Mistaken for the "other woman" 1


The instinct of the danger of   the other woman is one that most women can identify with  as far back as their childhood days. When it comes to being mistaken for the other woman, it can come in so many forms, sometimes from strangers who actually are acting in sympathy to the woman of the house and as such have tagged you a traitor  who deserves some form of punishment.

A University classmate of mine recounted recently how she went to the bank one day dressed up as usual (to give you a little picture, when we were in school, this babe was always dressed to the kill, on point, you know those girls whose carriage was intimidating as their  hair, dress , bag and shoes was always on point  in addition, she is really naturally light skinned, the kind that could walk into some prayer meetings and cause  some brethren to erroneously start praying against water spirits . She has the kind of complexion that is very prevalent with the  igbo tribe in my country.So she walks into the bank one day in our own  town(Benin Ciity)  and saw  two women who she  identified as being religious based on their demeanor, apparel and lack of makeup.

They however began to insult her  in their native language(bini) saying “this igbo girl with red lips, she is a husband snatcher ! How God will punish her”. When she finished  her transactions  in the bank , she walked up to  both women  and spoke back in their own dialect(bini language ) , greeting them and advising them that the outfit she was wearing was a present from her husband. She  walked away gallantly having had the satisfaction of seeing  the shock on the faces of these two women, She was wearing a mini skirt and so swayed her hips causing her skirt to ride higher and higher on her thigh. You can imagine the look on the womens’ faces and hopefully that should have taught them a life lesson .They were strangers and it ended there with my friend still recounting the relish she enjoyed at their dismay on their discovery . However it could become really complicated especially when the accusation does not come from a stranger. Sometimes it is your girlfriend or one you thought was a friend accusing you of the unimaginable.

 I have had my own share and will recount one of them  here (it is not that I have had  several please !)So there was this one when a younger married girl asked to see me to discus something. I granted her the audience as she had earlier called about the need for a face to face meeting. By the time she was through with her baseless accusations and insults, saying things in the likes of “I knew how I comported myself well as a single girl”, it took all of the person I am to reject the thought of giving her a slap to shut her mouth and to stop the pain she was inflicting. I was so shocked and furious but because I am not one given to violence or emotional outburst., I clearly told her (hopefully clear enough) that she was mistaken especially as she was trying to imply what was not. What was the root of the accusation?

More to come from Gracillis 

Continued in the next post 


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