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The National President, International Federation of Women Lawyers, Mrs Amina Agbaje, has condemned the grassroots structures escalating violence against women.
Agbaje, who traced persistent violation of women’s rights to “deeply rooted patriarchal structures and cultural practices,” charged traditional leaders to harness their unique influence and understanding of local contexts to prevent gender-based violence and promote women’s rights.
Agbaje, represented by Ekiti State FIDA Chairperson, Oyinade Olatunbosun, spoke in Ado Ekiti on Friday during a two-day “Annual Dialogue with Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers on preventing violence against women and girls organised by FIDA Ekiti State Branch in collaboration with Ford Foundation.
She said, “We condemn the grassroots structures that escalate violence against women and girls in Nigeria. Our goal with this dialogue is to empower traditional leaders to act as change agents and advocates, advancing women’s rights and reducing gender-based violence at the grassroots level”.
Speaking in a chat, Olatunbosun, who sought traditional leaders’ involvement in ensuring GBV was prevented from occurring in their different communities, harped on the need for collective attention and advocacy to end the scourge.
She said, “Traditional leaders have critical roles to play in the prevention of occurrence of GBV. They can, with the use of their influential positions in the different communities, help raise awareness to prevent all forms of domestic violence against women and girls”.
The FIDA chairperson said the yearly dialogue was supported by the Ford Foundation to strategise with the traditional leaders on how to curtail the factors that promote GBV in Ekiti State thus preventing it from happening.
FIDA Nigeria’s Senior Programmes Officer and Project Leader of the Ford Foundation-supported initiative, Rita Lasoju, expressed optimism about the impact of the dialogue in achieving the goal of preventing GBV from occurring.
Lasoju said, “We are hopeful that our traditional leaders, as community gatekeepers, will provide actionable strategies for GBV sensitization campaigns and platform-building to enhance women’s leadership. Continuous collaboration across states and communities is essential if we aim to create lasting change”.
A traditional leader and the Aremo of Ado Ekiti, Chief Olanrewaju Ishola, said that the Ewi of Ado Ekiti Palace had standing orders with dedicated roles for women, men, and youth leaders, serving as advocates and enforcers of anti-violence measures.
Isola, who identified drug abuse as a major contributor to GBV, lauded government awareness campaigns against drug abuse.
The traditional leader made a case for respectful dialogue within families, emphasising that “men should see women as supportive partners rather than adversaries”.
