Pretty Mike and the Girls on a Leash

This image caused a stir this year as a popular club owner walked into an event holding girls on a leash like Dogs.

There was anger and uproar from a lot of people and finally the Lagos state government intervened and Pretty Mike was arrested. He eventually released a story explaining that he did this to create awareness and draw attention to the plight of women in our society. A lot of people do not believe his explanation but I say even if it's true, brother Mike, this is a classic case of cutting the nose to spite the face.

To me, this incidence brings to the forefront a lot of ills about our society and I'll dissect them;

• The masked faces of the girls; To me, this gives credence to a line from Chimamanda's popular 'we should all be feminists' Ted talk 'we teach women shame'. Society has taught women to mask themselves and deny their authenticity just to be hailed as a real woman.
• The Leash on them held by Pretty Mike; These women can only go as far as he wants them to go. Lot's of women seem to be held by an imaginary leash and judge their existence based on how far the men and society 'allow' them to go.
• The complacency of the police officers; if pretty Mike indeed committed a crime, why wasn't he arrested on the spot? Why did it have to take the complaint and intervention of people? Lots of times, women go to report cases of assault and molestation and the police just laughs at them.
• The choice of the women involved; At the end of the day, these women chose to be held on a leash, to mask their faces and be treated like Dogs. The truth is, the only things that happen to us are the things we allow.

So Ladies, go out there, keep your head up and live your life to the fullest knowing there is no leash or mask except the one you put on yourselves.

Have a splendid week ahead.

Go and win.