Empowering Women for Excellence Initiative, with support from UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, has sensitised women of Unguwan Dosa and Romi communities in Kaduna against Gender Based Violence (GBV).
The Technical Adviser, Monitoring and Evaluation, Accountability and Learning of the NGO, Jelilat Abidoye, on Thursday in Kaduna, said the sensitisation seminar is to build the capacity of women to courageously, and dedicatedly mobilise community support in addressing GBV.
She said the seminar is also aimed at supporting the development and empowerment of women and girls in the two communities to address domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape, among other issues.
Abidoye noted that they are working with women in Unguwan Dosa and Romi communities in the project, tagged “Our Safe Spaces” because of the prevalent cases of GBV and the economic disadvantaged position of the women in the communities.
“We also chose the two communities based on geographical location, Unguwan Dosa from Kaduna North and Romi from Kaduna South to ensure inclusion”
“In our two years of ‘Our Safe Spaces’ project, we have so many reported cases of domestic violence from the two communities”
“As a result, we established the GBV desk in our office. The women have been sensitising other members of their communities, translating to more women coming out to reveal their experiences in their homes and communities”
“Women in the northern part of the country are very conservative; they are, however, learning to express themselves or talk about issues; it is a gradual process but we need to make a swift progress because a lot of women are not aware of abuses and the laws”
“They, however, gradually know their rights and are more willing to speak out because they know there are legal backings concerning GBV,” she said.
Speaking, Joshua Gonahson, Social Welfare Officer, Kaduna South, expressed concern about some law enforcement agents whom he said allegedly cover up and manipulate reports and investigations on issues of rape and GBV.
He urged parents and guardians of victims of GBV to follow up their cases diligently and not succumb to intimidation by personalities who plead or offer gratification for them to withdraw the cases.
“Sometimes, parents of victims of GBV shield the perpetrators from facing the law at the detriment of victims and the society at large because of meager amount of money offered to them” he said.
Mrs Amina Audi, frowned at some harmful traditional practices meted against the women and girls.
She advised women on the need to prioritize the education of their girl-child and desist from sending their children to work as house maids.
She also urged them to monitor their children’s whereabouts, the kind of friends they keep and their spending habits.
Some of the participants, Fatima Bashir and Asma’u Musa, said they had learnt a lot, especially on processes of reporting GBV issues and how to avoid and save themselves and others from being victims. (NAN)
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