More people are adding their voices to condemn brutality meted out to a Nigerian woman who was stripped naked and pounded in the private part for allegedly stealing yam.
Executive Director of the Ark Foundation, Angela Dwamena Aboagye is one of the many gender activists who have condemned the act perpetuated against the woman.
““Look at the manner in which they purported to arrest her, they stripped her and look at the acts of violence that were perpetuated against her. When it comes to women, this also sits within not just a social justice framework or criminal law framework, but within violence against women which is completely a human rights issue as well,” she told Joy News.
Also, human rights lawyer Francis Xavier Sosu has urged the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to step up its education of human rights to curb abuses as Social Justice Day is observed globally today.
Further, pressure group OccupyGhana has added its voice to calls to seek justice for the said lady asking that the police use the video to arrest the men responsible for the abuse.
A video of the abuse of the woman has been trending on social media for days now. Some people have alleged that she stole money while others said she stole a piece of yam. Another group also claimed she swindled someone of some money.
Although there is no concensus about what is it that she had done, she was assaulted, kicked in the groin and her private part.
Luv FM’s Erastus Asare Donkor visited the place the incident took place in his attempt to authenticate what the woman did but was disappointedly told nothing. He could not verify what the mob that assaulted the woman accused her of.
The disturbing video starts at a point where the young lady had been stripped of her clothes. She covered her waist with a yellow scarf given to her by a good Samaritan, but it was removed by the mob.
Another woman who offered a dress was shoved off and the young lady was not allowed to put it on.
The mob made up mostly of men, tore the young lady’s red brassiere and panty. At a point in the video, the men spread her legs open and kicked her private part many times.
Attempts by the young lady to prevent the mob from hitting her private part was met with even harder beatings.
One person who took part in the beating took told the Luv News reporter that they stripped her naked and beat her because it is not good for a lady to engage in such an ungodly act.
Related: Gender activist demands justice for woman stripped naked, beaten
“Initially, I felt sorry for her but I felt it was good to serve as a deterrent to other ladies,” he said.
Although criticisms about the act continue to pour in, some traders at Kejetia in the Ashanti regional where the incident took place have defended their acts of brutality.
They say it is normal for persons accused of stealing to be paraded naked through the streets amid physical assault and sexual torture.
Another trader said if they catch a thief, they would strip the alleged thief naked and stuff the private part with pepper. This is the sixth one I have witnessed since I started selling here.
The private security guard in the video who was seen in the video trying to save the lady from the mob said he got scared at some point.
“I tried calling the police but it won’t go through,” he said.
Meanwhile, police say they are investigating the incident. They revealed they issued a medical form to the woman the moment she was brought to the Central Police State. However, she has not returned to the station to aid with the investigation.
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