The Federal Government has been challenged to focus on issues affecting women and children for a better society.
A veteran journalist and child rights advocate, Mrs Cecilia Nwachukwu, stated this while speaking with journalists in Lagos.
According to her, there are myriads of challenges affecting Nigerian women and children that the government needs to address urgently.
These, she said included rape, forceful marriage, kidnapping, circumcision, abduction, and others.
She said, “I make bold to say that government is not doing enough on the myriads of challenges facing women and children, “At the level of many NGOs that I belong to, there are so many that have been brought before us such that our hands are full
“There is the case of one Mrs Oyeronke Kareem-Akindele and her three children Aishat, Abdulfatai, and Fathia that we are handling. As we speak, some NGOs, including ours, are in the process of dragging the woman’s in-laws to court for severally attempting to forcefully circumcise the children of the Lagos-based family.
“More worrying is the fact that Kareem-Akindele and their children had to go through lots of psychological pains due to the actions of her Osun State-based in-laws. There are many women and children out there who are going through worse experiences and this needs to be nipped in the bud.
“For instance, the last time I spoke with the woman on the phone, she wept profusely, lamenting that she and her children have been moving from place to place to avoid the so-called in-laws, which is no doubt traumatic.
“It is our conviction that government can do a lot towards upholding the rights of women and children in the society. This is the major reason strong partnership is needed between the government NGOs, civil society, and the media, for the rights of women and children to be guaranteed.”
