Ciroma: My Fight for Women/Child's Rights

NIGERIA

Ciroma: My Fight for Women/Child's Rights

This Day

The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Mariam Ciroma last week commenced a nationwide advocacy tour of the 36 states of the Federation on matters relating to child's rights and discrimination against women starting with NigerState.

Ciroma: My Fight for Women/Child's Rights

That was why we wanted Akpan (Obong Rita Akpan, former minister of Women Affairs) out because since she was minister, she never visited us. And you have started with an advocacy tour which means you know what you are doing. That is why we need politicians on that seat", said Dr Hajiya Ladi Shambo, Director, Niger State National Council on Women Societies (NCWS) and a notable politician in the state on the initiative of the new Minister of Women Affairs and former Senatorial aspirant in Borno State, Mrs Mariam Ciroma to embark on an advocacy tour of the 36 states of the Federation in furtherance of her campaign for a better deal for the Nigerian woman and child with a first stop in Minna, Niger State.

Her campaign essentially is anchored on the need to rid the nation of the various factors militating against the development of the Nigerian women, children as well as other issues that relate to the socio-political and economic environment that impede their growth.

The campaign, according to her, seeks to tackle issues bodering on discrimination against women, women economic empowerment, reproductive health of women (vesico vaginal fistula), female genital mutilation, women and HIV/Aids, and the involvement of state ministry of women affairs in HIV/Aids programming.

Other issues include the adoption of the Child's Rights Act by state Houses of Assembly in tandem with the National Assembly which has since passed a law leading to the establishment of the children's parliament; child labour and child trafficking, street children (alms seekers) known in northern Nigeria as (almajiris) among other areas.

At Minna Government House, Ciroma reminded Governor Abdulkadir Kure of the need to address the aforesaid issues in order to better the lives of women and children in the state.

"The Federal Government and other arms of government including the states have expressed their readiness to work at equality of men and women in fulfillment of the constitutional provisions and international obligations. However, there are still various socio-cultural, economic, political, legal and religious impediments to the promotion and protection of women's rights", she said.

She added "for instance, in the northern part of the country, some provisions of the state sharia criminal laws have not checked discrimination against women although there are provisions in the same law which protect women's rights against discrimination. While in the southern part of the country, there are numerous customary laws and practices- like widowhood rites, women inheritance and succession to property which impede the promotion and protection of women's rights. The problem of rape, acid bath assault, wife battering etcetera continues to be on the increase".

On female genital mutilation, the minister told the governor that early marriage and teenage pregnancies affect the reproductive health of girls and women. The practice, she posited, was sustained due to low literacy, ignorance traditional and religious beliefs which hindered efforts at eliminating the unhealthy practice.

The national baseline survey on harmful and positive traditional practices affecting women and girls in Nigeria conducted in 30 states of the country and the FederalCapitalTerritory revealed the following trend. South West Zone 0.1-93.8 percent, South East Zone, 4.6-95.4 percent, South South Zone, 0.2-79.2 percent, North Central Zone, 6.9-85.5 percent, North East Zone, 3.4-38.8 percent and North West Zone, 6.2-76.2 percent.

Nine states, according to the survey, have so far legislated against the harmful practice notably Delta, Edo, Ondo, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Ebonyi, CrossRiver, Rivers and OgunStates while the House of Representatives passed a bill on the female genital mutilation even as the Senate has had its first reading of the bill on the problem.

The Childs Rights Act proper which was adopted by the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations some years back sought to ensure the survival, development, and participation rights of every child from 0-18 years.

"Your excellency, you may wish to note that due to the nature of Nigerian constitution, the act is only operational at the federal level. Every other state is expected to pass a similar law at its territorial jurisdiction. So far, only 6 states have adopted the Child Rights Act 2003. The states are Ogun, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Nassarawa. The adoption of this Act by states will ensure that children at all levels particularly those at the grassroots level would enjoy their rights as enshrined in the law and to which you and your wonderful wife have shown so much interest and love", she said.

Governor Kure in his response commended the minister for her efforts so far and noted that the child's rights bill before the State House of Assembly was referred to the Council of Ulamas, the apex religious body in the state to take a dispassionate view of issues in the bill as the custodians of culture and religion in the state with a view to making the nessesary inputs before the passage of the law.

On Almajiris or street child beggars, the state chief executive noted that almajiri schools have been streamlined according the laws governing education in the state in such a way that the government would be solely in charge of such institutions like the conventional schools in order to prevent abuse of the rights of the children.

At the Niger State House of Assembly, the Speaker, Alhaji Alhassan Jikantoro assured of the state legislature's resolve to tackle the varios issues raised including the girl child education.

"I want to state that the House is not treating the issue of girl-child education with levity. We are currently working hard to further strenghten the law relating to the withdrawal of female students for either the purpose of marriage or hawking. Our efforts will be consolidated when the Child's Right Act currently receiving the attention of our Council of Ulamas is passed into law".

He said " it may sound worrisome to you by saying the bill is now before the Council of Ulamas. In fact, the attempt is to properly position the bill such that it will not run at variance with the laid down provisions of our religion and the customs of our people".

At the Youth Empowerment Scheme Secretariat, a non governmental organisation run by the wife of the Governor Hajiya Zainab Kure, the Women Affairs Minister urged the women to participate actively in politics as, according to her, political participation by women in the state would help address the problems encountered by women.

"We are here to rub minds with the powers that be in NigerState. We (women) are lagging behind and we have o fight the war ourselves. I ran for Senate in Borno State and when you are fighting a political battle with men, they are not gentle at all", she said, noting that she was in the state in line with the United Nations Convention that seeks to to eliminate discriminattion against women and children.

"As women, we have to appeal to our conscience and send our children to school instead of allowing them to hawk on the streets. All hands must be on deck", she said.

After all said and done, the campaign against discrimintion against women and children would be better situated when the campaign goes beyond the federal level, government houses and state houses of assembly to the core rural areas where the real disadvantaged women and children reside.

Attempts at parading children of the high and mighty in places like children's parliament as representing the target women and children amounts to a cosmetic panacea to the issue at hand. The Child's Rights Act must also get down to the third tier of government or local government councils to ensure that efforts geared towards addressing the problems of child trafficking, discrimanation against women, varginal vesticular fistula, HIV/Aids are tackled head on.

Eighty percent of the affected women and children in all these categories are the poor that reside in rural Nigeria but the Minister has started well and would also do well to reach the actual target audience.