Gender Mobile Initiative Calls for Audit of Cultural Practices Over Ozoro Festival Concerns

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

The Gender Mobile Initiative (GMI) has called for an urgent national audit of traditional and cultural practices following disturbing reports from the Ozoro Festival in Delta State.

The organisation said recent incidents linked to the Ozoro Festival had triggered a broader reflection on cultural norms that may enable gender-based violations.

In a statement on Monday, GMI said the development required more than public outrage over circulating videos, urging a critical examination of underlying cultural frameworks.

It noted that emerging accounts and longstanding narratives around the festival suggested the existence of practices that single out and publicly shame women, particularly those perceived as infertile.

According to GMI, such practices include acts like pouring sand on affected women, which it described as demeaning and inconsistent with human dignity, regardless of their traditional or ritual significance.

The Team Lead of GMI, Omowunmi Ogunrotimi, said the situation underscored the urgent need to interrogate cultural norms that enable harm.

“We cannot continue to excuse harmful practices under the guise of culture. Where traditions promote stigma, humiliation, or violence against women, they must be questioned and reformed,” she said.

Ogunrotimi added that culture should evolve to reflect shared values of dignity, equality and safety, stressing that preserving harmful norms only perpetuates injustice.

The group stressed that any cultural expression built on the humiliation, control or violation of women’s bodies raises serious human rights concerns.

“Culture is a people’s way of life, but it should not come at the expense of dignity, safety and humanity,” the organisation stated.

GMI added that practices that enable harm, exclusion or violence against women and girls, whether symbolic or physical, should not be shielded from scrutiny.

It linked the reported incidents at the Ozoro festival to broader societal systems that normalise the policing of women’s bodies and reinforce harmful gender norms.

The organisation further noted that such concerns were not isolated to Delta State, but reflected wider patterns across communities where certain traditions continue to undermine the rights of women and girls.

GMI, therefore, called for a comprehensive cultural practices audit to identify and address harmful and discriminatory elements embedded in traditions.

It said the audit should examine practices that perpetuate stigma, particularly against women and girls, while engaging community leaders, cultural custodians and rights advocates in re-evaluating such norms.

The group also emphasised the need to prioritise dignity, safety and equality in preserving culture.

GMI maintained that cultural evolution was necessary, noting that not all traditions were worth preserving if they perpetuated harm.

It reiterated its commitment to promoting a society where culture protects and uplifts all individuals, rather than diminishing or excluding vulnerable groups.