In line with the international day for the elimination of violence against women celebrated every year on November 25, the First Lady and President of African First Ladies Peace Mission, Dame Patience Faka Jonathan (Mama Peace), has called on Africans and their leaders to stop the violence against women and respect their self-dignities as humans.
She made the call when the leadership of National Council of Women’s Societies Nigeria (NCWS) and Women for Change and Development Initiative, paid her a courtesy call recently.
Mrs Jonathan used the auspicious occasion to drum support for effectively curbing and preventing abuses and violence against women.
She said that during war situations women suffer the most, adding that violence against women is a human right violation, which is also a consequence of the discrimination in law and practice against them, along with the inequalities they suffer in the society.
According to her,the suppression of women in many forms, has greatly impeded growth and development of women, and has also resulted in poverty in the regions prone to these abuses.
Also, she made a clarion call on women non-governmental organizations, NGOs, across the globe, to rise up to the challenge by bringing these issues to the front burner, reiterating that “abuses against women are preventable.”
The year’s campaign is: ‘Unite to End Violence Against Women’ and a date set aside to commemorate the Mirabal Sisters, three political activists, who were brutally assassinated in 1960 during the reign of Rafael Trujillo, the ruthless dictator of the Dominican Republic for much of the mid-20th century.
