The Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, has said that Nigeria has made tremendous progress in addressing the societal ills that limits women and children, adding that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will further strengthen legal instruments that would sustain the fight against sexual and gender based violence.
This, was revealed by the minister in Lagos on Tuesday during the climax of the 2024 commemoration of 16 days of activism supporting sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) survivors in partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The Minister who spoke compassionately to the survivors, urged them to be undeterred by their current situations, and to look beyond them and be determined to stand on their feet again as survivors.
She said, “What we are doing is a calling, and that’s why we are not tired. It’s a responsibility, and we want to make impacts.
“I also like to appreciate the survivors. It’s important you speak out because it’s not your fault that you are a victim or that it happened to you.”
The minister added that strengthening and streamlining policies will also serve as an impetus in preventing gender-based violence, noting that economic empowerment is the quickest way to stop abuse of all sorts against women.
She vowed to use her position as Women Affairs Minister to support every Nigerian woman and child in line with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in their quest to protect their rights and privileges.
“We may not have gotten the 35 percent affirmative action on women, but we have made tremendous progress, and this administration will consolidate what we have achieved and also increase what we have on the ground.
“Inequality, gender parity can be solved with economic empowerment.” She further said
“Action is now, and it can’t wait because time is going. Social protection for our women, girls, and boys is essential. There is no manual for parenting. It is either a hit or a miss. It’s a mandate at both national and subregional levels. We must strengthen our legal instruments.
“Nothing should make any man beat a woman any longer because it is barbaric.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim thanked the Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for always supporting initiatives that are strengthening the empowerment of women in the state and for continuing the legacies and growth trajectory of the Lagos State Government.
Some of the survivors took turns to speak on their ordeals and how they had been helped to overcome their initial fears, while the minister gave the survivors gift items as her token of support and urges them to keep soaring by making the best use of the little resources they have.
