“Have you seen a decent lady who made it in Abuja?”, man asked a lady jobseeker

A true life story of Julia, an Abuja based unemployed graduate

By Lanre Oloyede

Ever been asked such a question? Are you a lady seeking opportunity whether job, enrollment, or endorsement, and you’ve been told you cannot get it unless you play ball? You are not alone. This piece will interest you. It’s a true life expose of how helpless women seeking for opportunities are taken advantage of. The above quotation was a question a potential employer asked a lady seeking opportunity.

Sexual harassment remains one of the major problems facing women in Africa.  From home to the workplace, from workplace to the general society, the female gender is an object of sexual harassment, exploitation and molestation. This is because in most African societies, women are objectified as tools or instruments for sexual pleasure or satisfaction by their male counterparts. More worrisome is the fact that there is no age limit or barrier to this as both young and adults are victims.

Worst still, the victims of these social anomalies are compelled to suffer in silence. This is because the culture and tradition of most African societies is such that do not allow for women to be heard, not just to be heard, but allowed a fair hearing. Rather, they are always at the receiving end.

If she reports, she is either shouted down or blamed for the incident and left to live with the stigma for the rest of her life while the male culprit is allowed to walk away a free man.

The unpalatable social implication of this is that today, many female folks become taciturn, unexpressive and are unable to demand for what belongs to them in the society. They are also ashamed to open up and tell people about what they are going through simply because of stigma.

Instances abound today of many young female graduates who are roaming the streets unable to secure employment. Not because they are not qualified but because they are asked to go to bed with the potential employer before they are given the job.

The story of Julia Amadi, an Abuja based graduate is a touching true life account that represents the experience many ladies face in Abuja, Nigeria.

In this exclusive interview with iRise Magazine, Julia narrated her ordeal in the hands of prospective employers all through her 7 years of job search in Abuja after her graduation from school.

Her story:

“Have you seen a decent lady that made in it Abuja?” He poured it all on my face. For the next few minutes, the question kept ringing in my brain. Then he began to call names, names of ladies whom to him have made it.

“Jumai, 22 years old drives a Venza. Esther, 32 has a Toyota muscle and a landed property in choice area of FCT. Rachel, 25, drives Honda discussion continues,” he reeled out.

“You have all it takes to make it in Abuja, so why are you suffering yourself, why are you wasting away?”  He asked in a silent but tough tone.

Mr. Kenneth was the director of a beauty pageant sponsored by a multinational company in Abuja. The stakes were so high: N20 million cash prize, sponsored overseas trips with Honda SUV car and a shopping spree amongst others.

I had applied to contest through a friend who filled me in on the information and purchased the form on my behalf.

I met Mr. Kenneth on the day of my interview and right there and then, he told me I had everything to win the pageant, but he had to sleep with me before I can win the contest. I reneged. The opportunity was gone, so was all the goodies that came with it.

My encounter with Mr. Kenneth was just a scratch on the surface. I had experienced even worse in the course of my job search after my youth service.

A high ranking official of a key MDA in the health sector had promised to help me get a job. This was a man in his late 50s and with two grown up daughters in the university. After several days of taking me to his office, he eventually asked to sleep with me before I can get the job.

I was in another office to attend a job interview. The MD told me I have every qualification he required for the job but he would have to have carnal knowledge of me before he can give me the job. He said if I allowed him, he would place me in a place where money will be flowing very well and I wouldn’t have anything to worry about. He averred that the sexual intercourse would be a covenant between the two of us.”

Julia’s’ story was a time consuming one. All are not told here for want of space and time. Only a snippet was shared in this piece but representative enough of the ordeal our female gender face on a daily basis.

This particular challenge is still there starring us on the face. We cannot pretend about it. If we don't do anything about it, we'll all be affected. We all need to join hands together to curb this menace. We all have sisters, mothers, wives and friends who go through all of these day in, day out.

The more we talk about, the more we engage opinion moulders and the more it gets on the front burner for the policy makers to address.

This is what iRise Magazine signed up to do. What is your opinion? What do you think can be done to address this menace? Do you have a personal experience? Please drop your comment.