We are currently witnessing a wave of attack on women’s rights and bodily autonomy, instigated by the abortions bans that has been sweeping through America, and thus generating a conversation on how patriarchy continues to disenfranchise women. In Nigeria, and quite recently, there were sprawling protests sparked from the Abuja police raid targeted at women in nightclubs, who were also dehumanised and raped by the policemen. Using intimidation and fear, the police have exploited women found walking at night. On top of this, we are still keenly aware that women who are victims of rape or domestic abuse can’t report to the police because nothing would be done.

And that was the case when the women’s healthcare hospital Marie Stopes was invaded in Lagos, on Tuesday. Twitter user @Imoteda posted several disturbing tweets on the incident, and one can only imagine the horror the patients would have gone through, thinking they were in a safe place.

Yesterday people marched in Nairobi to shut down Marie Stopes on the basis that they perform abortions.
Today Nigerian police invaded Marie Stope in Surulere looking to arrest the doctor and harassing patients who were there.
One patient was getting blood work and the policeman

— Imoteda (@Imoteda) May 21, 2019

Tried to arrest her saying birth control is abortion!
Aside from the obvious danger of such ignorance, clinics like Marie Stopes provide much needed services for women.
Contraceptives, maternal health services, stds screenings, scans and lots more.
In a country where women’s

— Imoteda (@Imoteda) May 21, 2019

Health is sorely neglected we NEED clinics like Marie Stopes so we can continue to protect ourselves and health!
Please do not be silent about this!
This police raid is illegal and the police officers have refused to identify themselves or their station!!!#savemariestopes

— Imoteda (@Imoteda) May 21, 2019

Apparently, the police were acting on the reductive belief that Marie Stopes runs ”abortion activities.” Under Nigeria’s abortion law, terminating a pregnancy carries a heavy sentence of 14 years imprisonment, unless the pregnancy is a threat to the woman’s life. While we can admit that the police were emboldened by the law to carry out the raid, Nigeria’s abortion legislation urgently needs to be reviewed and amended such that it recognises women’s bodily autonomy.

In a country with dilapidated healthcare infrastructure and a dearth of women’s-only spaces, Marie Stopes has been providing women with accessible healthcare services, contraception, breast and cervical cancer screenings, etc. Marie Stopes has trained staff who offer counselling and treatment, especially to those who cannot afford the services of private hospitals. So, what is the government trying to say with this raid? That women aren’t safe anywhere?

That said, and one day, the government would have to swallow the cold, hard truth that abortion is healthcare, and legislating laws informed by hypocritical religious morality to police women’s bodies is wicked and cruel. The Marie Stopes raid precipitated the #EndWarOnNigerianWomen hashtag on Twitter yesterday, drawing attention to not only this singular attack, but the continued oppression of women by the patriarchy in Nigeria. And, in summary, this tweet:

@PoliceNG should please go after rapists, sexual predators of children, sexual harassers in schools that are supposed to be safe for children especially girls instead of raiding clinics providing critical health services to women. Stop policing our bodies #EndWaronNigerianWomen

— Funmi Balogun (@FunmiB) May 22, 2019