If there is any Nigerian movie that women must watch then it is the Fifty movie which was produced by Ebonylife Studios.
Starring actors like Ireti Doyle, Dakore Egbuson-Akande, and Omoni Oboli, Fifty explored ideas of age, religion, health and the shifting meanings of friendship in women.
Without giving too many spoilers, Fifty also showed me how modesty doctrines often go hand in hand with rape culture. In the movie, Dakore Egbuson-Akande’s character experienced blame from her mother for wearing short clothes and being raped. That scene was a very sad scene for me because it showed that some daughters will never have allies in their mothers in matters of gender based abuse.
Even more, it made me strengthen my belief that modesty doctrines have a very strong relationship with rape culture and victim blaming of women. Most times, women who wear short skirts and revealing clothing tend to be blamed when they experience sexual assault.
They are told they brought it upon themselves by wearing revealing clothing. And what counts as revealing clothing varies from place to place. For some countries, revealing clothing is that which shows the outline of your hips and your face. So this means that those who wear trousers and tie their hair with scarves may be blamed for being raped in those countries.
Patriarchal beliefs and mindsets often exist outside the realms of common sense and logic. This is because even women who cover up totally and are niqabis still experience blame when they face sexual assault. They are told they were at the wrong place or must have done something. When a child is raped by an adult, everyone asks what the mother was doing.
It seems that it is not clothing or the location of the survivor that matters. It seems that to be a woman is to be on the receiving end of blame no matter the precautionary measures you take.
And why is that? Why have we created a world where woman is hardly synonymous with justice even if symbols in Law like Lady Justice exist? Why does a piece of clothing determine a woman’s worth, virtue and ability to be guaged as a human being?
Speaking with Ama, a writer based in Lagos, she said that it is especially found in religious spaces. She also said there is an inability to recognise women as autonomous sexual beings.
In her words: “One time, I wore a breast tube with a jacket to church. This was in 2020. The jacket was open and I didn’t think I was not modest. A man, one of the pastors of our teen church told me I was going to lead men to temptation.
Said I was meant to cover up because not every man can hold themselves.
This isn’t even related but before joining The Emecheta Collective, I used to struggle with the idea of seeing women as sexual beings and I know it is because of the teachings of the church.
And unfortunately, women always bear the consequences. I grew up in Warri and when pregnancies happen which are covered up, it’s mostly: ‘You no dey see wetin she dey wear so? Na so she dey behave since. Na why she carry belle.”
For IY, she narrated how this thinking exists even amongst the younger generation who are Western educated.
To quote her: “Something of this sort is a matter of discussion in my class group at the moment.
A girl went jogging yesterday night around the campus, and a security man(someone paid to protect us by the way) was flashing his dick at her, calling her to come to him and ended up chasing her with a stick in his hand.
When she spoke up on the class group to create awareness of what she had just experienced, a guy asked what she was doing out so late at night.
Some of the guys ended up tagging the ladies that stood up to fight for her as “bitter feminists”.”
Until women’s bodies are not held as guilty, we shall continue to have cases of victim blaming and rape as a concept.
We all must endeavour to create a world where women and girls do not hate their bodies and to do this, there must be zero respect for doctrines like modesty.
Angel Nduka-Nwosu is a writer, journalist and editor. She moonlights occasionally as a podcaster on As Angel Was Sayin’. Catch her on all socials @asangelwassayin.