Women of Ikwuato Idembia community, Ezza South local government area of Ebonyi state Thursday raised alarm over the increasing rate of rape and other violence against women in the area.
The community women lead by Nkiru Nwafor as a result of the mayhem sent Save Our Souls (SOS) to their traditional ruler, HRH Martin Nweke, and Town Union President of the community, Friday Agbo calling for their intervention to protect women especially young girls.
The women said rape and defilement were on a steady rise in Ikwuato Idembia with their daughters constantly raped by their fathers while married woman after engaging themselves in hard labour in the day time will come back to be forced into sex by their husband who doesn’t even care for her welfare.
Mrs Nkiru Nwafor, Women President of the community while speaking at Onueke the headquarters of Ezza South local government area of the state during European Union-United Nation’s (EU-UN) Spotlight Initiative Programme on the elimination of violence against children, women, and girls in the local government organized by National Orientation Agency(NOA) with support from the Spotlight Initiative.
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She said they reported to the Traditional Ruler and Town Union President as only those that can bring the crime and other forms of violence against women and girls in the area to a halt.
She said “violence against women is a frequent occurrence in our community. Men have been perpetrating violence against women and girls in our place. In August this year, a man attempted to kill our fellow women and we revolted against him. We protested and wanted to demolish his house and banish him from our community before the government came to his rescue. We took him to the police station and he wrote an undertaking that he won’t do it again.
“Rape and violence are very common now in our community to the extent that fathers rape their daughters. We have taken the matter to our traditional ruler and our town union President to act fast before they will rape all our girls. That our town union President is even taking one of the rape cases in our community now, he is taking it in the court.
“We are waging war against this and we are campaigning that all our girls should go to school so that they can resist this violence of a thing. We have resolved that we will resist any man that tries to beat his wife, we are serious about it.
“We passed a resolution August last year against and the men have seen reason with us that it is bad to perpetrate violence against them. The men have even resolved that women must be in our traditional ruler’s cabinet for decision making. They said that we are the people that will make laws and they will stand on it”.
Elder Helen Eze, another woman from the community while lamenting the increasing rate of violence against women and girls, called for the promotion of girl child Education noting that women Education is the best empowerment to end the violence.
Eze further family planning noting that poverty is also a contributor to violence against women in the state.
Earlier, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Desk Officer, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Uchenna Unah urged the women to unite and fight all forms of violence against them.
He urged the women to ensure proper upbringing of their children especially their girl ones to ensure they know their rights and resist violence against them by men.
