Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Adamawa State have made case for a friendly constitution that will meet the yearnings of all class of people as national assembly moves to amend Nigeria’s constitution.
The CSOs made the plea during a press conference organized by Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) in conjunction with EU-UN spotlight initiative in Yola on Tuesday.
Presenting the demands of the CSOs, the coordinator of WRAPA in Adamawa State, Barr. Fatima Raji noted that CSOs have identified about 17 critical areas that need to be amended so that Nigeria can have a friendly constitution for all manner of persons.
” Our press conference today, is demanding for a constitution that speaks to the aspiration of the Nigerian people particularly the women, who have suffered historical marginalization and exclusion.
“We are demanding for ‘The Constitution that Nigeria Women Want.’ We believe that a legitimate constitution is expected to take due account of the socio-economic and cultural realities of its country, reflect the positive values of its culture in order to guarantee the well-being of its society as a whole and social progress and to safeguard social harmony,” she said.
She noted that to achieve the noble aim, Nigeria, “should guarantee gender equality and strongly uphold the principle of equity in all sectors of life.
“As we are all aware, since the inception of civilian regime in 1999, there has been increased dialogue around constitutional reforms as systems that are critical to the political culture and the political stability, within the context of these discourse are critical gender questions: to what extent are gender issues considered in the constitutional and electoral processes in Nigeria?
“How broadly are the systems interpreted to accommodate the particular needs of women and other vulnerable groups?
“How can the constitution open up legitimate spaces to address these gaps that have continued to undermine a huge population of the country allow for equal participation and voices of women and others to be heard.”
The CSOs demand henceforth that Nigeria’s constitution should use, Gender sensitive language, be gender sensitive, promote socioeconomic rights of citizens, and enthrone human dignity.
Other demands include; rights to private and family life, non discrimination of persons, twinning in government, promote women’s participation in governance and gender diversity and to provide special seats for women in parliaments.
The WRAPA coordinator noted Nigerian women as a whole should say; “No to Gender based violence, No to spousal battery, Eliminate gender based violence in all public and private lives, More girls in schools Pass GEO Bill to law, Women demands leaders to be more accountable, Stop violence against women and girls, No to laws that allow husbands to use physical force against their wives, Women and girls demands budgetary allocations to address GBV issues, Government to build more SARCS, Domesticate international frameworks that addresse GBV, implement Violence Against Person’s Prohibition, We say no to child marriage, More women in decision making positions, Nigerian women believe in the rights of women and children, We advocate for gender neutral laws, Women demands gender responsive budgeting.”
