Forced Marriage, Sexual Harassment, Traditional beliefs and other Non-consensual acts have been identified as some of the Gender-Based Violence rampant in Africa.
To this end, the Federation of Women Lawyers known as FIDA, supported by the Ford Foundation, has dialogued with Men who are Traditional Chieftaincy Title Holders to checkmate Violence against Women and Girls at One Day Biannual Shared Learning Forum in Ado Ekiti.
In her Opening remark, the FIDA Country’s Vice President, Mrs Aminat Agbaje, noted that the engagement with traditional chieftaincy titleholders became imperative to create a counter-narrative against the trend of maltreatment.
Mrs Agbaje, whose address was delivered by Ekiti State Chairperson, Mrs Oyinade Olatunbosun, expressed disappointment that in some communities in Nigeria, women are denied family inheritance and access to some Leadership positions.
“By this Dialogue, it is intended to engage men across the spectrum of focal communities biannually to have shared understanding on violence against women and Girls to ensure preventive strategies” She Said.
In her Contribution, the FIDA Project Team Leader in Abuja, Mrs Rita Lasoju, said Local Legislation played a Vital role in addressing Gender Baslence within Communities, hence the need for such to be formulated as a strategy for preventing the menace of violence against Women and Girls.
Earlier, the Programme Coordinator of FIDA Nigeria in Abuja, Mr Fikih Obaro, suggested the need for traditional institutions to come up with practicable solutions by playing an important role in the stoppage of violence against women because they are influential and occupy respectful positions in their communities.
Participants at the one-day Bi-annual event are Men with Traditional Chieftaincy Titles from across the sixteen local government areas of the state.
