Traditional leaders are crucial in the fight to end violence against women and girls in Nigeria. This is because they are the custodians of the culture, customs, and traditions that exacerbate violence against women and girls. Traditional Leaders, therefore, have the potential to play a positive role in addressing the socio-cultural factors that can either fuel or mitigate violence against women and girls in Nigeria as community gatekeepers.
Despite the many efforts that have been employed to combat gender-based violence, negative cultural practices and customary norms persist in contradiction to the provisions of The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and United Nations basic human rights. One of the biggest challenges is attitudinal change on the part of communities that hold on to harmful practices that perpetuate violence against women and girls such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, barriers in women and girl education, or wife battering.
Chief Gomna Ezra is the traditional leader of the Kurudu community in Abuja. A well-populated community owned by the Gwandara and Gbagyi people. Kurudu also accommodates people from the languages of Ibo, Tiv, Igala, Idoma, Hausa, Yoruba, Mada among others. A visit to the community by the Spotlight Initiative team revealed that the community is densely populated but lacks the basic infrastructural facilities and social amenities to live a happy and healthy life. Unemployment and concentrated poverty underlie men's abusive practices against women in the community.
Through engagement with traditional rulers during the community sensitization, Chief Gomna Ezra was informed of the European Union /United Nations Spotlight Initiative and its significance in addressing gender-based violence, sexual gender-based violence, harmful practices, and child marriage. He saw this initiative as an opportunity for him to support his community in the prevention and ending of violence against women and girls.
He is leading by example as he freely donated a plot of land to support the European Union/United Nations Spotlight Initiative, in setting up a physical Safe Space for women and girls in the Kurudu community, “I have donated this land space in my community to support vulnerable women and girls and assure them of security in the safe space”, he says.
The Safe Space is a key strategy for protecting and empowering women and girls who are victims and survivors of gender-based violence. The main objective of the Safe Space is to create an atmosphere where women and girls can share their experiences, rebuild their confidence by socialization, acquire contextually relevant skills, access multi-sectorial Gender-Based Violence Response Services and Information on issues relating to women’s right and health.
The European Union/United Nation Spotlight Initiative is responding to all forms of violence against women and girls. In Africa, eight (8) priority countries are involved namely Nigeria, Liberia, Niger, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Mali with a particular focus on domestic and family violence, sexual and gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices, child marriage, trafficking in human beings and sexual and economic (labor) exploitation.
At the official launch of the safe space, the monarch decreed “Henceforth, perpetrators of Gender-Based Violence cases reported by victims at the Safe Space will be prosecuted by my Cabinet members and legal actions will be taken against such persons as well” says Chief Gomna Ezra the Hakimi (Traditional Leader) of Kurudu Community.
Chief Gomna Ezra hopes that Traditional leaders will work with the European Union/United Nation Spotlight Initiative to end violence against women and girls in their various communities.
Women and girls are very precious to our communities and should be treated as such