SGBV: Religious, Traditional Leaders, Others Join Forces To Tackle Scourge In Kano

KANO (North-West, Nigeria) — Worried by the incidences of Sexual and Gender Based Violence, SGBV in Kano State, a network under aegis of Side by Side movement for Gender Justice, which comprises of religious and traditional leaders among others, have resolved to join forces to address the scourge in the state.

The network’s Co-Chairman, Rev. Adeyemo Samuel who announced their resolve while addressing newsmen in Kano, said the network will break the culture of silence and fear surrounding the SGBV cases and also help the victims of SGBV get justice.

Rev. Samuel said they would also work closely with all relevant stakeholders such as the Civil Society Organizations, CSOs as well as the Legislative and Executive arms to see how relevant laws on gender base violence can be passed and assented to as well as implemented in the state.

According to him, “Side by Side Movement for Gender Justice working together to end all forms of gender based violence within our communities. The network is made up of religious leaders of both Faith; Muslims & Christians, people of faith and traditional institution, with The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) serving as its National Secretariat since 2018, the Centre recently got support from Ford Foundation to deepen its engagements in the two states of Kano and Benue.

“One of the belief of the movement is to sensitize the people of Kano State that both male and female, the boy and the girl child have value, worth, dignity and honour, with the understanding of this belief we create awareness that each person must be free from cultural and inter personal systems of privilege and oppression. It is also to advocate that all persons must be made free from violence and oppression due to their gender.

“We, in Kano state will work assiduously to increase awareness creation on this scourge; gender base violence that is ravaging our society and putting our dear Kano State in the red on the index, in such that citizens will be empowered towards transformation society that will mitigate and bring to a remarkable reduction the case of gender base violence.

“To achieve this goal, Centre LSD facilitated a three day capacity building training from July 16-18, 2024 here in Kano for some selected religious leaders of Christian and Muslim clerics and leaders and the ethnic community traditional leaders.

“Also, we shall be working together with the religious leaders of both Muslim and Christians, traditional institution, the media, Civil Society Organisations, State legislators to see how relevant laws on gender base violence can be passed.

“Furtherance to this, we will also take our advocacy to the Kano state governor to give life to the laws that the state Assembly shall pass, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and the Special Adviser to His Excellency on Women Affairs.

“Today, we have been able to validate our developed strategy plan for engagement with the issues and we hope to work with other stakeholders in seeing to the actualization of this plan.

“We will also be working to ensure we have a center where victims of Gender Base Violence can come and speak out and be helped to get justice in so doing the culture of silence and fear will be broken in our society,” Rev. Samuel however stated.