Group wants laws to protect women

A gender based non-governmental organisation, BAOBAB for Womens Human Rights, has lamented the dearth of laws prohibiting violence against women and the girl child in many states of the federation.The group said it was imperative for states to pass such laws as the prevalence of rape and assault cases against women and young girls were on the increase.The Acting Executive Director of BAOBAB, Mrs. Chibogu Obinwa, named Lagos, Ekiti, Edo, Anambra, Cross River and Ebonyi states as some of the few states that have passed such bills against gender based violence.Obinwa said, Over the years, there have been a rise in the number of cases of rape, assault and a systemic discrimination in both private and public spheres against women in the country.There is a need for the states to enact and effectively implement appropriate legislations to combat these.Obinwa also urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the African Union Protocol on Rights of Women in Africa and the National Gender Policy.The Head, Documentation of BAOBAB, Mrs. Linda Aina, said though there had been an increase in the reported cases of gender based violence, the general lack of statistics on gender based violence and discrimination was a major bane of efforts to eliminate such practices against women.
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