Stakeholders Advocate Elimination of Violence Against Women – Voice of Nigeria

Gender issue advocates have campaigned for a collaborative effort to reduce instances of violence against women and girls.

They are also advocating fo women to stop engaging in violent acts, as the world celebrated the International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women,  on November 25.

The stakeholders made the call at a symposium, held in Ibadan, Oyo State, and organised by the State branch of the Family Support Initiative, FASI.

FASI is a Non-Governmental Organisation dedicated to the advocacy of the safety, dignity and empowerment of the victims/survivors of relationship violence.

The convener and Oyo State Coordinator of FASI, Ambassador Adebobola Agbeja, explained that in the face of violence being orchestrated by women, it has become necessary to caution against violence, irrespective of gender.

Agbeja said there was need to sensitise the public on the need to shun other social vices like rape, female genital mutilation, girl-child trafficking and early marriage, amongst others.

The chairperson of the event, Dr Olajumoke Akere, who is the Director of JSAY Prevarsity in Ibadan, emphasised that the drive towards ending violence against women and the girl-child falls in line with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.

She stated that a system of inclusion that would give women a pride of place in national polity and decision-making had become imperative.

Akere called on stakeholders, communities, the nation and the world at large not to neglect or marginalise women but give them much attention in order to make the global space a better place to live.

She says, “One of the things that we have to do to help our women is to make sure we give them both individual and collective voice.

“They need to have a voice in all that is happening because they are the real actor here. Policies must be enacted and amended to make sure that we give them center space, attention and a voice to participate in all space, particularly in our polity. Let's join in and end violence against women.”

The keynote speaker at the event and Oyo State Director of the National Orientation Agency, NOA Kayode Odedokun, asserted that gender-based violence in Nigeria needed to be tackled headlong, as any form of abuse or violence would generally affect the productivity of the people.

He urged men to expand their level of tolerance and ability to manage themselves in the face of daunting provocation when relating with the womenfolk.

“One of the things we must address as a people is gender-based violence. I must say that over time I've discovered that women have mood swings but as a man, we must learn to tolerate them and the best way to tolerate a lady is to assume that she is a weaker sex. A man that calls himself a man or a boy that aspires to be a man must learn to tolerate the opposite sex in all ramifications,” Odedokun noted.

He further called for more of women's participation in politics at all levels, especially in the number of elective posts allotted to them, as a matter of legislation rather than a mere policy.

The Oyo State Coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission, Akintayo Olamide, urged members of the society and the concerned stakeholders to unite and resist violence against women, girls and humanity at large.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, held on November 25, aims to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls around the world and marks the start of the 16 days of activism, concluding on the commemoration of the International Human Rights Day, on December 10.

November 25 was selected as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to honour the Mirabal Sisters, three political activists from the Dominican Republic, who were brutally murdered in 1960 by an order of the country's ruler, Rafael Trujillo.

Confidence Okwuchi