Alex Enumah in Abuja
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) have called for the urgent deployment of technology in checkmating the increasing menace of violence against women.
The bodies, which challenged governments at all levels in Nigeria and Africa, as well as relevant stakeholders, noted that technology could help address the issue of gender equality and inclusion.
The appeal was made at the ongoing FIDA Africa Regional Congress in Abuja with the theme: “Maputo Protocol and Women in Africa: Digital Technology as a Vital Tool for Acceleration.”
The Maputo protocol is an international human rights instrument on the protection of rights of women in the continent, which was signed in Mozambique on July 11, 2003, with the aim of guaranteeing comprehensive rights to women, including the right to participate in the political process and achieve social and political equality with men.
In his speech, the NBA President, Mr Yakubu Maikyau, tasked governments in Nigeria to realize, acknowledge, and help promote the rights of women and give them enough space to participate in the society.
He explained that women’s participation in governance is required for peaceful development, as well as economic prosperity.
“Talking about the use of technology in order to bring enhancement of that Maputo protocol, technology is not just a tool in this generation, it is the tool for everything we do.
“So when you realize the potential of women like I just said, and you heard the language of this generation, which is technology, then you have simply enabled women to bring up the best in them.
“This conference centred around the rights of women within the context of human rights, the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights, and you cannot discount the place of women in our society.
“The earlier we begin to realize, acknowledge, and help promote the rights of women and give them enough space to participate in everything that we do the better for us as a nation.
“This is because that is the point at which we will begin to not only experience but will begin to realize development, peace, and economic prosperity in our country”, he stated.
Similarly, FIDA’s Regional Vice President (North and West Africa), Mrs. Joy Ejim, called on governments across Africa, to live up to their obligations by bringing up policies that will encourage women participate more in politics.
Ejim argued: “After 20 years we will not say we have not done anything, there’s progress.”
While recalling that the Maputo protocol also talked about inheritance rights, she observed that today, in certain parts of Nigeria, the rights of women in terms of inheritance are being recognized.
“In the east, for example, now you can recognize the rights of a widow, and daughters, unlike before” she said.
“The rise in technology tools offers a glaring opportunity to accelerate the robust empowerment of women and girls in Africa. Thus, FIDA appreciates the need to leverage digital tools to improve women’s participation.
“Indeed, FIDA is already making giant strides in this regard, to enhance cooperation with various actors in the continent, including regional, national and local FIDA chapters, national governments, civil society organisations, the private sector and international and local donor agencies.
“We can only get better as we engage through the instrumentality of fora such as this congress. The main idea behind this congress is about technology. How can technology even help in accelerating that protocol? “And this is why we want to encourage everybody to help ensuring that women’s rights are recognised. We are going to be talking about engaging men towards gender equity and equality, and inclusion.
“We cannot fight this battle alone. In fact, we do not see it as a fight. We see it as partnership. That is why we need to orientate our boys and husbands because the boy of today will be a husband tomorrow.
The keynote speaker, Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, wife of former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, expressed concern that despite being introduced about 13 years ago, the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill has failed to scale through at the National Assembly.
In her paper titled Digital Technology and Gender Equality: Maputo Protocol and African Women In Focus, Fayemi expressed concern about the low number of women elected into the National Assembly in the 2023 general elections.
She stressed the need for female lawyers to play significant role in sensitising citizens on the need for domestication of the Maputo protocol.
“FIDA has a role to play in ongoing awareness and sensitisation. Many people do not know what Maputo protocol is all about and how various stakeholders can use it.
“We cannot make progress if people do not know the importance of the law. FIDA also need to continue making the case for legislative and policy framework.
“One of the major challenges we are faced with is what we call a lack of adequate national domestication. For example, in Nigeria, in the past four electoral cycle, Nigerian women’s representation in the political environment has gone from bad to worse. We went from five percent of women in the national assembly down to 3.5 percent in the 2023 general elections,” she said.
