5 hours Ago By Ayoola Olasupo
Chairman of a non-governmental organisation, Innocent Chukwuemeka Chukwuma Empowerment Foundation, Dr Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, speaks to AYOOLA OLASUPO on innovative approaches to tackling gender-based violence in Nigeria What is the motivation behind ICCEF’s participation in the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence? ICCEF stands for Innocent Chukwuemeka Chukwuma Empowerment Foundation. It is a family foundation set up in memory of my husband, Innocence Chukwemeka Chukwuma. He was a renowned social justice crusader, human rights activist, good governance advocate, feminist, philanthropist, etc.
ICCEF was set up a year after he passed, and its vision is to build a society where young people and women are empowered to contribute their quota to make an impact in their community and in the world. The world and our society are made up of two genders; male and female and any form of discrimination, inequality or violence against one gender is going to affect their ability to contribute. How will a young girl grow up to be an empowered adult when she is discriminated against because she’s a girl and not sent to school because her parents believe that sending a girl to school is a waste of time? How can a woman or a young girl be empowered to make an impact if in school she’s sexually abused, if at the workplace, she’s always sexually harassed by employers? A lot of women have been sexually harassed out of their jobs, including married women because it’s not a matter of single girls alone.
Some people have had to say, ‘Let me not work again so that I will not have any problem since this man will not allow me to rest.’ All of this is impacting the lives of women and young girls. We need to add our voice that any society that violates or discriminates against female folks is a society that will not have optimal growth.
That is one of the things that continue to elude us in Nigeria. Look at the House of Assembly; how many women are there? Are people saying that we don’t have qualified women? The next thing they will say is that women did not contest. The question is why didn’t women contest? Even the issue of violence in elections is enough to disarm people.
That is why ICCEF is adding a strong voice in support of the 16 days of activism. If the vision of ICCEF is to be achieved, then violence against men and girls needs to be addressed and brought down to the barest minimum. Even if you don’t eliminate it, we should be able to copy in such a way that little girls are born and allowed to grow, feeling safe, empowered, wanted, and not discriminated against.
Almost 30 years ago in Beijing, China, in 1995, the entire world came together to discuss various issues affecting women. It was known as the 4th World Conference on Women, Beijing, China. At the end of that 4th World Conference, 12 critical areas of concern were identified, one of which was violence against women.
They were not talking about something that is happening in Nigeria only. The global issue is very pervasive but of course, we have our peculiarities in Nigeria. When you have the issue of culture and tradition, it takes it to another level.
Our widows are maltreated; we also have the issue of forceful marriage and early marriage. In politics, they will say a woman is not grown enough and that she is too small to contest, but she is not too small to marry and be called amaria or to be married off at 12 years or 13 years. Can you share some areas where ICCEF initiatives have helped reduce gender-based violence or supported survivors? We have been able to do that through various partnerships.
For example, the Mirabel Centre; the first sexual assault centre; we partner with them to ensure that women or young girls who are sexually abused can access services at Mirabel Centre and Assurance Centre. We have partnered with them to build their capacity, working closely with the authorities of the Federal Medical Centre. Related News Baby convention 2024 empowers parents Why parents shouldn’t give babies phones – Physicians Women affairs minister seeks end to violence against children They do have lots of cases of rape and sexual abuse.
So, through this partnership, we went to the community to create awareness. Now, they are getting cases and are responding. People are getting the help they require.
This partnership project is the way forward. Based on your experience, what do you identify as the biggest challenges in preventing violence against women and girls in Nigeria and globally? Culture is a way of life. Culture is what you and I decide.
For example, you and I may decide that we will stay outside because of the heat inside the house till 10pm, but if we stay outside till 10pm, robbers will attack us. Should we not change the culture, and say by 7pm, we’ll go inside? So that is what culture is. For people, when it comes to issues affecting women, you hear them say that is our culture.
Why should a culture be discriminating against one? For example, any married man who dies in Nigeria is killed by his wife. The only men who die a natural death are those who are not married, but if a woman dies, do they do the same thing to the man? Most times they don’t and that is what makes it discriminatory. If what we do to women is the same as that of men, then no problem.
We must change our attitude to things because change is the only constant thing in life. If we refuse to change, then it will be forced on us. Do you think there should be a special court to try gender-based violence? Yes, there should be a specialised court because on the issue of sexual abuse, most of the victims are children and you don’t want to put them in an open court.
So, there should be a specialised court for gender-based matters so justice is not only done but also seen and fast-tracked. We know that justice delayed is justice denied. Lagos State has started that, and some other states are beginning to have it.
In what other way do you think governments and institutions can strengthen the fight against gender-based violence? They can strengthen it by stopping lip service. Governments should work on the talk. They should set aside funds for gender-based violence.
Setting aside such funds means money that will service the sexual assault centres, courts, the police stations, and then maybe a specialised police team to respond to issues like that. We should stop talking and act. That action includes making funds available to put these things in place.
So, I want the government at all levels; be it local, state, or federal to be part of this. What approaches can be adopted to engage men and boys in eliminating violence against women and girls? We have to work with men and boys. We must engage boys right from the school so that they start developing what we call positive relationships with young girls.
Some children are from abusive homes, and they may think that it is the right thing to do because they see their fathers beating their mothers. We need to engage boys and men; they are our brothers. They are our sons and fathers.
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