The place of women and other vulnerable persons in Gov. Ikpeazu’s administration

By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu
On Monday November 13th, the new commissioners in Abia State came on board. One thing spectacular about the event is that the ministries in the state have expanded to accommodate more strategic ministries. The new ministries are the Ministry of Strategy and Social Development; Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources; Ministry of Inter State Affairs and Ministry of Small, Medium Entrepreneur Development. Others are Ministry of Conflict and Boundary Resolution; Special Duties, Establishment and Training; Special Duties, Vulnerable Groups/ Women. The development increased the number of commissioners to 27 of which three are women.
Though the seven new ministries deserve equal attention and importance, nthe creation of the ministry for Special Duties, Vulnerable Groups/ Women is apt in the face of developments around the world and who constitute these vulnerable groups.
Vulnerable groups are groups who for some reasons weak and vulnerable to human rights abuses. These groups are structurally discriminated against. And for this reason, the groups require special protection for the equal and effective enjoyment of their human rights.The groups are women and girls; children; refugees; internally displaced persons; stateless persons; national minorities; indigenous peoples ;migrant workers; disabled persons; elderly persons; HIV positive persons and AIDS victims, among others.
Furthermore, vulnerable populations include the economically disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minorities, the uninsured, low-income children, the elderly, the homeless, those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and those with other chronic health conditions, including severe mental illness.
It will be recalled that through the ages, women have been subjected discrimination in all stages of life, in income, education, health and participation in society, and they are particularly vulnerable to specific violations such as gender-based violence, trafficking and sex discrimination. A typical case of discriminatory actions and abuses against women is the Mediterranean tragedy where 26 Nigerian women were reportedly murdered in their attempt to cross the Mediterranean. The women, in their teens, were reportedly murdered in their attempt to cross the Mediterranean. The reports further suggested that the women, whose bodies were recovered at the sea, may have been sexually abused. The bodies of the women, aged between 14-18, were reportedly kept in a refrigerated section of a Spanish warship, Cantabria.
It is worrisome that the alleged inferior status of women is entrenched in history, culture and tradition, and through the ages. This situation has provoked calls on national and religious institutions to justify violations of women’s rights to equality and enjoyment of fundamental human rights.These discriminatory actions against women has also prompted the establishment of various international bodies with the aim of eradicating policies, actions and norms that perpetuate discrimination against women and violate women’s human rights.
Unfortunately, negative widowhood practices are still upheld in some cdommunities in our modern society which Abia is not an exception. Few months after burial of the deceased,relations of the widow’s husband spring into action and contend the deceased property with the widow. Little or no thoughts are accorded to the survival of the widow and her children. Even lingering litigations are experienced when the widow opposes the confrontations from the husband’s relations. In the 21st century, widows are still subjected to treatments such as sahving of hairs, which the proponents of this treatment claim that it is done to accord customary respect to the late husband. Undoubtedly, there is an onerous task for this new ministry to engage in actions that would help resolve some of these issues.
In discharging these duties, the ministry should not hesitate to employ international legal instruments and treaties on the protection such as the UN Charter and the International Bill of Human Rights which proclaim equal rights for men and women and ban discrimination on the grounds of sex. Also, in addition to instruments relating to discrimination in general, a series of instruments have been developed specifically for the protection of women, the elimination of discrimination against women and the promotion of equal rights. These serve to create a broad, international framework for future developments and the establishment of general norms for national policy.
Another important instrument here is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which was adopted by the UNGA on 18 December 1979, following consultations over a five-year period by various working groups, the CSW and the UNGA. It entered into force in 1981. The 30-article Convention sets out internationally accepted principles and measures to achieve equal rights for women everywhere .
This instrument reflects the scope of exclusion and restriction suffered by women solely on the basis of their sex. It sets out equal rights for women, regardless of their marital status, in all fields – political, economic, social, cultural and civil – and calls for national legislation banning discrimination. It allows for temporary special measures (affirmative action) to accelerate the achievement of equality in practice between men and women, and actions to modify social and cultural patterns that perpetuate discrimination.Other measures aim at equal rights for women in political and public life (Article 7); equal access to education and equal choice of curricula ; non-discrimination in employment and pay; and guarantees of job security in the event of marriage and maternity .The Convention underlines the equal responsibilities of men with women in the context of family life . It also stresses the social services needed – especially childcare facilities for combining family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life.
Various women’s rights are captyured in the international human rights law such as The right to equal treatment;The right to privacy;The right to reproductive health and family planning;The right to decide the number and spacing of children;The right to marry and to found a family;The right to life, liberty, and security; The right to freedom from sexual exploitation and assault;The right to freedom from torture and ill-treatment.
Indeed, Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration has shown enormous demonstration that the vulnerable should be accorded greater attention. Through the instrumentality of the Governor’s wife’s pet project, Vicar Hope Foundation, homes have been provided for vulnerable persons such as the widows, widowers, and the age.
The turning point of the vulnerable in Abia was marked by the establishment of Vicar Hope as the Foundation designed to (a) assisting the physically challenged and vulnerable persons, (b) to provide a platform for enhancing the status of women and children through education, empowerment, welfare and healthcare provision (c) to locate, and establish indigent widows and other person as well as give love and succour to less privileged, the motherless babies and young orphans, (d) to material assistance, financial support, moral assistance and social amenities to the less privileged as well as impart skills that would make them self reliant. (e) to carry out enlightenment campaigns, to sensitize against and combat deadly diseases, health challenges, poverty, obnoxious widowhood and teenage girl practices, as well as promote women and child rights.
It is worthy to note here that the narrative of women and other vulnerable persons have changed in Abia.