The First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has expressed sorrow at the continued abduction of women and girls by insurgents and bandits in the country.
In a message she released to mark the 2021 edition of International Women’s Day on Monday, she said that she is not unaware of the impact the action has on reversing the gains already made on girl child education.
She stated: “Away from COVID-19, women and girls in Nigeria have continued to suffer abductions both in the hands of bandits.
“As a mother, I share the sorrow and agony of the victims and their families. I am also not unaware of the impact that these abductions could have in reverting many successes we have hitherto achieved, especially in terms of girl-child education and early marriages.
“I call on all stakeholders to continue to exert their different levels of influence and bring these abductions to an end and to assure that girls are safe anywhere they may find themselves.”
Mrs Buhari observed that the 2021 edition of International Women’s Day offers yet another opportunity for humanity to review and reflect on progress made on issues of women and girls.
She observed that this year’s theme: “Women In Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World,” is a strong call to appreciate the efforts of women and girls in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
She noted that COVID-19 has had a huge impact on women, disrupted education and careers, job losses, a descent into poverty, and proliferation of domestic violence.
The wife of the president added: “Many have also died or suffered due to lack of access to basic information on the pandemic. It is therefore important, not just to continue spreading the message of the COVID-19 protocol, but to also remember and support those who have been affected negatively by the pandemic in one way or another.”
She expressed her best wishes to women all over the world for their resilience, hard work, and commitment to the progress of humanity.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government says it is working towards the establishment of specialized courts and judicial divisions as part of efforts aimed at addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the country.
Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, (SAN), made this known while speaking at a virtual session on “Special Event on Gender Dimensions of Criminal Justice Responses to Terrorism” organized by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime as part of events commemorating the International Women Day held at Kyoto, Japan on the 8th day of March 2021.
Dr. Umar Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations to the minister said in a statement, on Monday, that
Malami inaugurated an Inter-Ministerial Management Committee on Eradication of SGBV last year to address the crime.
He said, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, the Complex Case Group under the Office of the AGF leads in the efforts to bring suspected terrorists to justice and also work to include sexual violence-related charges against Boko Haram suspects in collaboration with the military, police, and other security service investigators from the multiagency Joint Investigation Centre, in North-East Nigeria.
Malami said the current administration also knows that giving a voice to women is an important aspect of development as women are important agents of positive change and noted with dismay that terrorist groups continue to kidnap and commit sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls.
He noted that preventing these crimes and bringing those who commit these acts to justice remains a priority of the Federal Government and added that the perpetrators targeted this group of people possible to scare them from schooling.
“The Nigerian Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies are working day and night to combat insecurity, terrorism, kidnapping, and abduction of people in the country. We must work to prevent both male and female perpetrators from carrying out these acts and support those who have been victims,” he said.
In another development, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu, said women deserve a future free from any form of violence.
The Deputy Director Public Affairs of the Commission, Fatimah Agwai Mohammed, said in a statement that the Executive Secretary who stated this on the eve of the International Women Day said women are the reason for the growth of the human race and play a crucial role in the development and, “Deserve an equal future free from stigma, stereotype, and violence; the future that is sustainable, peaceful with equal rights and opportunities for all.”
The NHRC boss said this year’s theme, “Choose to Challenge” is apt, noting that we must all be ready to support the fight against inequality in all its ramifications and collectively help to create an inclusive world.
“Let’s all choose to challenge inequality and violence against women, equality for women is progress for all, countries with a higher level of gender equality have higher economic growth and better protection for rights of women.”
The human rights boss said as an institution mandated to promote and protect human rights; the Commission has in recent time passionately chosen to focus on issues affecting women, especially Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) which he described as one of the major impediments to the development of any society.
According to the Executive Secretary, the Commission has done a lot to address the issue of SGBV in so many ways including; setting up a Special Investigation Panel on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, made up of experts in the field of gender-based violence.
He called on the government to put machinery in place to “provide security in our public schools to encourage more girls to acquire education, as educating a girl child is educating a whole nation,” and to also implement safe the school declaration program as it would enhance the standard of education which in the long run will be beneficial to the girl child and the society at large