By Mike Adeyemi
In its bid to curb the spread of Corona virus and to prevent gender based violence in Kwara State, an Ilorin based Non Governmental Organization, International Women Communication Centre (IWCC), has organized a two-week seminar across the 16 Local Government Areas of Kwara State.
The event which had in attendance artisans, and stakeholders from different fields of endeavors, was an initiative meant to create awareness on the need to mitigate the spread of the pandemic and adherence to precautionary measures puts in place by the government.
Speaking during a paper presentation organized by the Association of Caterers and Restaurant Owners on Friday, Dr. Ranti Adebiyi of Department of Quantity Survey, University of Ilorin attributed violence against women to failure from the parents.
According to her, ‘there are many factorial indices that cumulated to the high rate of gender based violence, out of which the role played by parents can’t be under emphasised.
“Like I said, there are lots of factors that lead to violence against women, first of which is economic factors.
“Cultural factors also played a significant role in women violence as a result of not allowing the girl child be in the school which makes them to vend for themselves and this makes them prone to rape,” Adebiyi said.
She added that in order to curb high rate of violence against girl child in the society, parents must stand up for their responsibility by not exposing their wards to things that could expose them to the scourge.
“I want to emphasise that parents should take good care of their children both the girl child and the boys. We often forget the fact that the male that perpetrates the violence in the society have parents.
“We should educate our children to always not be influenced by wrong peers and the government of the day should come up with a severe punishment on rapists in the country, “she concluded.
In the same vein, the Honorable Commissioner for Tertiary Education , Science and Technology, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibo Kawu has also charged the people of Kwara State to rise up to the challenges of violence against girl child in the state.
Modibo stated this while answering questions from our reporter after a sensitization programme held at Mogaji Community in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State organised by International Women Communication Centre.
“All hands must be on desk to reduce the violence against women in Nigeria. We need to go to the grassroots to lend our voices and get our people to know the dangers inherent in violating women’s right.
“The only way to curb rape in Nigeria is by been involved. There must be a much advocacy and awareness to ride the scourge out of our society,” she stressed.
Meanwhile, the Kwara State Chapter of Nigerian Labour Congress Women wing has attributed the high rate in violence against women to the impact of COVID-19.
Mrs. Olaide Ajiboye stated this while delivering lecture on prevention and control of the spread of coronavirus in Nigeria held at NLC House, Ilorin on Saturday.
“The impact of COVID-19 pandemic will be amplified by pre-existing gender differences.
“Pandemics compound existing gender inequities and vulnerabilities, increasing risks of abuse. In times of crisis such as an outbreak, women and girls may be at higher risk, for example, of intimate partner violence and other forms of domestic violence due to heightened tension in the households.
“They also face increased risk of other forms of gender based violence including sexual exploitation and abuse in these situations6” she noted.
