Int'l Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women

COMBATING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AS THE WORLD MARKS THE INT’L DAY FOR ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

     
Today Wednesday November 25, the global community is commemorating the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women. From November 25 – the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to December 10 – the Human Rights Day, the sixteen (16) days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world.

      
A woman can be defined as a female human being. In the same vein, violence is defined as a behaviour involving physical force or emotional maltreatment intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone/something. On the other hand, a society is an organization of people who have the same or similar interest/aim; the overall people in a particular area or locality can also be referred to as a society.

      
Undoubtedly, no society in existence can be said to be complete if a woman is yet to be found in it, regardless of its nature or size. We can testify to this fact by considering how a woman came into the world. Of course it is no longer news that having created man, God the creator thought it wise to form a woman from the rib of a man; this was so because God realized of what benefit a woman would be to a man in any society/arena he finds himself.

      
A family for instance – a nuclear family precisely, which remains the smallest society on earth, can never strive successfully or attain to its anticipated height if a woman is missing. Realistically, a family cannot be formed in the first place if a woman is nowhere to be found.

       
And along the line having created or formed a family with the help of a woman, if she eventually dies, the affected family will live to suffer the vacuum her eternal demise has created. This implies that, psychologically, no widower can boast of being a happy man, especially a situation where the late wife left some kids behind.

       
Sometimes even when the widower has gotten married to another woman, provided the late wife left some indelible footprints behind such as the kids or that she was made up of some irreplaceable features, he shall remain in an unending emotional trauma until he is being compensated with one thing or the other by the Almighty.

        
Ab initio, the womenfolk has been considered to constitute the integral part of the wider society. It is obvious that a social gathering or union cannot achieve an effective and efficient goal if the women are not carried along.

         
It might sound a bit controversial but the truth remains that nature had ordained woman to be the most attractive being in any society she happens to be a member or a part of; this is the reason whenever a social group of people intends to pay a courtesy visit to a certain office holder, if they fail to include at least a woman among the delegate, the said outing might end up being fruitless. Why? Simply because the presence of a woman has a natural tendency of arresting the heart of any man irrespective of what the man in question is made up of.

       
The political terrain is not left out. Surely, any man occupying a political position would boldly testify to the fact that his beloved wife is the reason he is striving assiduously and successfully. Suffice it to say that, a woman is indeed in charge of any leadership position even when her impact seems invisible. The   advisory role, both morally and otherwise, a woman plays in the life of a political office holder who happens to be her spouse supersedes whatever advice or counsel he receives from his employees/appointees, or friends and well-wishers, as the case may be.

       
Considering the church, which is an institution as well as one of the oldest societies across the globe, there is no need reiterating the fact that its sustainability from the onset has been possible owing to the effort of the womenfolk. A woman has been proven to be more pious than a man; this is why she remains the engine room towards the uplift of our children’s spiritual lives. And we are all aware that someone or a family whose spiritual life is porous is apparently living like a tree without a single root. Due to the fact that a woman is closer to the church than a man, the easiest way to conscientize a married man toward the uplift of a church is by winning the heart of his wife, since it is obvious that a woman has the key to a man’s heart.

       
Frankly, the role of a woman both in her immediate and wider society cannot be overemphasized. From the aforementioned facts, it can be pinpointed that without a woman, the children cannot be properly raised, be it morally, academically, religiously and what have you. Similarly, without a woman, a man’s social, political and emotional life shall remain incapacitated and in shambles.

     
Acknowledging this fact, it is noteworthy that as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, it is our civic responsibility to ensure that women or girls whom are ubiquitously vulnerable owing to their nature are duly respected as well as safeguarded with a view to strengthening our respective societies and the nation at large. We can contribute our individual quotas by always being conscious of the fact that women are obviously the backbone of any existing society.

     
It is estimated that about thirty-five percent (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual violence by a non-partner at some points in their lives. However, some national studies show that up to seventy percent (70%) of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetimes.

     
Violence against women is a human rights violation; it is a consequence of discrimination against women both in law and in practice, and of persisting inequalities between men and women. Unarguably, violence against women/girls impedes progress in many areas of human endeavour including poverty eradication, curbing contagious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, strengthening peace and security, thereby crippling nation building.

     
Surely, violence against women and girls, which continues to be a global pandemic, is not inevitable; thus, prevention is possible and essential too. Everyone has a responsibility to prevent and end violence against women and girl children, starting by challenging the culture of discrimination that allows it to exist.

     
Similarly, there’s also a compelling need for our legislators to enact a strict and formidable law that would holistically address any form of violence against the members of the womenfolk. The proposed law ought to ensure that anyone at all levels found guilty of any violence against the said group to include rape, battering, female genital mutilation, subjection into prostitution, and what have you, is thoroughly penalized or meant to face a capital punishment. There is no better time than now. Think about it!    

     

COMR FRED DOC NWAOZOR

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