Actress Moji Olaiya who recently walked out of her marriage as a result of domestic abuse from her husband Bayo Okesola had an exclusive interview with Vanguard on 3rd of January, during which she spoke in details about why it was necessary for her to end the marriage in order to shield her daughter from witnessing violence and to also protect herself.
Olaiya who had also recently converted from Christianity to Islam was reported to have admitted that a woman needs the support of a man and she is currently in a relationship with a man, yet-to-be-identified until the divorce with her former husband is finalized.
Domestic violence is a pressing but much hidden issue in our age and if we have a high profile individual like Olaiya highlighting it before a wider audience base, this will be a positive way to stem this silent social epidemic that is besetting our societies today. Furthermore, by bringing this issue to the public domain, the actress did a service to the rights of women in general with a goal of helping to educate young men in this era to fully respect and protect women.
Fighting domestic violence is not just a family issue but one that should generate national interests as it brings a host of other issues to the victim such as poor mental health, post traumatic stress disorder and depression that may last a lifetime. The witnesses of the violence such as the children may also develop similar psychological dysfunction in the future, making them less than perfect adults later on in life, which may affect their ability to function as a normal human being in the society.
However, by conveying the hidden and often shameful issue to the public domain, the victims can help to educate the public on the psychological impacts, hence reducing the future perpetrators who may have to think twice before raising their hand to strike a woman. With the vocal roles other celebrities like Stella Damasus are playing in fighting domestic violence in the society, more awareness on the reality of this real happening will be exposed and may eventually help in dropping and finally eradicating incidents related to domestic violence in our culture. Click here if you missed our article on how Stella Damasus plans on fortifying her fight against Domestic violence in 2015
