The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has condemned what it described as gender-based attacks on female government officials.
By Chimezie Godfrey
The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has condemned what it described as gender-based attacks on female government officials.
It could be recalled that on 8th January 2024, Betta Edu and Sadiya Umar Farouk were invited by the EFCC over an alleged fraud, while earlier in the month, Halima Shehu was also detained and interrogated.
The three women involved are: Sadiya Umar Farouk, former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development of Nigeria; Halima Shehu, suspended National Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme Agency; Betta Edu, suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development of Nigeria.
In a statement signed on Thursday by its Gender Technical Officer, Zainab Aminu, CITAD observed that the corruption allegation sparked off discussions attacking their personalities on various social media platforms such as Facebook and X.
“Unfortunately, the discussions regarding them took a very disturbing direction with comments that are stereotypical, harassing, insulting, and offensive to the personalities of these women in question. At CITAD, we have documented and analyzed conversations and discussions on the three women and found that most of the comments were not issue-based; rather, they were directing gender-based attacks on the women simply because of their gender. While we are not condemning commentary on the corruption scandal involving the trio, we are, however, urging that the discussions should not warrant attacks on their gender. Some of the gender-based harmful comments we extracted are presented below:
“What a man can steal, a woman can thief better.” “The hijab bandits” new series on efcllix “Meet Sadiya Umar Farouk. The first woman who fed millions of children through WIFI”. “Behind the hijab is the devil” – from X
“CITAD condemns the disturbing gender-specific comments and stereotypes regarding the scandal while stressing that corruption is not gender-specific and calls for a collective, unbiased approach in fighting corruption. The organization advocates for a respectful and fair discourse, urging a focus on facts rather than harmful stereotypes,” she stated.
Aminu added,”Noting the disparity in gender-specific comments compared to past scandals involving male counterparts, CITAD is emphasizing the importance of treating individuals equally within the public discussion space. We would wish to remind the public that the fight against corruption needs a collective approach free from gender biases.
“CITAD hereby calls for a nuanced and balanced discussion, free from harmful stereotypes, and urges stakeholders to exercise caution in making statements that perpetuate such stereotypes while emphasizing the importance of promoting issue-based commentary.”
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