Rape: CAN Warns Against Indecent Dressing In Churches

The Christian Association of Nigeria on Tuesday called on churches to come up with tough measures against indecent dressing.

While calling on churches to return to the culture of decent dressing, the organisation said parents should warn their children against inviting rapists through their dressing.

CAN also warned against the forceful marriage of minors especially in Northern Nigeria, saying the practice of forcing a Christian girl into marriage or another religion “has to be brought under great limelight and criminalised.”

The Chairman of CAN (North Central Zone), Rev. Israel Akanji, stated these in Abuja during a summit with the theme: “Elimination of violence against women and children”, organised by the Women’s Wing of Christian Council of Nigeria.

At the event, the chairperson of WOWICCN, Ngozi Izuogu, suggested that rapists should undergo capital punishment through hanging.

She said, “We noticed that most women are careless about the female child which is why the issue of rape and other heinous crimes are on the increase. It is necessary for women to know that there are things that they should not allow.

“Rapists should go to jail, the government should know better; but I believe that it is not good for a man to molest a child and go free. To me, it should be made a capital offence, if it means killing the rapist, let the rapist be hanged.”

Akanji said, “When people wear mini dresses, sometimes they even wear it to church we must speak against it in churches. Some of us try not to talk about it because we feel if we talk to them, they may not return to our churches.

“The church has to come up with tough measures against indecent dressing; indecent dressing must not be accepted in the church of Christ. Even the Bible teaches that people must dress decently to be in the House of the Lord.

“The Bible says thou shall not steal, kill and commit adultery. These are considered to be grievous sins in the Bible, but people who rape, should be considered as very serious criminals.

“The problem we have in Nigeria is anonymity, people don’t want to talk when raped, parents don’t want their children to say it because they feel it will bring a bad name to their family and that is why it has continued.

If rape cases are reported in good time and adequate measures are taken, a lot of things will change.

“I want to appeal to parents that while we are waiting for a law that will deal with rapists (I know that laws exist right now), parents must warn their children. Some children dress in such a way that they appear as if they are inviting rapists to their lives. They are almost naked, they expose body parts that some people cannot control themselves. Let us return to the culture of decent dressing, it may not stop but it will minimize it.”