End Gender Violence: GIDCOWAY, WILPF Others Collaborate for Change

As part of activities marking the 16-Days of activism against gender-based violence, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom, in partnership with the Joy Onyesoh Foundation, conducted a comprehensive one-day awareness program for community women aimed at putting an end to violence against women and girls.

The event saw the participation of esteemed international collaborators, namely Laila Alodat, Jenny Aulin, and Annette. Laila Alodat, the Deputy Secretary General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), expressed the organization’s commitment to ending and preventing wars, advocating for women’s representation at all levels in peace-building processes, safeguarding women’s human rights, and championing social, economic, and political justice.

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Alodat highlighted WILPF’s extensive global projects, spanning forty countries, with over a decade of impactful presence in Nigeria, promising an extended mission in the country.

Madam Olivia Oseji, WILPF Nigeria President provided an overview of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). She underscored the significance of UNSCR 1325, adopted in 2000, as the inaugural resolution addressing “Women, Peace, and Security.”

Also Asst Program Officer, WILPF Nigeria, Jane Siesi, emphasized it’s foundation on international human rights laws and instruments, marking the first international political framework acknowledging and addressing the impact of conflict on women and girls, as well as promoting their participation and leadership in conflict resolution, peacekeeping, and peace-building.

Siesi detailed the Council’s subsequent resolutions over the past fifteen years, such as 1820 (2008), 1888 (2008), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013), 2242 (2015), 2272 (2016), 2349 (2017), 2467 (2019), and 2493 (2019), designed to support and strengthen UNSCR 1325.

Ngozi Eboh, the Executive Director of GIDCOWAY, emphasized the ongoing global attention towards the campaign against gender-based violence, pointing out the heightened vulnerability of women and girls. Eboh appealed for increased support from international organizations, especially in conflict situations where women and girls are disproportionately affected.

Executive Director, Joy Onyesoh Foundation, Mrs Chioma Duru stressed that empowering women and girls would contribute to reducing conflicts and fostering sustainable peace in society.

The event provided beneficiaries of the WILPF program with an opportunity to share their personal experiences, contributing to the collective narrative against gender-based violence.