In an effort to eradicate violence against women nationwide, a non-governmental organization called Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) has started a Women of Resilience group initiative in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Violence Against Women and Girls Accountability Male Champions, who are traditional and religious leaders, will engage with the Women of Resilience group of women in communities to advocate for women and girls who are afraid to speak out or stand up when they experience violence.
The General Secretary, WRAPA, Saadatu Mahadi who spoke at the launching of the group said the two-year project is being implemented in FCT, Jigawa, Katsina and Plateau by WRAPA to support women and girls to speak out on all forms of gender-based violence and work with faith and cultural leaders to extract accountability from perpetrators.
“As you are aware all over Nigeria and the world, we have seen a rise in violence against women. This project has enabled communities to ensure zero violence against women. We don’t want to tolerate it again.
“The religious leaders and chiefs are using their moral power to ensure that people in their domains do not do this and get away with it because it is part of the reason the cases are growing and nobody is talking about it.
“We want to ensure that those caught in the act are reprimanded or held to account for it,” she added.