Maureen Okpe
Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, has called for a quick and national response to parenting and caregiving as a panacea to stemming the tide of gender-based violence in Nigeria.
The minister expressed this in Lagos on Tuesday during the climax of the 2024 commemoration of 16 days of activism in Lagos, supporting sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) survivors in partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The minister who spoke compassionately to the survivors urged them not to be deterred by their current situations but to look beyond them and be determined to stand on their feet again as survivors.
She added that she would not get tired in her advocacy to protect women and children because it is a calling, and that is why she and other partners, take pleasure in doing what they are doing passionately.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim urges the survivors to always speak out wherever they find themselves because it is no fault of theirs that they are victims.
She said, “What we are doing is a calling, and that’s why we are not tired. It’s a responsibility, and we want to make impacts.
“I also like to appreciate the survivors. It’s important you speak out because it’s not your fault that you are a victim or that it happened to you.”
The minister added that strengthening and streamlining policies will also serve as an impetus in preventing gender-based violence, noting that economic empowerment is the quickest way to stop abuse of all sorts against women.
She vowed to use her position as Women Affairs Minister to support every Nigerian woman and child in line with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in their quest to protect their rights and privileges.
According to her, the national response to parenting and caregiving is key to achieving the mandate, and nobody should say that Nigeria has not achieved anything in this regard.
“We may not have gotten the 35 percent affirmative action on women, but we have made tremendous progress, and this administration will consolidate what we have achieved and also increase what we have on the ground.
“Inequality, gender parity can be solved with economic empowerment.” She further said,
“We need to get our policies right, and there has to be synergy. I like to address the economic empowerment angle. When a woman is empowered, she can’t be abused.”
“Action is now, and it can’t wait because time is going. Social protection for our women, girls, and boys is essential. There is no manual for parenting. It is either a hit or a miss. It’s a mandate at both national and subregional levels. We must strengthen our legal instruments.
” Nothing should make any man beat a woman any longer because it is barbaric.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim thanked the Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for always supporting initiatives that are strengthening the empowerment of women in the state and for continuing the legacies and growth trajectory of the Lagos State Government.
“Let me say it today. Your governor is one of my role models. He maintains legacy. I don’t like spoilers, and he supports activities that empowers women.”
On a final note, I thank the Honourable Commissioner, Hon Cecilia Bolaji Dada who is spearheading the fight against GBV in the state and also ensuring that survivors are equipped economically to be self-sufficient.
“May we all continue to speak up to safeguard our children in order to have a better society.
Some of the survivors took turns to speak on their ordeals and how they had been helped to overcome their initial fears, while the minister gave the survivors gift items as her token of support and urges them to keep soaring by making the best use of the little resources they have.
Some.of the Minister’s entourage included Princess Jummai Idonije, Hajiya Hadiza Maina, Hajiya Ruqayat Mohammed among others.