Your UnSlut Project

Submitted by @Ayiterevbe

I can't remember what day it was exactly, but my elder cousin and I went to a beach party, where she was invited. We went from someone's house in a bus to the beach. We had fun that day, but then it was quite a distance from where we lived at the time. So, by sundown we started going home.

Some people she met at the person's house offered to take us to a bus stop. We accepted the offer. So around 8pm, we were at the bus stop waiting to board a bus that was going our route.

We waited for about 10 minutes, and it was getting late, so we started walking towards another bus stop. I was wearing cream-coloured, three-quarter length shorts and a tee-shirt, which I had changed into while at the beach. My cousin was wearing a jersey tee-shirt and jean shorts. Unfortunately, the area where the bus stop is located was filled with quite "traditional" people. My cousin thought it was okay to wear short shorts because it was night.

But it was not so.

Before I knew what was happening, even in the midst of the busy night filled with cars honking and civilians struggling to cross the roads, some teenage boys (by the way they looked and from their voices), started yelling, "Ashewo!" "Ashewo!" at my cousin. Ashewo is a derogatory term used to refer to commercial sex workers.

Where I am from, Nigeria, that is serious. About 10 boys were following behind us and yelling. The people around stopped and stared at my cousin. My cousin didn't react and continued walking. I knew she wasn't affected, because that was what most people here call girls who expose their body parts.

We finally made it and caught a bus. When we sat down, I glanced at my cousin. She was typing on her phone. It was like the last 2 minutes never happened. My point here is that "slut" shaming is quite a norm over here and many people don't even realise it. They see it as a "normal" thing.

This happened over a year ago, but I was inspired to write it when I read of other girls in these parts. "Slut" shaming is wrong! It doesn't matter if you are the one dealing it or receiving it. Thanks to Emily Lindin for this project, it has inspired me a lot. Please share your experiences, it will help others a lot. You are not alone.