James Sowole in Abeokuta
In pursuance of its mobilisation of stakeholders’ supports for actions towards ending practices that encourage Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), a Non-Governmental Organisation, Centre For Women’s Health and Information (CEWHIN), took the campaign to Ilaro, headquarters of the Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The enlightenment programme, which was in form of a Town Hall meeting, was held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Ilaro, and attended by stakeholders including religious, traditional and youth leaders as well as leadership of Community Development Associations (CDAs) and others.
Speaking at the meeting, which was a continuation of the programme that started last year, CEWHIN Senior Programme Officer, Julian Afachung, urged stakeholders to join hands in championing the sensitisation campaign on VAWG through individual homes education on right of women to live a healthy and peaceful life without discrimination or intimidation.
The meeting with the theme ‘Partnership for Enhanced VAWG Prevention Among Religious and Traditional Rulers’ was organised by CEWHIN with the support from the Ford Foundation.
She emphasised that all stakeholders must cooperate to ensure that women and girls live a good life without any intimidation or gender discrimination on account of harmful cultural norms.
Participants at the Town Hall meeting identified harmful cultural practices as lack of quality education for women, ignorance, lust for money, inter tribal marriages, lack of pre-marriage family investigation on family background information, religious misconceptions, lack of moral upbringing/teachings by parents, distant parenting and effect of single parenting.
They agreed that there is a need for synergy from all stakeholders to combat harmful cultural practices and erroneous belief systems so as to save women and girls from these barbaric acts.
During the interactive session, stakeholders identified and examined the social pressures system and cultural norms/ stereotype system of beliefs that contributed to harmful cultural violence as well as factors working against effective prevention efforts such as social pressures, ignorance and lack of quality education.
Participants from shared personal experiences observed that some cultural values are still relevant and good for development, but agreed that for the harmful ones enforcement and prosecution alone cannot totally eradicate the practices.
They therefore urged CEWHIN to sustain the education and sensitisation campaign targeted at traditional rulers and religious institutions as well as youths.
The meeting further suggested indepth education and re-orientation programme to parents, traditional rulers and religious leaders through routine engagement, empowering them to champion the crusade on positive cultural values, redefine harmful practices that support human dignity.
While speaking with journalists, the representative of Olu of Ilaro, the Otun Agoro of Ilaro and the Secretary, Olu of Ilaro in Council, Chief Ayorinde Dawotola, explained that women and female gender particularly were being deprived of better development and opportunities to grow unlike their counterparts elsewhere due to these harmful cultural practices and stereotype beliefs system.
“You can see that the focus is on prevention of violence against women and children, girl-child especially, also it addresses some cultural aspects of our life that is against women development, that is very harmful to women development. This is exactly what we have addressed.
“It is a continuous fight I would say, because some of our cultural aspects actually did not give women fair chance to grow and develop,” he stated.
Ayorinde stressed that women go through a lot of challenges because the practices have hindered them. “They could not participate in many things because some things barricaded them from doing it.”
Also speaking on the matter, Mrs. Adelakun Olukemi saidsome mothers are guilty in the case of harmful cultural violence against their children due to their attitudes and choice of parenting. She explained that some mothers are too distant from their children, abandoning them to grow and develop on their own without the basic tutelage.
She added that pre-wedding investigation of family background privileged information which was paramount in the past is not given priority again, attributed to problems of inter-tribal marriages and other strange partners in marital relationships.
Adelakun however warned that mothers should go back home and work on the missing links to save the lives of their children and their future from being victims of circumstances.
The stakeholders further appealed to men to empower their women economically, treat them with love, dignity and respect.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Senior Programme Officer, CEWHIN Julian Afachung, disclosed that the overall aim of the programme is to engage traditional and religious leaders in championing efforts to prevent the spread of violence against women and girls.
She advised the leaders to use their influence responsibly and effectively to save the society.
