WRAPA advocates financial inclusion to end Gender Based Violence

 

By Prudence Ijah, Abuja

In a bid to address the rising cases of violence against women, protect and enforce the human rights of women as well as strengthen inclusion of women, the Women’s Right Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) has called for the elimination of the five barriers to financial inclusion for women.

According to WRAPA, upholding acceptability and implementation of the gender equal opportunity law will greatly contribute in reducing the barriers to financial inclusion which cuts across lack of income, physical access to banks, financial literacy, trust challenge and affordability.

WRAPA is further calling for increased public awareness of gender-based violence and the role of law enforcement agents in assisting survivors, while advocating for sustained efforts in annulling any existing discriminatory provisions and the development of legal supervisory mechanisms for all security agencies.

These and many more are part of the recommendations from the  Stakeholders at the WRAPA-SOAWR project inception meeting conducted in Kaduna state.

 

Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) is a non-governmental, non-political, non-profit making, charitable organization, for the promotion and enforcement of all human rights of women, the elimination of all forms of repugnant practices and violence against women, and the enhancement of their living standards.

The main goal of the organization, is to advance and protect the rights of women in Nigeria as provided by national laws and policies, regional and international treaties and agreements through an integrated approach, that entrenches respect for the human dignity of the woman, as well as her inclusion in decisions that affect her life, and the development of her community.

Despite the existence of constitutional provisions and commitments to regional and international human right treaties and conventions, the right of women and girls are grossly violated and devalued in Nigeria and many African countries.

Nigeria is still grappling with gender equality, working on building a just society devoid of discrimination, equal opportunities regardless of sex, that can give both men and women equal voices in decision making and policy implementation.

In 2004, Nigeria ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (African Women’s Protocol), thereby taking the first step towards expanding the scope of protection for women’s human rights in Nigeria, and in particular violence against women. The African Women’s Protocol is one of the several international instruments Nigeria ratified, which provides measures to be taken to improve the promotion and protection of women’s rights. Earlier international statutes include the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Declaration on Violence Against Women.