It was very insensitive for the Police in Gulu to blame parents for the increasing cases of defilement during holidays. Police claimed that it is due to parental negligence that the cases of defilement were increasing especially in holidays.
I really find this malicious and a case of badmouthing parents. Does the Police mean to say that the reason why girls are defiled today is because their parents are not putting them on a leash? Are these girls dogs that in order to protect their honor they should be tied up? Because thats the only meaning I can interpret from the police accusations.
When it comes to parental care, I believe parents do a great job. The only problem is that in trying to meet their parental obligation, some of them work 24/7 just to earn a living. So, how can one expect such parents to keep an eye on their kids when they are busy at work as well?
Besides, how many children have been defiled under their own parents’ roof by relatives, friends and house helps? Can we still say that’s a case of negligence when the people we trust with our children are the ones that destroy our children’s honor?
What of the sneaky way girls move about their own business?
Doesnt the Police know that among the sneaky creatures on earth is the girl child? When she wants something, she will do anything to get it. She won’t even bat an eye when she looks you in the eye and spouts a lie.
So, how will a parent know that when this girl tell them she going to visit a friend, it’s not a boyfriend she is not going to see. How can they tell that when they send their daughter out to fetch water or to the market that there are men that attract her eyes? Not only that, that they promise her sweet nothings that throw out all the parental advise out of her head.
And what about the raging hormones that girls go through during adolescent, the constant urge to have sex. Can we still blame that on the parents?
There are so many factors that contribute to defilement, but it’s never a parent’s fault. We can blame the men who seduce and assault our girls’ innocence or the girls themselves who believe in sweet nothings but never the parents.
Unless of course, you as the police are encouraging parents to chain their children to their beds or put them under house arrest, that way parents can be assured of their children’s safety which behavior on the contrary is abominable given that it denies a child a right to freedom of movement.
Diana Nansamba, Kyengera
