Minister of Women Affairs Dame Pauline Tallen has charged wives of Senators and all other stakeholders to intensify advocacy on gender based issues, stressing that women cannot be silent over the increasing violence and discrimination against them across the country.
Tallen gave the charge Tuesday, while receiving the wives of Nigerian Senators who paid a courtesy visit on her office at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
According to Tallen, it was imperative to make the lives of women and those of children yet unborn better, stressing that the Senator wives have strategic roles in ensuring that this aim is achieved.
She called on the Senator wives to be assertive in making their husbands understand better the need to change the ugly treatment of women and girls, adding that if they didn’t achieve this children will not be proud of them in the future.
“We cannot afford to be silent even as ordinary women no one can ignore the ills against women. Look at the majority of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) are women and children, there are IDP camps everywhere because of insecurity, communal clash, unrest which is uncalled for.
“Imagine in this 21st century some communities still practice Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and just recently a beautiful woman was allegedly killed by her husband from domestic violence and we say we have laws?,” She queried.
“I commend you for starting this journey, it is not just for ourselves but for our children even yet unborn and if we do not work harder to ensure a better society for them they will not be happy with us so we need to strategize on better ways to addressing issues affecting us in the society .
“It is sad that Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, made her presence felt at the National Assembly (NASS) when the bill was read yet they refused to sign the bills.
“You are all representatives of the the larger society and you can see the low percentage of women representatives, we should all join hands to help push the women agenda forward,” the Minister stressed.
Earlier, the Chairperson, steering committee of the Senators Wives Association Barrister Hauwa Kabir Gaya, noted that Nigeria is currently suffering from different types of vices from gender based violence to insecurity which includes banditry, kidnapping amongst others.
Gaya disclosed that the association is praying fervently and calling on all Nigerians to pray daily for things to change for the better, while they use their influences as wives of the lawmakers to encourage their husbands to pass the gender bills into law.
“We intend to use our influence as wives on our husbands, we will encourage them to get certain things they are ignoring or feel is a threat done. We will explain to them more, the need for them to approve because it is for the good of all,” she said.
“We are praying and you all know that when a woman prays it goes directly to God so we urge all women to join us pray for the nation every day. Let’s all go down on our knees every day and seek God’s intervention,” she stressed.