Kwara State House of Assembly has finalised arrangement to enact a bill on gender equitable opportunities for adequate representation of both genders in public and political offices.
The Leader of the House, Hon. Abdulkadir Oba Magaji, who confirmed the move yesterday while speaking with journalists on the sideline of a two-day retreat for state’s lawmakers in Ilorin said: “The development is to consolidate the commitment of the present administration in the state to the equal representations of women and men in the art of governance.”
The retreat was at the instance of UN Women in Nigeria in conjunction with National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) titled “Towards the Passage of Gender Equitable Opportunities Bill in Kwara State” with the Speaker, Yakubu Danladi Salihu, in attendance.
Magaji noted that the present administration has shown commitment to gender inclusion in governance while the state legislature would not hesitate to offer legislation that would help close gender gap.
“The retreat on Gender Equitable Opportunities Bill is a very good thing. I can tell you that by the special grace of God, very soon, Kwara is going to pass bill on Gender Equitable Opportunities.
“It is going to be a reality. It is going to come to fruition in Kwara State”.
On Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) law, the lawmaker recalled that its legal framework was passed and assented in the Ninth Assembly of the House, saying that it requires enlightenment and awareness for the public to be cognisant of it.
He said: “The simplest thing is when people are aware of the law. When you are aware about your rights as passed by the law,that is when people will be able to complain that my rights have been infringed upon.
“What we need is sensitisation and more information to the people so that they will know the law that has been passed and the rights they enjoy under that law.”
Also speaking, Hon. Rukayat Motunrayo Shittu of Owode/Onire Constituency of Asa Local Government of the state House of Assembly, said sensitisation on the VAPP law should centre on areas that protect rights of male and female.
“Kwara has already enacted VAPP law. All we need now is implementation of the law. If we can make use of all the provisions in the law, I believe we will have few or no violence in our society. Cases of violence have reduced in the state. We need proper implementation and advocacy with right information as contained in the law, not basically focusing it more on women.
“While we are focusing on women, we also need to focus it on men too. It has to be understood that as a man, if you are harassed, there is a penalty for it, and as a woman, if you are harassed, there is a certain penalty for it also,” she said.
Similarly, a member representing Ilorin East Constituency, Fatimah Arinola Lawal, said culprits of violence against persons should be strictly punished to serve as deterrent.
She said: “If there is a strict punishment, I think it will deter a lot of people from committing the sin. We have to be able to protect ourselves. The only way we will be able to protect ourselves is to have a legal backing, and the law should be backed up by government and civil society organizations.
“For me, it is very important to have a strict punishment for whoever commits it for other people not to go into it”.
A facilitator at the retreat, Bukola Ajao, who delivered a paper on “A review of the implementation of VAPP Law and the Political Offices (Gender Composition) Law in Kwara State”, called for establishment of sexual assault referral centre, shelter and special court to address issues arising from violence against persons.
“It is not that the law is not being properly implemented, it is just that we have a little bit of issue that has to do with knowledge; people are not aware. People settle matter when they are not supposed to. Take for instance, rape. It is a grievous offence.
“For the law to be properly implemented, there is need for structure to be put in place. There is need for sexual assault referral centre, functional shelter and designated court that will deal with this matter. With that, the implementation will be a smooth ride”, Ajao said.