by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
It has been said that Gender-based violence in Nigeria “remains pervasive and deeply rooted” as 1 in 3 women experiences physical or sexual violence in her lifetime.
This was disclosed by UN WOMEN Deputy Representative to Nigeria, Dr. Nesreen El Molla, at the Joint Accountability Forum and Orange/Lightning Ceremony, with the theme, ‘Towards Beijing+30: Unite to End Violence Against Women and Girls,’ which held on Thursday, marking another milestone in the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign.
“This is only what is reported. Harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) persist at alarming rates,” Dr Molia stressed, adding that, “Today’s event is an opportunity for all of us to renew our efforts to advocate for a
Nigeria that is free from violence against women and girls.
“It is also an opportunity to continue to address harmful norms by engaging and working closely with our allies – the traditional and faith leaders, the private sector, and communities – in reshaping the narrative around gender equality.
The Deputy Representative noted that, “Behind every statistic is a woman or girl whose potential has been stifled, whose rights have been violated,” adding that the socio-economic burden of violence against women and girls continues to hinder Nigeria’s growth and development.
“Today is an opportunity to remind ourselves that we need to invest in prevention and response mechanisms to prevent violence against women and girls,” she stated.
According to her, “Nigeria has been leading on the operationalization and domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, now enacted in 35 states. The 1 domestication of the VAPP Act, supported by UN Women, has been a key milestone in combating GBV.”
Dr. Molia explained further that, UN Women has been also investing in providing a holistic package of services to GBV survivors, expanding services, setting up shelters, improving policies and working closely with community leaders to address harmful practices.
According to her, “Through UN Women’s convening role, we work very closely with the UN System and our development partners to jointly address violence against women and girls.
“As co-chairs of the Gender Thematic Group, we are proud to provide a platform to coordinate efforts, showcase achievements, identify gaps, and inspire collaboration for greater impact.
“By celebrating the 16 days of activism to end violence against women, we are also celebrating an important milestone for Nigeria; the launching of the Beijing+30Report serving as an accountability tool to track the progress of Nigeria across the Beijing Platform’s 12 critical Areas of Concern,” she noted.
Dr. Molia was optimistic that, “UN Women is proud to have been a partner and a supporter of the Government of Nigeria in those strategic areas. Despite all progress made, we still have more work to do.
“We still witness a feminization of poverty, morbidity, and mortality. Women represent just 22.4% of Nigeria’s labor force participation. Women’s representation in politics remains low. We still see harmful practices persisting against women at alarming rates,” she observed.
The Deputy Representative further stated that, “Women and girls in Nigeria are still at risk of various forms of violence, and to address these challenges, UN Women remains committed to strengthening its programming efforts, its support institutional frameworks and policies’ reform for gender equality and women’s empowerment, its efforts to scale-up investments in enacting and enforcing policy and legislative reforms that protect women’s rights.”
She assured that, “UN Women will continue to implement programmes that address that basic needs of woman human rights, including the rights to political participation and leadership, the right to economic empowerment, the right of a life free from all forms of violence and the right to have a meaningful role in achieving and sustaining peace and security in Nigeria.”