Dorothy Njemanze Foundation (DNF), a Non- Profit Organisation (NGO), interfaith and cultural leaders, have pledged to work together to end Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in Niger state.
They made the pledge during a dialogue on preventing SGBV tagged “From Gatekeepers to Bystanders: The Role of Faith and Culture in Ending Harm in Minna.
DNF is a feminist, survivor-led, non-profit organisation basedI which focuses on providing free and confidential support to victims of SGBV.
Dorothy Njemanze, Executive Director of DNF, said the aims of the dialogue was to leverage on the influence of faith and cultural leaders in promoting measures to prevent SGBV.
“We need to connect the door between palace and police, religion and rights between life and save lives,” he said.
She said the organisation shifted its approach to work with communities to prevent violence and not just respond to violence.
Njemanze said that traditional leaders were not just cultural custodians, but cultural tranfomers and urged them to use their places to end harm to create a safe society for all.
She said the dialogue highlights harmful practices such as forced marriage, rape, breast ironing, family supervised rape and female genital multilation still prevalent in some communities.
She emphasised the need for collective action to address these issues, adding that when faith and cultural leaders make changes in their communities, it inspires others to follow suit.
In their separate remarks, Abdullahi Dada, Village Head of Maikunkele, Abubakar Mahmudu, District Head, Etsu Audi Bida and Shafi Bello, District Head Gonagi, expressed commitment to tackling SGBV in their domains.
They acknowledged receiving cases of SGBV and pledged to work with the DNF to prevent such incidents.
Also speaking, Rev. Bulus Yohanna, Chairman of CAN, and Abubakar Yahaya, representative of Ja’matul Islamic, emphasised the importance of faith based approaches in preventing SGBV.
They noted that their scriptures frown on violence against women and girls.
