Int’l Women’s Day: House Condemns Gender Based Violence, Discrimination

The House of Representatives at its plenary on Tuesday condemned all forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and discrimination against women, including forced marriages, genital mutilation, and other forms of injustices.

The House on the occasion of the 2016 International Day for Women also pledged its and encouragement to efforts that are in support of women who are victims of GBV.
These followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (Abia PDP) who also called for the promotion of gender parity to ensure that women are given the same opportunities and motivation in work places.

She expressed concern at statistics of physical and sexual violence against women and girls, adding that it is still alarming that forced marriages and female genital mutilation are still practiced in the country.

Onyejeocha noted that while there may have been some improvements as evidenced by the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act and the Child’s Rights Act, she added that there are still a lot of societal barriers hindering women from achieving their full potentials.

Hon. Nnenna Ukeje (Abia PDP) cited several statistics showing that women remain disadvantaged in Nigeria and across the world.
She argued that no country would meet up with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) without gender equality.

“By this debate, we are not trying to assert the superiority of one gender over another… We do not want to argue over the legality of affirmative action, equal opportunities for both sexes to reach their full potentials,” she said.
“lLet me assure my colleagues that this is a conversation that will go on and on because as women, we have come to realise that success is based on persistence,” Ukeje added.

In the same manner, Speaker Yakubu Dogara has called on political parties to provide room for more political participation and representation from Nigerian women.
He assured that the eighth assembly would push gender friendly legislation to improve the lot of women in all sectors of the economy.
Dogara in a statement noted that the needs of women are reflected in the ongoing constitution review.

“Women make up over half of Nigeria’s population, and their contribution to sustaining democracy has been very meaningful. According to the nation’s electoral umpire, INEC, women vote in larger numbers than their male counterparts and we therefore owe it as a duty to our women to neither trivialise nor ignore their challenges,” he said.

“The representation of women in government leaves a lot to be desired, but on our part, the women in the House hold key positions in their respective committees and this is just one step towards demonstrating that indeed, the eighth House does not subscribe to gender bias and acknowledges the strength in not just the women who are members, but in Nigerian women as a whole,” Dogara added.