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By Amaechi Okonkwo
As the world begins the 16 days of activism on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, women in Nigeria have been urged to break the culture of silence and embrace a strong campaign against the global menace of violence against them.
Pastor Ngozi O. Odukwe-Ighoseube, a legal luminary and women rights activist, gave this charge in Port Harcourt, Thursday, during the opening ceremony of activities, sponsored by TotalEnergies, and organized to mark the 16-day activism on elimination of violence against women.
Odukwe-Ighoseube, who was a resource person at the event, said that everyone has the responsibility to end violence against women, as she challenged women to speak out against any incidence of violence against them or their fellow women.
Speaking on the topic, ‘Eliminating Violence against Women,’ she said the challenge of violence against women “is no longer something we should keep quiet about. It’s something we should be very vociferous about”.
Observing that violence against women was not an African challenge but a global issue, Odukwe-Ighoseube challenged women to take steps to improve their socio-economic and political worth as a way to protect themselves against violence, adding, “you cannot protect what you don’t know about. The degree of our knowledge determines the extent of our freedom”.
She also called for the diligent enforcement of all available legislations on violence against women and review of those that have lacunas against their implementation, while urging the men folk to join the battle to protect women from violence.
In an address, Mr. Obi Imemba, director, JV Assets, TotalEnergies, advocated a multi-dimensional approach by stakeholders to end violence against women across the globe, adding that that is the only way the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 can be achieved.
The UN SDG 5 advocates for gender equality and women empowerment. But Mr. Imemba believes that increasing violence against women is a hindrance against the achievement of that goal.
Imemba who was represented at the occasion by Chuka Elenwa, acting manager, Community Relations, Offshore & Port Harcourt City, said that eliminating violence against women required the common efforts of stakeholders in all dimensions.
He said; “We need to work in synergy to achieve this common goal and this will not be possible if we continue to allow violence against women to persist. This issue concerns us all and requires concerted and urgent effort and action”.
He emphasised that elimination of violence against women is not just about stopping women from being beaten by their husbands at home. “It is about the young woman who cannot walk the streets of the city where she grew up for fear of being raped. It is about the woman who is battered for allegedly dishonouring a family member”.
He went on; “This is about the woman who is tortured, mutilated, or killed, sometimes before her very birth for the simple fact of being a female. It is about women who are molested, harassed and bullied in office”.
He said that TotalEnegies has evolved a policy aimed at promoting gender equality and against office harassment, adding that, “As part of the group’s drive against gender equality, it has set an objective of having 30% of women in executive and senior management positions by the year 2025”.
