As Nigerian women joined their counterparts all over the world to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day, Lagos State Government Thursday pledged its readiness to partner with Civil Society organisations and rights activists in the fight against women and child abuse saying the State has instituted appropriate laws to protect their rights. The State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, who made the pledge at the Lagos House, Ikeja while receiving Women Arise For Change Initiative, a coalition of women activist groups led by Dr. Joe Odumakin, said as the first to domesticate the Child Rights Law among the 36 states of the Federation, Lagos State has demonstrated its readiness to support any struggle to advance the cause of women and children in the State. She recalled that when the Bill was before the State House of Assembly, she was then the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and, as a former member of the State House of Assembly, she lobbied the House maximally to ensure the quick passage of the Law. The Deputy Governor, who stood in for the State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), noted that any abuse against children was an abuse against the society and the nation at large pointing out that the child of any nation represents the future and continued existence of that nation. She said Lagos State has also gone beyond the domestication of the Child Rights Law to carry out advocacy among the populace in order to educate the people about their rights and what they should do in the event of being abused by anybody adding that this has culminated in the issuing of the Yellow Card for the prevention of Child Abuse in Lagos, an advocacy card containing the Rights of Children and women under the Law and the options open to them for redress in the event of abuse of those rights. The Deputy Governor also listed other areas in which the Lagos State Government has intervened in favour of the rights and protection of children and women to include free and qualitative Education for children up to the secondary school level, establishment of Skill Acquisition Centres where the women and young girls can be trained in various skills to enable them be self-supporting. “We are doing everything to ensure that the children have very good learning environment. We are training their teachers and we are training the students also and giving them enabling environment for learning, for development and for protection”, the Deputy Governor said. She appealed to parents to report cases of abuse of their children to the appropriate authorities pointing out that it would be difficult for Government to act on any matter which it does not hear about. “Look at the Yellow Card, our numbers are there, our e-mail addresses are there. Send your message to us and you can be sure our rescue team will be there within the hour to rescue you”, the Deputy Governor said. According to the Deputy Governor, “We carried out the advocacy programme to ensure that nobody will claim that he or she does not know that there is a Law on Child Rights in place in the State”, adding that the monitoring team makes no less than 10 arrests a day. “Any child being abused cannot attain his or her full potential. That is why, as a Government, we owe it a duty and seek the support and collaboration of other stakeholders to ensure that we protect their rights and give them the maximum development they require”, the Deputy Governor said. Congratulating the women on the event of the day, the Deputy Governor said the Day should be used as an opportunity for women to come together and review their past activities in order to chart a new course for the protection and development of women and children, especially the girl child. In his remarks at the occasion, Convener of Save Nigeria Group, Pastor Tunde Bakare, appealed to all Nigerians, especially those who have to work with women, children and young girls and boys, to respect their rights of existence and other rights pointing out that violation of those rights amount to taking laws into one’s hands. Pastor Bakare, who recalled that he lost his father at the age of two, noted that it was his mother that singlehandedly brought him up and that incident earned his great respect and honour for women adding that if his mother had been violated, she would probably not have been able to render that service. “We are appealing to all Nigerians, fathers, mothers, teachers at school and rapists themselves to consider that without women, no rapist would have been born in the first place, to have respect for womanhood and to begin to treat them with respect”, the Cleric said. Calling on the government at all levels to ensure that laws against child abuse are implemented to the letter, Pastor Bakare declared, “All that we have at our disposal is the laws to ensure that no rapist gets away unpunished; that the laws are so implemented that our daughters and our sons will be protected”. He thanked the Lagos State Government for welcoming the group to the State House pointing out that the decision to lead the group to Lagos House was “because we know you are a responsible and responsive Government. That is why every time, we take joy in coming to Lagos State Secretariat because we know that not only will you do something about it, but you will give us all the necessary boost to ensure that this is done”. Also speaking at the event, another woman activist, Professor Remi Sonaya, called on the girls and young women to de-emphasize attention on their bodies pointing out that there is far more in a girl than her body. According to her, “There is a lot going on around us today, people focusing so much on the bodies of the girls, complementing them for their looks, the way they dress and all these get into the heads of these girls and they grow up thinking that all that matters in a woman is her body. This is a lie. Girls, there is far more to you than your body”. “The girls must remember this and they must fight it. If there is anybody paying attention to you just because of your body, you must rise up and say no. There is your intellect. There is a lot you can contribute to the development of this nation”, she advised, adding that both the girls and the boys must aim high. She also thanked the Lagos State Government “for all the incredible work you are doing”, adding, “We look at you and we are encouraged because we know that change is possible even in Nigeria. She prayed that God would continue to bless the efforts of the State Government. Another Human Rights Activist, Comrade Femi Aborishade, in his remarks, stressed on the future of young people in the country pointing out that Education is the future of the children and vice versa. “Any child that lacks Education has no future”, the Activist said pointing out that although the Child Rights Act prohibits Child Labour, this would not be possible if the child lacks Education. Earlier in her opening remarks, President of Women Arise for Change Initiative, Dr. (Mrs.) Joe Odumakin, said the occasion was an opportunity to appreciate the Lagos State Government for the tremendous work it has done towards the advancement of the rights of women and children pointing out that aside being the first to domesticate the Child Rights Act, it has gone ahead to issue the Yellow Card initiative to further deepen the implementation of the Act and protection of women and children in the State. Also present at the occasion were the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Lanre Babalola, Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Raji among other members of the State Executive Council, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, Human Rights activists, including leaders of Civil Society groups, Nollywood actors and actresses and other top government functionaries and stakeholders. rainbirdfoundation.org/take-stand-end-child-abuse
Posted on: Sun, 01 Sep 2013 11:21:51 +0000
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