NBA, FIDA Advocate Enhanced Technology to Checkmate Assaults on Women

The umbrella body of lawyers in the country, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), as well as that of women lawyers, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), have called for the urgent deployment of technology in checkmating the increasing menace of violence against women.

The two bodies, which gave the task to governments at all levels in Nigeria and Africa, as well as relevant stakeholders, believe that technology can also help in addressing gender equality and inclusion.

The appeal was made at the opening of the ongoing FIDA Africa Regional Congress in Abuja with the theme: ‘Maputo Protocol and Women in Africa: Digital Technology s A Vital Tool for Acceleration’.

The Maputo protocol is an international human rights instrument on the protection of rights of women in the continent, which was signed in Mozambique on July 11, 2003, with the aim of guaranteeing comprehensive rights to women, including the right to participate in the political process and achieve social and political equality with men.

In his speech, the NBA President, Mr Yakubu Maikyau, tasked governments in Nigeria to realize, acknowledge and help promote the rights of women and give them enough space to participate in the society.

He explained that women’s participation in governance is required for peaceful  development, as well as economic prosperity.

“Talking about the use of technology in order to bring enhancement of that Maputo protocol, technology is not just a tool in this generation, it is the tool for everything we do. So when you realize the potential of women like I just said, and you heard the language of this generation, which is technology, then you have simply enabled women to bring up the best in them.

“This conference centred around the rights of women within the context of human rights, the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights, and you cannot discount the place of women in our society. And the earlier we begin to realize, acknowledge and help promote the rights of women and give them enough space to participate in everything that we do the better for us as a nation.

“This is because that is the point at which we will begin to not only experience but will begin to realize development, peace and economic prosperity in our country,” he stated.

Similarly, FIDA’s Regional Vice-President (North and West Africa), Mrs. Joy Ejim, called on governments across Africa to live up to their obligations by bringing up policies that will encourage women to participate more in politics.

Ejim argued that: “After 20 years, we will not say we have not done anything, there’s progress.”

While recalling that the Maputo protocol also talked about inheritance rights, she observed that today, in certain parts of Nigeria, the rights of women in terms of inheritance are being recognized.

“In the east, for example, now you can recognize the rights of a widow, and daughters, unlike before.

“The rise in technology tools offers a glaring opportunity to accelerate the robust empowerment of women and girls in Africa. Thus, FIDA appreciates the need to leverage digital tools to improve women’s participation.

“Indeed, FIDA is already making giant strides in this regard, to enhance cooperation with various actors in the continent, including regional/national/local FIDA chapters, national governments, civil society organisations, the private sector and international and local donor agencies. We can only get better as we engage through the instrumentality of fora such as this congress.

“The main idea behind this congress is about technology. How can technology even help in accelerating that protocol? And this is why we want to encourage everybody to help in ensuring that women’s rights are recognized. For example, we’re going to be talking about engaging men towards gender equity and equality, and inclusion. We can’t fight this battle alone. In fact, we don’t see it as a fight, we see it as partnership. That’s why we need to orientate our boys and husbands because the boy of today will be a husband tomorrow,” she said.

The keynote speaker, Mrs Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, wife of former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, expressed concern that despite being introduced about 13 years ago, the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill has failed to scale through at the National Assembly.

Mrs Fayemi in her paper – Digital Technology and Gender Equality: Maputo Protocol and African Women In Focus — also expressed concern about the low number of women elected into the National Assembly in the 2023 general election, stressing the need for female lawyers to play significant roles in sensitising citizens on the need for domestication of the Maputo protocol.

“FIDA has a role to play in ongoing awareness and sensitisation. Many people do not know what Maputo protocol is all about and how it can be used by various stakeholders. We cannot make progress if people do not know the importance of the law.

“FIDA also need to continue making the case for legislative and policy framework. One of the major challenges we are faced with is what we call a lack of adequate national domestication. For example, in Nigeria, in the past four electoral cycle, Nigerian women’s representation in the political environment has gone from bad to worse. We went from five per cent of women in the National Assembly down to 3.5 per cent in the 2023 general election,” she said.

Over 10 African countries are said to be in attendance.