Photo: Saheed Balogun, Others Preach On Violence Against Women

 

Popular Nollywood actor, Saheed Balogun, Social activist, Dr. ‎Joe Okei-Odumakin and other Nigerian activists have started a campaign in Lagos against all forms of violence on women.

The campaign, which began on Tuesday at the United States Consulate in Lagos, is themed: “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World : Let’s Challenge Militarism And End Violence Against Women”.
According to Dehab Ghebread, a Public Affairs Officer at the US Consulate in Lagos, the campaign is expected to run for sixteen days to create awareness against all form of violence that results in physical, sexual and psychological harm to either women or men.

“We are here to say stop gender violence. We are here to say stop the proliferation of arms. We are here to say stop conflicts. We are here to say provide help to victims of gender violence,” Ghebread stated at the event.He added: “We are here to say stop using girls as tools. We are here to say stop these horrendous acts.” Continue reading....
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It was also disclosed that from 25 November(International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to 10 December (International Human Rights Day), Nigerian activists will join the international community to increase awareness of the devastating impact of gender violence.
Among Nigerian civil society organisations that are taking part in the initiative are the Centre for the 21st Century Issues, Women Arise, Acts Generation and Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre were present.

 

Dr. ‎Joe Okei-Odumakin of Women Arise who delivered an emotional graphic presentation titled “The Bitter Truth Against Gender-Based Violence” called on Nigerians to stop violence against women and encouraged victims to speak up and seek help.
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To Titilope Akosa of the Centre for the 21st Century Issues, there is need for more funding to help victims of such violence and seek justice for them.
According to Grace Kelefe of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, violence against women is on the increase and legal bottlenecks still persist.
For Nollywood Actor‎ Saheed Balogun, he urged producers of local movies to highlight gender-based violence in Nigeria.