By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
As the world commemorate African Women’s Day in honour of all women and girls in the continent, a non profit organization IPAS Nigeria Health Foundation has called on Nigerian Government and the African Continent at large to prioritize the lives and well-being of women and girls.
The call was contained in a press statement signed and issued by Lucky Palmer, Country Director, Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation and made available to Journalists in Nigeria.
Ipas believes that this year’s theme ‘Towards the African Women’s Decade: Realizing Women’s Human Capital through accelerated social and economic development, addressing the scourge of violence, food insecurity and good nutrition on the African continent’ resonates with the organization’s goal of ensuring that every woman and girl on the African Continent, has the right to their bodily autonomy free from all forms of violence and discrimination.
Ipas also recalled that Nigeria is a signatory to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), a framework which is indigenous to the African People and specifically provides for the bodily autonomy of women and girls across Africa. Women with well spaced children can support family livelihood, which enhances household food security.
“We believe that domesticating the Maputo protocol will ensure that all barriers inhibiting women and girls in Nigeria from exercising their rights to bodily autonomy are removed”, said Palmer.
Narrowing it down to it’s immediate environment, Ipas laments that Nigeria is confronted with high incidences of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), which sometimes results in unwanted pregnancies, leading to unsafe abortions, thereby contributing to the already high maternal mortality rate in the country.
“Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation is committed to ending unsafe abortions, SGBV and providing unhindered access to contraceptives, putting us at the forefront as advocates for reproductive justice. Through our work at the National and State levels, we advocate for policies and law reforms that promote women’s rights and challenge harmful social norms in the communities that act as barriers to women and girls’ access to comprehensive sexual reproductive health services.
“On this memorable day of the African Women, We call on the Government in Nigeria and across Africa to prioritize the lives and well-being of women and girls. We believe that domesticating the Maputo protocol will ensure that all barriers inhibiting women and girls in Nigeria from exercising their rights to bodily autonomy are removed.
“We also use this medium to congratulate the Pan-African Women’s Organisation (PAWO), a specialized agency of the African Union, on her 60th anniversary. We appreciate their important role in mobilizing African women on the continent and the Diaspora to rally around collective struggles for a free and prosperous Africa”, said the Lucky Palmer, on behalf of Ipas.
(Featured picture used for illustrative purposes only)