LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...

  
  My married aunt wants to move in with us, do you think that is right? I mean she is about to walk out of her marriage, stay temporarily with us till she is emotionally, physically and financially stable enough to move out. Do you think we are putting asunder to what God has joined?

  Well I don't think your point(s) hold water especially as you have not heard that my aunt has been abused physically and emotionally for the past ten years. Now, she is almost going blind in one eye because the vile son of Babylon attacked her in the middle of a very busy road and snatched her bag leaving her cashless and phoneless.

  You see she has no kids for him but he has kids with other women. She trains these  kids through school with her money. He is not grateful for her sacrifice as he is the first to publicly call her a witch and tell all and sundry that his kids who call her "mommy " are not her biological children. 

  That is not enough oh! My aunt has been acting in faith by buying baby things in anticipation of her own baby; she had a box full of baby things for both sexes. The other day, her neighbour had a baby and she decided to take some baby things from the box she kept on top of her cupboard. She used too much energy to try to carry the box she supposed needed the strength but the shock of a light weighted box propelled her down but fortunately not to the hard ground. The handsome faced thief had stolen every single thing in the box leaving just a pair of mismatched socks.

  Do you still think she should stay? Why can she not just get this animal arrested, after all there are NGOs who help indict men who abuse women. Why can she not get her own pound of flesh? "What will people say" she replied "It took me a while before I managed to find this one, people will say I am a cursed woman".

  As my aunt sat in our bedroom speaking to my mom with tears running down her eyes, I remained glued to my corner with images of women who have recently been in the news. I thought of Ronke Shonde who was beaten to death by her husband, Roselyn, whose husband, Jafairu slit her throat while she slept. I imagined my aunt sprawled on the floor, cold to touch or bloody with her eyes shut and I wondered, is it worth it?  Is marriage, a ring, a mere status change worth my life ?

  I understand the pressure to want to be married. Everyone seems to be either getting engaged or getting married. I understand this because it has become my mother's daily prayer point for my sister and I to settle down. But, should marriage mean the end of my life?

  Ladies, choose your partners well. I have refused to be bullied or deceived into being married because everybody is. I tell you, you will have made a terrible mistake. One only comparable to the sin of  Eve. There will be no return I tell you. If you allow him kill you because you fear for the society , you will have no one to tell your side of the story. Nobody will care about the image you tried so hard to protect. Everyone will accept the account of the man, he will say you were adulterous, irresponsible and you were a bad mom. Your children will believe that because if you were such a great mom, you would never let them struggle through life alone! Who will convince them that you paid the price to save face?

Think...

Photo Credit : Joel Osteen , Internet