Abiodun Nejo
The National President of International Federation of Women Lawyers, Amina Agbaje, has solicited the support of religious leaders in taming violence against women and girls in Nigeria.
Agbaje said the ‘escalating’ violence against women and girls in Nigeria was fueled by faith, culture, economic, and discriminatory traditions and societal norms.
She spoke at a two-day annual dialogue on Gender-Based Violence with the theme, “Engagement, coordination and sharing of lessons on GBV prevention between religious, traditional and government leaders in Nigeria”, organised by FIDA, Ekiti State Chapter in partnership with Ford Foundation in Ado Ekiti, on Friday.
The FIDA national president said, “The escalating violence against women and girls in Nigeria is fueled by a complex interplay of faith, culture, economic, political, historical and other social factors, discriminatory traditions and societal norms”.
Agbaje charged religious leaders to serve as change agents and advocates of women and girls’ rights, abdicate social norms and beliefs of their members through effective messaging and campaigns.
The FIDA Chairperson in Ekiti State, Oyinade Olatunbosun, who sought religious leaders’ involvement in the prevention of GBV, stressed the need for collective attention and advocacy to end the scourge.
Copyright PUNCH
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: health_wise@punchng.com
The post Women lawyers blame religion, culture for gender-based violence appeared first on Healthwise.