Anambra First lady and founder of the non-governmental organization, Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo, Mrs Nonye Soludo says every stakeholder’s voice must be heard if the fight to eliminate violence against women and girls can yield lasting results.
Mrs Soludo who made this known in Awka in a statement released to commemorate the 2023 International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, noted that the percieved absence of a larger and sincerely concerned voice has made the campaign more difficult to grow weight.
According to the governor’s wife, the intensification of the scourge in households, workplaces and social media calls for urgent attention, while she urged governments to invest more time and resources in pursuing policies that protect the female gender.
She pointed to the global statistics that an estimated 736 million women — almost one in three — have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life, insisting that if conscious approaches are not initiated the number could continue to rise.
Mrs Soludo also explained the need to make tougher legislations to protect the rights of women and girls, while existing statutes should be strengthened and implemented fully to achieve results.
The Anambra governor’s wife also re-emphasized the need to re-evaluate core family values and child-raising approaches, and urged parents to do the best they can to instill the morals of respect and value for women in their children.
She further stressed that another important approach to tackling violence against women and girls is for those who are going through such situations to speak up, noting that taking such bold action will drive away stigmas and shame.
Mrs Soludo further maintained that her husband’s administration has made significant progress in entrenching women-friendly policies, and is tough in addressing cases of abuse, violence and other forms of social ills against women and girls in Anambra State.
