Every year, March 8 is set aside as International Women’s Day. It is designed to commemorate the social, political and economic achievements of women. It is also a day that women use to advocate for equal treatment and representation. This year’s celebration came with a twist. A body organized beauty pageant for female inmates in Lagos. Ironically, Chidinma Ojukwu who is standing trial for the murder of Super TV CEO, Michael Ataga emerged the winner. She was crowned Miss Cell 2022! The organizer defended the pageant as one of their many initiatives to help the inmates maintain their sanity. This raises more questions than answers. Firstly, that initiative has no bearing with the objective of the day. A murder did not in any way fit into any of the achievements of the womankind. Secondly, the family of the deceased were still waiting for justice to be served for the gruesome murder of one of theirs. Making a celebrity out of the accused is standing wisdom on the head.
Perhaps a greater lesson from that ill-thought pageant is that the larger society has lost the essence of decency and civility. We have lost any sense of shame. I consider shame as a gift from God, and unusual one at that. The gift is what leads to remorse when we do something that is wrong. The first thing that hit Adam and Eve after disobeying God was shame. Those who still have the capacity to be ashamed have not lost it all – no matter how heinous their sin. The real problem is when that capacity is clean gone. In God’s estimation, those who refuse to be ashamed are no better than harlots. This group of persons do wrong and parade it with pride.