THE Minister of Women Affairs, Barr Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, has stated that Nigerian women will no longer tolerate perpetrators of Gender-based violence (GBV) in the country.
The Minister made this submission at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the National Council of Women Affairs in Calabar, Cross River State.
Whole highlighting the dangers perpetrators of this act pose to to the lives of children, she called on the attendees of the event to intensify the war against these acts.
“Whoever child is going through that kind of pain and violence is our child, and we need to step up our game on how to protect and preserve them.
“It is only a mother that can stake her life to save her child, so now we need to stake our lives to save our children generally in the country called Nigeria,” the minister stated.
While calling on Mothers to act as protective shield for their wards and children, she noted how victims of GBV had no voice.
“Sometimes some of them die from infections as these practices are carried out in remote villages where they lack knowledge of basic hygiene. We are going to look into these with the view to tackling them from the root.
“UNICEF has done a lot to educate these villagers, and till now, they are still adamant. All Commissioners are to be ready for a movement to sensitize them using the services of town criers in order to satisfy our consciences. After that, we get the whistleblowers, and whosoever is involved in FGM will face the wrath,” the Minister said.