By Jessica Dogo
Former Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Mrs Julie Okah-Donli says with awareness campaigns, human trafficking will soon be a thing of the past.
Okah-Donli also said the level of rights abuses in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would end very soon.
She said this when Media Coalition and Awareness to Halt Trafficking (MeCAHT), visited her office, alongside somewomen from Keti community, on Thursday in Abuja.
The women were empowered to work against human trafficking, human rights abuses and to know more about hygiene.
“With the level of awareness going on in the FCT through the support of MeCAHT and other organisations, human trafficking will soon be a thing of the past in the FCT.
“This is advocacy and empowerment at the same time. With such initiatives, human trafficking will be a think for the past,” she said.
Okah-Donli advised the women to ensure they report any issue of trafficking to NAPTIP, adding that both boys and girls are raped all the time.
She, however, urged the women to ensure they always monitor their children.
Okah-Donli said: “It is not only girls that face abuse. The boys also face abuse.
“Now that you have been empowered, you have to continue to educate the people about the effects of trafficking. Ensure your children always smell nice.
“Always encourage your daughters to open up whenever they face harassment. Sometimes, women will just carry their children to their neighbor’s house and travel to the market.
“Now that human organs are being stolen, you have to enlighten your fellow women to be close to their children so that anything that happens they will open up to them.”
Okah-Donli said that parents who always beat their sons were training them on how to beat their wives, advising, ”parents should take proper care of their wards and be friendly to them.”
She promised to partner with the Keti community to ensure that health centres were equipped with drugs and other facilities, including Doctors and Nurses.
Okah-Donli said, ”we will also train some women on midwifery to save the lives of the women and children during delivery.”
One of the empowered women from Sabon Lugbe community, Mrs Murna Yusuf, said she now knows more about female hygiene, trafficking and human rights.
“I didn’t know what was human trafficking and human rights before. MeCAHT has educated us and also supported us with funds to start businesses and now, we are making profit and self reliance,” she said.
Also, Mrs Biyaya Samuel, said she was now groomed on human rights, hygiene and human trafficking.
Samuel said that she teaches her children on how to exercise their rights everywhere, adding, ”no one will come to their community and traffic people anymore.” (NAN)
