Bassey Inyang in Calabar
Traditional rulers in Cross River State have stated they have joined other stakeholders in the fight against gender-based violence, and other oppressive and retrogressive practices against women, especially those in marriages.
The natural rulers made the declaration on Wednesday in Calabar, at a stakeholders’ forum on “Adaptive Leadership and Institutionalizing Social Behaviour Change Communication into Traditional Marriages and Relationships in Cross River State” convened by Gender And Development Action, GADA, with support from Ford Foundation.
Speaking on behalf of traditional rulers in the state drawn from the state’s three senatorial districts, the Chairman Cross River State Traditional Rulers Council and Paramount Ruler of Abi, Oval Elder Solomon Osim Edward, said, the forum was timely and necessary as it aimed at looking critically at ways the traditional institution can join in the fight to protect women from all forms of violence, and discriminations even in marriages.
“We need to put all machineries in place to contain or reduce, to the barest minimum, this menace of “Gender-Based-Violence (GBV)” in our dear state.
“We as traditional rulers, custodian of our laws and customs, are the last hope of the common person who invariably cannot afford the cost of litigation or may not have connection to the high and mighty in the society or political class. We need to protect the rights, and privileges of the common Person in our domain,” he said.
Chairman of the Cross River State House of Assembly Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Eyo Bassey, said the lawmakers in the state would continue to ensure that laws are made, fashioned, and reformed where necessary to protect women from all forms of violence.
The lawmaker said already there are laws that guarantee right to inheritance by women, and the girl child, and laws that protect them sexually related violence, violence in marriage, female genital mutilation etc.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Cross River State Local Government Service Commission, Hon. Darlington Bassey, said the Commission would do more to improve the welfare of the traditional rulers so they can carry out their rule as the first point of contact in resolving problems in their domains, especially those related to gender-based violence against women.
Paramount Ruler of Obudu His Royal Highness, HRH, Felix Abanbeshie Okudare commended GADA for organising the forum, saying it has been most helpful and revealing.
“We are happy to be here. Our eyes have opened…. Our laws are not bad the only thing we can do is to reinvent our laws. We mainly pursue reconciliation”, the Obudu paramount Ruler said.
He called for the reforms of some laws that obviously promote gender-based violence, as well as integrate traditional rulers into the justice, and security apparatus in the state, saying if it is done, it would go a long way in protecting women against gender-based violence, and practices that are inimical to women in marriages.
On her part, the founder of GADA, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, said the Forum aimed at arming the traditional rulers with more knowledge, and skills on how they can use their positions as royal fathers to ensure that traditional laws and customs are not used to promote gender-based violence against women, especially those in marriages.
Toyo lamented that the traditional practices relating to giving out girls in marriage may have collapsed totally as the processes of consummating traditional marriages are not transactional without any agreeable standards.
Toyo said a lot has happened towards the deterioration of the traditional institution as the traditions, culture, and customs of communities have been adulterated to the extent that there are no more standards guiding the traditions and customs leading to marriages.
Warning that it was high time the traditional institution in the communities woke up to their responsibilities, Toyo said, “The Institution called tradition is threatened. It is under threat.”
Some of the participants among the traditional rulers said they would go back to their domains and work towards having standard traditional customs, and practices that would be acceptable so as to stop the practice of indiscriminate transactional marriages by some greedy people families, and communities.
The forum staged by GADA brought traditional rulers, community leaders, and government officials under one roof to consider solutions that could stop gender-based violence in marriages, and relationships by encouraging positive behaviour changes rooted in culture, and law.
The forum focuses on engaging the traditional rulers as stakeholders to help stop harmful practices against women, and the girl child, and promote peace in the family.
The forum also educated the traditional institution on ways of promoting non-violent, respectful marriages through encouraging positive cultural behaviours, and aligning with laws protecting women, and the girl child.
