The Justice, Peace, and Development Initiative of the Catholic Diocese of Ekiti has urged women to increase their participation in politics, with the goal of addressing and correcting various injustices and inequities in the political arena.
Rev. Sis Agatha Ogbuagu, Assistant Director of JPDI, urged women to take a more active role in politics during the quarterly women’s dialogue in Ado Ekiti on Thursday.
A recent event, held in Ekiti State, brought together gender rights activists and local government gender officers from all 16 council areas to discuss the crucial role women play in addressing gender-based violence.
Participants at the programme held in conjunction with the European Union Democratic Governance in Nigeria Programme Phase II, were also given free training on the challenge of the high prices of tomato and pepper, through home farming using sacs and organic methods.
Ogbuagu frowned on the level of women’s participation in politics which she described as “low and negatively impacting on the country,” including the outcome of the fight against GBV, and charged women to “stand up and defend yourselves, encourage other women.”
She said, “Women have been marginalised, we have been deprived, that is gender-based violence. Because we are women, we are relegated to the background, it is a great abuse.
“That is why we want this abuse to stop and we are encouraging women to rise. We have all it takes to lead the nation.
“God created us male and female. So both genders should contribute. We see things differently, the way a male looks at things is different from a female. In politics, it is the same thing and that is why we are having the problems.
“We don’t have much women to look at things from the perspective of a woman. That is why we are suffering. Unless we allow women and men to complement each other in politics and government, things will continue like this. That is why we are encouraging women to come out and make things better for us.”
Ogbuagu, who said the culture of silence and fear of stigma remained among the reasons domestic violence thrived in homes and families, said, “We should shun what people will say and liberate ourselves from bondage by speaking out.
“When people speak out and culprits are punished, this will serve as a deterrent to others. Women, let us encourage one another, if you have friends going through all these, let’s encourage them to speak out.
“Let’s tell people to speak out without stigmatising them so that they can be liberated. Let us support one another to voice out for our mental stability,” she said.
Anthony Adeusi, a JDPI legal officer, lauded Ekiti State’s commitment to fighting GBV and called for a change in the cultural narrative that silences women.
She stressed that changing this mentality is essential to boost women’s participation in politics.
