The Wife of Gombe State Governor, Dr. Asma’u Inuwa Yahaya, has urged the chairpersons of the 11 local government Areas of the state to take the awareness campaigns on Gender-Based Violence directly to communities.
Speaking during the flag-off of the 16 Days of Activism on Violence against Women and Girls, Mrs. Yahaya stressed that local education and involvement were key to creating lasting change and a safer environment for women and girls.
She equally called for enhanced strategies to combat Gender-Based Violence (GBV) by strengthening collaborations with local and international organizations.
The Gombe State First Lady emphasized the importance of sustainable government funding and resource mobilization in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The international campaign, which runs annually from November 25 to December 10, focuses on raising awareness about GBV and calls for collective action to eliminate it.
Mrs. Yahaya highlighted the alarming local statistics, where she shared that 35% of women in Gombe State have experienced physical violence, and 59.3% have faced violence since the age of 15.
She also noted that globally, one in three women face some form of violence, be it physical, sexual, emotional, or economic.
Mrs. Yahaya also reiterated the Gombe State Government’s commitment to addressing GBV through comprehensive campaigns across all 11 local government areas (LGAs), promoting awareness, advocating for protective policies, and supporting survivors.
Mrs. Yahaya said that with unity and commitment, “together, we can create a future where women and girls live free from fear and discrimination.”
The 16 Days of Activism, which aligns with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25) and Human Rights Day (December 10), links GBV to global human rights efforts.
This year’s theme, “UNITE! to end violence against women and girls,” highlights the shared global responsibility to eradicate GBV.
The Chief Judge of Gombe State, Justice Halima Mohammed, said Gender-Based Violence in the state could be addressed with strengthened collaboration among stakeholders, enhanced legal enforcement, and a sustained public education campaign to challenge harmful practices and promote gender equality.
“By addressing the issue legally and connectivity with broader global effect, we can foster a safe, more inclusive society for all,” said Justice Mohammed.
Overall, she pledged that the judiciary in the state was ever ready to play its role to ensure that victims get justice and perpetrators are held accountable, through the provision of an enabling environment in courts for survivors to seek redress without any fear of stigmatization or retribution.
The Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Ms. Asma’u Iganus, said a step-down sensitization had begun in earnest for every community within Gombe State so that they all would be aware of the existence of laws targeting perpetrators of gender-based violence and the need to speak up.
“We will go to the grassroots, the communities. That is why we are engaging them on the 30th,” Ms. Iganus said.
She urged the survivors to come out and speak out because she ensured the law protecting them had been passed in the House of Assembly when she was there as a female legislator and accented to by the governor.
She said gender-based violence was perpetrated on both male and female children and adults and so should not be left to go unreported.
Delivering a lecture on annual activities, Mrs. Halima Mahdi, said the campaign goal was to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.
She said according to the World Health Organization, one in three women globally have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, while the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) showed that 2. 38% of murders of women were committed by an intimate partner and that UNICEF also revealed that 3.200 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation.
“1 in 5 women and girls have experienced online harassment or abuse- (source Pew Research),” said Mrs. Mahdi.
She called for united efforts to ensure that everyone lived free from violence and discrimination because everyone had a role to play.
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