Nigeria: Call to domesticate UN conventions

Once more we celebrate the International Women's Day .

International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity" marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage.

The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies. International Women's Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women's movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women's conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point for coordinated efforts to demand women's rights and participation in the political and economic process. Increasingly, International Women's Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of women's rights.

The Role of the United Nations
Few causes promoted by the United Nations have generated more intense and widespread support than the campaign to promote and protect the equal rights of women. The Charter of the United Nations, signed in San Francisco in 1945, was the first international agreement to proclaim gender equality as a fundamental human right. Since then, the Organization has helped create a historic legacy of internationally agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide.

Over the years, United Nations action for the advancement of women has taken four clear directions: promotion of legal measures; mobilization of public opinion and international action; training and research, including the compilation of gender desegregated statistics; and direct assistance to disadvantaged groups. Today a central organizing principle of the work of the United Nations is that no enduring solution to society's most threatening social, economic and po itical problems can be found without the full participation, and the full empowerment, of the world's women. http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/women/womday97.htm

NIGERIA

Here in Nigeria we are thankful that no woman is facing the death by stoning penalty for adultery, the last known case , Amina Lawal having won her appeal.The law is still in the statutebooks of 18 states in Nigeria.That means we may have more women arrested, charged and prosecuted under this law. There is therefore an urgent need at the national level for legal framework protecting Nigerian women against violence, torture discrimination. In Nigeria violation of women's rights occur daily includes and is not limited to :Violence in the home,Sexual harassment at school and work,Rape and defilement,Harsh and punitive widowhood rites,Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Forced childhood marriages,Sexual violence in conflict situations and during armed robbery attacks,Enforcement of gender biased laws,Discrimination against the girl-child,Disinheritance of wives and daughters,Harmful traditional practices.

Nigeria is a patriarchial society and a lot of these violations occur under the guise of customs and traditions.We at Womens's Rights Watch Nigeria believe that culture is dynamic and not static and we are demanding for a CHANGE in attitudes and beliefs.We should uphold customs that enhance us as persons and all cultural practices that discriminate MUST be abolished by law.

There is still a high incidence of violence against women , persecution and discrimination. The rising poverty of its citizens adversely affect women and children since they are the most vulnerable groups, thereby causing feminisation of povery. Although there is a national legislation against trafficking in persons and the Federal Government has created a National Agency against Trafficking in Persons,the crime however still goes on unabated, however few arrests have been made by the authorities.

THEREFORE we call on the National Assembly , which comprises of the Senate and House of Representatives to domesticate the following UN Conventions which Nigeria is already a signatory to, in compliance with our constitution which makes provision for such domestication:

UN Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 1979 and the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women 1993 .

There is still a high incidence of violence against women , persecution and discrimination. The rising poverty of its citizens adversely affect women and children since they are the most vulnerable groups, thereby causing feminisation of povery. There is a national legislation against trafficking in persons and the Federal Government has created a National Agency against Trafficking in Persons.The crime however still goes on unabated, though few arrests have been made by the authorities.

Nogi Imoukhuede, [email][email protected]
Project Coordinator, Women's Rights Watch Nigeria
http://www.petitiononline.com/wrw/petition.html
Say NO to death by stoning in Nigeria