By Comfort Sena Fetrie-Akagbor
Kumbungu (N/R), March 13, GNA – Hajia Fati Seidu Tambro, Executive Director of Sung Foundation, an NGO, has urged traditional leaders to support policies and organisations that promote women’s rights and protect against gender-based violence.
She said it was important for opinion leaders to support government to raise awareness by speaking out against gender-based violence and discrimination against women and girls in society.
She made the call at an awareness forum on gender-based violence and gender equality as part of this year’s International Women’s Day celebration, held at Kumbungu in the Northern Region, organised by Sung Foundation and sponsored by African Women Development Fund.
The event was to enlighten the community on the importance of preventing gender-based violence and promoting gender equality in society.
Hajia Tambro said gender-based violence was a pervasive issue that affected millions of women and girls around the globe, especially in Africa.
She said, “It manifests in many forms such as domestic violence, sexual assault, child marriage, human trafficking, and harmful traditional practices, and for too long, this violence has been shrouded in silence enabling its persistence.”
She emphasised that “Every time we ignore abuse, we perpetuate a cycle of oppression. Every time we hesitate to speak out, we let injustice win.”
She told the participants that it was a collective responsibility to not only support survivors but to challenge the societal norms and systems that allowed such violence to thrive.
Miss Adam Shafawu, Gender and Governance Officer at Sung Foundation, advised parents to start teaching their children good moral behaviour and also gender equality in their homes.
GNA
EA/CA