NGO seeks gender equality

A non-governmental organisation known as Side by Side Movement for Gender Justice, at the weekend, harped on the need for government to give life to the actualisation of gender equality in Nigerian society.

Our correspondent reports that the network backed by The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LCD) with support from the Ford Foundation advocated that both males and females must be free from cultural and interpersonal systems of privilege and oppression.

Co-Chair for Side by Side, Benue State, Archbishop Cephas Okwori, explained at a press conference in Makurdi shortly after the conclusion of its three-day workshop that the body consists of religious leaders of both faith, Muslims and Christians, people of faith and traditional institution working together to end all forms of gender based violence within communities of the state.

“We in Benue State will work assiduously to increase awareness creation on this scourge; gender based violence that is ravaging our society and putting our dear 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- based violence,” he said.

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Okwori said the network would ensure that relevant laws on gender-based violence are passed by the state legislators through the strategy plan developed during the workshop.

“We will also be working to ensure we have a centre where victims of gender-based 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,” he posited.