- To eliminate violence against women, grant them unhindered access to good education, good healthcare – Peter Obi
As Nigeria and the rest of the world marks the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (GBV), the International Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA Nigeria has called for synergetic global action to build a safe and more inclusive world for women and girls.
This is even as the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25th election, Peter Obi proffered solutions on how to end violence against women and girls in Nigerian society.
The LP Presidential flag bearer said the surest way to eliminate violence against women is to grant them unhindered access to good education and the provision of good healthcare.
16 Days of Activism is an annual campaign that runs from the 25th of November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women), to 10th of December (Human Rights Day).
The theme of this year’s campaign is “UNITE! Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls.”
According to the statement signed by the Country Vice President/National President FIDA Nigeria, Amina Suzanah Agbaje, (Mrs.), this call underscores the critical need for state actors to raise awareness about gender-based violence, galvanize advocacy, share knowledge and innovations to end violence against women and girls while also challenging discriminatory attitudes and policies.
The statement reads in full:
The International Federation of Women Lawyers – FIDA Nigeria, lends its voice to the global call to create a world free from violence by joining the international community to observe the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence which is an annual campaign that runs from the 25th of November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women), until the 10th of December (Human Rights Day).
The 16 Days of Activism campaign serves as a powerful rallying cry to individuals and organizations worldwide to address, prevent, and eradicate one of the worlds most persistent violations of human rights, which is violence against women and girls. This campaign gained momentum in 2008 when the United Nations Secretary-General launched the UNITE by 2030 campaign, running parallel to the 16 Days of Activism.
The Campaign theme for 2023, UNITE! Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls, is a profound call for action to end violence against women and girls which has been an endemic and continuous scourge. This call underscores the critical need for state actors to raise awareness about gender-based violence, galvanize advocacy, share knowledge and innovations to end violence against women and girls while also challenging discriminatory attitudes and policies.
This years UNITE campaign theme aligns with the 2024 theme of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.
Likewise, Obi in a series of tweets in his X handle on Saturday to mark the Global International Day for the elimination of Violence against Women had a lot to say.
“As the global community .marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women today, I join my voice with other lovers of peace in our society, to speak out against all forms of gender-based violence, especially against women, in our nation… [T]he gender-based violence against women must not be given a place among us.
“The National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) reports that 1 in 3 Nigerian women have experienced physical violence by age 15 (NDHS 2013). According to a 2019 survey by the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics, 30% of Nigerian women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence, while a shocking 68% have encountered emotional, economic, or sexual abuse.”
Obi also noted the political influence of women in our polity saying, “Reports also show that women are critical players in our politics as they contribute significantly to the voting numbers but are often hampered by violence which can only be eliminated by playing by the rules of the law guiding the game.”
“This ugly trend of violence must not be allowed to continue, violence against women can be eliminated by empowering the Nigerian women to take their rightful place in society, and contribute to our collective development as a nation. This, we can do by giving them access to education and healthcare, which are most critical to national development.
“To build the New Nigeria of our dreams, completely abhorrent of violence against women, we must understand that development is not gender-based, and we all, men and women, must unite, in love, to move our nation forward.
