Church leaders under the leadership of the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN) in collaboration with UNICEF has commenced campaign in six states of Nigeria for an end to violence against women and girls.
According to the Council, the present campaign project focuses on Sokoto, Adamawa, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos, Ebonyi, and Cross River States.
Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday as part of activities commencing the campaign against violations of women and girls rights, the President, Christian Council of Nigeria, who is also the Vice President of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in West Africa (FECCIWA), Most Rev Benebo Fubara-Manuel, said their focus was the rural dwellers.
The cleric disclosed further that they are supported in the campaign by the Students’ Christian Movement as one of their most active associate members.
“It is in this name and these Church groups that we come as over 50 million Christians in Nigeria to work in collaboration with UNICEF on this UN-EU spotlight initiative towards ending violence against women and girls. For us and for UNICEF, this is in furtherance of our previous collective effort between 2017 and 2019 in ending violence against children with the support of USAID and the European Union,” the clergy added.
He said they were not convinced that the governments of the nations of the world are sufficiently tackling the challenges with respect to violence against women and girls.
“Clearly, our country is not winning in this battle. But it should win. We have all it takes to have a secure country and to end all forms of violence especially that against women and girls. The political and social systems are not skewed in their favour but rather against them.
“The religious systems worsen their plight even when claiming to be the agents of liberation. We regret all these and set ourselves in the path of change. We commit, therefore, to directly, personally and communally opposing all systems of marginalization that we have inherited or set up or that we are presently designing or setting up. We commit to promoting practices and establishing institutions that would allow women and girls to flourish in all ways – spiritually, physically, sexually, emotionally, and psychologically,” Fubara-Manuel said of the campaign.
Also speaking, the chairman of CCN, Adams Mutuwa, said violence against women and girls is as old as humanity, adding that they were determined as religious leaders to end the menace through engagement with members of the church that are also policymakers.
“We are targeting six states in the first phase and we will reach the grassroots. After we completed the campaign in the pilot states, the sensitisation will continue,” Mutuwa stated.