A Nigerian family has disowned one of it’s members over her desire to marry an individual of the same sex. Not only did they disown her, they also placed a very humiliating advertisement in a popular Nigerian newspaper, regarding this.
Dear Shoremi family, your approach to handling such a delicate matter is terrible, and totally uncalled for. Why would you publicly shame your daughter in this way just because her beliefs differ from yours? What happened to dealing with this matter privately and treating your daughter with some dignity and respect?
We are all aware that The Marriage Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria stipulates that same-sex marriage is against the law. However, the law can’t replace the blood ties that a family is bound by.
Guys, we need to do better. This culture of shaming is figuratively and literally killing us. The suicide rate amongst our youths is increasing by the day. And I believe one of the reasons is because of our culture of silence regarding issues like sexuality, marriage, career, finances, etc. I hear stories about university students trying to end their lives because they have carry overs and I shudder. How about the story about a man who committed suicide by drinking Sniper (lethal insecticide) just because he had lost the money meant to be for his big wedding to the MMM ponzi scheme? If you are a woman over 30 and unmarried in this society, it takes the grace of God not to fall into severe depression due to the pressure from family, friends, and even strangers, who never hesitate to imply or state overtly that you are somehow less of a human being because you don’t have a husband.
Nigeria, we’ve got a long way to go.
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