For two days, women from various sectors of life gathered in Ekiti to deliberate on issues of women health and safety. Hannah Ojo who was in Ekiti reports
ALL our religious and local traditions promote a belief in the sanctity of life. Let us all continue to protect and care for each other. Let us all rise and demand for a safer world for women and girls. Any act that diminishes one woman diminishes the rest of us.” Speaking with a vibrancy that commandeered the attention of the participants, the first lady of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, set the pace for discourse at this year’s Ekiti State gender summit which was held at Ado-Ekiti recently.
It was an occasion when the gowns came to town as participants ranged from various walks of life such as civil servants, market women, teachers, wives of traditional rulers and female stake holders in the state. Also, the various persons who facilitated each aspect of the programme, professionals in their own standing, engaged wits and native intelligence to carry everyone along, both the learned and unlearned. Themed Gender Equality, women’s health and safety: towards a healthy, violence-free society, the summit was organised by Ekiti State’s ministry of women affairs, social development and gender empowerment in conjunction with the Ekiti Development Foundation. True to the words of Mrs. Fola Ricie-Adewusi, the state’s commissioner for women affairs and social development, the event proved to the billing of a platform for rich discussions and cross pollination of ideas on the critical issues of gender equality, women’s health and safety.
Dignitaries who graced the occasion included the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Modupe Adelabu, who stood in for the governor and herself, the convener of the summit, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, wives of the governor of Osun State, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola and Kwara State governor, Deaconess Omolewa Abdul Fatha Ahmed, DG of the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), Ms. Onyeka Onwenu, amongst other personalities within and outside the state. Also present were representatives of non-governmental organisations, representative of the minister for women affairs, delegates from the 16 local government areas in Ekiti State, members of the academia, resource persons drawn from within and outside Ekiti State and donor partners.
Delivering the key note address, Prof Oluyemisi Obilade, the Vice-Chancellor of the Tai Solarin University of Education, proved her mettle as an academician of no mean stature. Taking the topic, “Safe-guarding our tomorrow, ensuring quality of life: addressing women’s health within the context of culturally condoned gender-based violence,” she gave an in depth illustration, portraying the pitiable state of the plights of women who have to live with a battered psyche in an environment where violence is fuelled by a dominant sense of patriarchy. According to her, “gender-based violence is not only a violation of women’s human rights but has moved into the realm of a major public health problem which can result into a wide range of physical, mental, sexual and reproductive, and maternal health problems.” Citing real life examples of rape victims from Nigeria and beyond, the don stressed the point that women, irrespective of their age, can become victims of violence, especially rape. She buttressed this by serving a reminder of an incident in Ekiti where a 45-year-old man raped a woman of 75. Proffering solutions, she offered the way forward: “the way forward requires fresh vision, fresh passion, fresh determination and action. We must shed our willingness to confront the root cause of many of the factors negatively impacting the health of our women. We must address our predisposition to treat the symptoms rather than the root cause.”
The elegant stallion, Onyeka Onwenu, did not fail to dazzle when she gave an address in her capacity as the DG of the NCWD. Sharing her experience during a round table discussion anchored by ace broadcaster Chief ‘Ronke Okusanya, Ms Onwenu admitted that the problem of women’s health and empowerment is huge. She, however, advised women to look into their sphere of influence to start making impact. She further stated that it is only a woman who is empowered economically that will not succumb to violence in the home out of fear to stand out on her own. She also hinted on the viability of the entertainment industry to drive home the message of a violence-free society for women.
As expected of a gathering of women, the summit went emotional at some moments when some of the participants would wear sad and forlorn face during some presentations. One of such was when Mrs. Ebun Anozie of C.O.P.E. Initiative gave a presentation on cancer. It was an emotional account, especially when people had to stand up in remembrance of the late deputy governor of Ekiti, Mrs. Funmi Olayinka, who succumbed to the disease. Nollywood actress, Foluke Daramola, also gave a first-hand account of her experience as a victim of rape at the age of 16 and domestic violence even in pregnancy and after child birth during her first marriage.
From Dr. Boladale Mapayi whose talk on ‘harmful traditional practices and implications for women’s health’ stressed that women should not keep silent in the face of violence to Princess Kathy Emiko’s presentation which scored a point for women to take ownership of their health through a healthy lifestyle amongst talks on areas such as budgeting for woman’s health, impact of the environment, economic empowerment, there is no gainsaying the fact that the conference served as an optimal means towards cleaning the Augean stable that the issue of violence has come to be in this part of the world.
Cementing the assertion of Erelu Fayemi that the summit, already in its third series, does not fall into categories of forums where deliberations are made without results, the governor of Ekiti State, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, signed the equal opportunities bill into law on Tuesday. From all indications, one can say that the issue of gender in Ekiti has taken the centre stage in the administration of the state.
