Gender-Based Violence:NGO Awakens Enugu Women To Their Rights
By Wilfred Chukwuma
Community Life Project (CLP), a non-governmental organization has taken an awareness outreach on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) to communities in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The event which was held on Saturday, at the palace of HRH Igwe Raphael Eze of Oblige Obukpa,was aimed at raising awareness, advocating workable solutions and inspiring collective action in GBV, as well as fostering safer communities for all.
Tagged; “The Role of Women Leaders in Nsukka in Building Just and Healthy Families,” Celine Osukwu, the NGO Programme Manager of the GBV project, who led the team to the community, emphasised the need for collective community action to eliminate GBV.
She said that GBV comprises various forms of violence and discrimination including physical, sexual, verbal, and emotional abuse, stating that CLP is challenging inequality and advancing social justice by empowering marginalised grassroots communities.
According to her, “Today, we are having a women’s session on tackling harmful traditional and promoting healthy practices in communities. So, from CLP, our target is eliminating gender-based violence, but we have a unique way of approaching it, which is taking the campaign to the grassroots.
“Our focus is on Enugu and Imo States, and in Enugu, we choose four communities from Nsukka LGA which are Obige Obukpa, Owere obukpa, Ogbagu Obukpa and Ejuona Obukpa communities.
“We have had sessions with traditional rulers, town union presidents, youths, and women groups in Nsukka, and after today our next programme will be with people with disabilities, we are inclusive in our programme, and we want women to be part of the community and be able to know their right and also speak for themselves and amplify their voices,” “she said.
The Programme Manager noted further that CLP was not in the community to institute new laws for them but to empower the community and build a capacity for them to tackle their issues.
“Our aim is to give them all the necessary support, but they are the ones to tackle their issues, they are the ones in the system they know how the issues affect them, so they are the ones that will address the issues by themselves, but we will give them the backing and needed support,” she said.
Also speaking, Prof. Simon Eze, CLP Enugu State coordinator said that the GBV project was programmed to let society know that all human beings are equal, and we should maintain equity, justice and fair play with no discrimination.
Eze, who is one of the resource persons in the Programme stated that the women leaders were trained on the role they should play in building just and healthy families, which according to him is the foundation of a strong and fair society.
“We trained the women on what just and healthy family looks like, characteristics of a just and healthy family, examples of unjust and unhealthy actions and inactions that happen within the family, and how to build up a just and healthy family, among others.
“Tackling gender-based violence requires everyone’s active involvement and that is why we took our campaign to the communities to ensure that no one suffers in silence, and everyone is given a sense of belonging.
“CLP remains poised on its drive to fostering inclusive, violence-free society in rural communities through sustained efforts and community engagement,” he said.
In an interview with some of the participants, Mrs Blessing Chime, Ejuona Obukpa, commended CLP for bringing the training down to their community and noted that the GBV project will go a long way in stopping most of the obnoxious traditions that prevent women from inheriting landed property as well as limiting their social status.
Another participant, Mrs Caroline Ezugwu, from Owere Obukpa, said, that the training had awakened their consciousness to their rights and privileges as women.
She lamented that women are still suffering segregation and marginalization in this 21st century despite numerous campaigns against GBV in society.
She commended the CLP for the various programmes and interventions that have mitigated the violence against women and girls in the country urging them to keep it up. She also urged women in the area to join the campaign for a violence-free society.
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Sam Udekwe is a journalist working in the News and Current Affairs department, Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) Enugu. He is well trained in all genres of journalistic venture.
Mr Sam read Mass Communication, graduating all with Distinction in National Diploma, Higher National Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma at IMT, Enugu and Madonna University, Okija, Anambra state, while he is presently on his M.Sc programme also in Mass Communication, at National Open University of Nigeria.
He is currently the NUJ Chairman, Enugu state.
samowailo@gmail.com
