GBV: Traditional rulers’ wives urged to champion fight against GBV

Wives of traditional rulers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have
been urged to be at the fore front of the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the country.

Hajiya Hauwa Yunusa, the wife of the Ona of Abaji and Chairperson, FCT Traditional Rulers’ Wives Association, made the call at a one-day awareness creation on GBV and COVID-19 in Abuja on Thursday.

The event, which took place at Dei-Dei Comprehensive Health Centre,
Abuja, was organised by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), in partnership with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and wives of traditional rulers in the territory.

Yunusa, who described women as an indispensable group in the community, urged the traditional rulers’ wives to intensify the fight against GBV.

According to her, there can never be a nation without women, stressing that “no woman, no nation.”

She commended UNFPA and its partners for engaging traditional rulers’ wives and promised to take the message to the grassroots.

The UNFPA Gender/GBV Specialist, Dr Zubaida Abubakar, said cases of GBV had increased since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the resultant lockdown, which made families to remain indoors for more than three months.

She, therefore, added that “we are here to sensitise women on GBV and to tell them where to go for help.”

Earlier, Mrs Jacinta Ike, the Desk Officer, FCT Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Response Team, had called for an end to the conspiracy of silence on GBV.

She urged women to always speak out by reporting cases of violence to relevant places to enable them to get access help.

Ike, who described GBV as “traumatising”, listed advocacy, counseling and medical intervention as the way forward.

She added that “if you are victim of rape, please quickly report, don’t cover it so that you can get help.”

Mrs Ezinwa Obiajunwa of Legislative Advocacy on Violence Against Women in Nigeria (LACVAW) emphasised the imperatives of being safety-compliant in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic..

Obiajunwa admonished women, especially nursing mothers, to always wash their hands to avoid infection.

She said “always wash your hands with soap and water if you don’t have hand sanitiser. Also keep safe distance with persons without mask.

“Always remove your shoes any time you come back home to avoid infecting the household,” she said.