Post a Comment