I have been very hesitant to comment on this unfortunate case, but I’ve come to find it necessary.

Hopefully, by the time this article is read the whole issue of Rashida must have died down, and that the next young girl who might be trying to put herself in similar situations would have been saved.

This is a heartfelt message to all on Ghanaian social media platforms to think twice about the case of Rashida, the girl whose explicit video was circulated around on social media.

I will be the first to say that it was ignorant of Rashida to make this video, but now that the unfortunate video has ended up in the public domain, I will instead implore all sane minded people to ask yourselves “what would you do if Rashida was your daughter or your sister? Would you think this is entertainment and funny? Would you help her or throw her under a bus?

One thing for certain that has been overlooked greatly is that while the media platforms have been all agog with Rashida Mohammed issues, there has also been a lot of bullying of Rashida going on. It has really been Rashida against everyone and this is a very sad situation for a young uneducated girl.

For all her sins, don’t forget Rashida is still pretty young, a deviant maybe, uninformed nonetheless. Forget about the excuse that she put herself out there. What she needs is for all to step forward as role models to give her guidance because she needs it.

Rashida is not Zuweira Mohammed who qualified as the best female contestant in the 2017 Math and Science quiz nationwide (please excuse this type of comparison). Maybe she can never be that because she’s not smart enough or it’s simply because she comes from a different background. Whatever it is we have to remember that she is a very young girl that needs guidance as such she should not be treated as a grown-up.

Rashida needs our redemption. Yes, her actions and pronouncements have brought out the most extreme emotions imaginable in people; that she will dare go against our societal norms in such a blatant way. How dare she? But we cannot abandon her at this point because she is worth saving.

It is said, “If a man has 100 sheep and loses one, does he not leave the 99 and go looking for the lost one?” We must arrest this situation from quickly becoming one of “a young girl against a whole nation”. How sad. Not even her parents can save her if we do not show her compassion.

I am humbly appealing to all to stop the public humiliation of this young girl. It seems we lost hindsight from the onset; now let’s come together to provide guidance, otherwise, we would be setting a bad example to the upcoming youth, this is like a mob action.

No matter how provocative her actions might seem to you; I’m sure she has now come to understand the seriousness of what she has done.

And also consider that she might be putting up a brave face because that is all she has left now. I believe Rashida was never given a chance. Please have compassion for her. Thank you.