The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union (EU) on Thursday called on the active involvement of traditional rulers and strong legislation to help end the rising rape cases and violence against women in the country.
They made the call at a Virtual Roundtable Conference with traditional and religious leaders on “Eliminating Gender Based Violence and Harmful Practices Against Women and Girls.”
The conference was jointly organised by the UN Spotlight Agencies under the EU/UN Spotlight Initiative programme.
“We encourage and ask our esteemed traditional and religious leaders to engage effectively in facilitating dialogues at community, local government and state levels”, stated the Spotlight Initiative Accountability Framework adopted at the end of a virtual roundtable conference of Traditional and Religious leaders on Sexual and gender-based violence.
Mr Edward Kallon, the UNDP Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, said that the impact of COVID-19 made rape and violence against women another pandemic.
He added that “violence against women is a crime against humanity and should be totally condemned.
“We need a strong legislation to stop this inhumanity which is becoming a norm in our system.”
Kallon said that women constitute about 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population, adding that “the Nigerian economy cannot grow without full participation of women.”
He urged men to create an enabling environment for women to grow and contribute to the growth of the system.
“Men have a role to play in ensuring that violence against women, harmful practice and rape are completely eliminated from our communities.
“Women can do what men are doing if we create an enabling environment for them to operate,” he said.
The Deputy Head, EU Mission in Nigeria, Mr Alexander Borges, said that the way and manner of rape and violence against women in the society was at an alarming rate during the COVID-19 lockdown.
He said that to address the situation, there was the need for things to be done in different ways to achieve positive change.
He called for the declaration of state of emergency on violence against women, rape and all forms of attacks on women.
He also called for effective participation of traditional and religious leaders in the fight as custodians of culture.
Borges said “traditional and religious leaders are very good tools in fighting norms and some cultural practices that are not acceptabl like Female Genital Mutilation, as well as other practices that hinder justice or could have adverse effects on women.
In her speech, UN Deputy Secretary General, Mrs Amina Mohammed, describe women commit rape as weak.
She added, “It should be known that men and boys who commit violence against women and girls are just simply not men; they are weak, it’s shameful and they are sadly the textbook definition of cowards. And for those who turn a blind eye or deaf ears, saying it’s a private matter, know that you too are accomplices to violence.”
