From Maurice Okafor, Enugu.
The chairperson of International Federation of women lawyer(FIDA) Enugu branch, Barr Mrs Sylvia Abalah, has described domestic violence as one òf the contemporary maladies ravaging may homes with grave health consequences.
Some of them, she explained, included high blood pressure, depression, state òf restlessness, sadness, etc and in certain cases leads to untimely death.
Mrs Abalah stated this while addressing rural men and women òf Ifite Nze Community in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu state, to mark the International day for the elimination òf violence against women.
The was facilitated by South Saharan Social Development Organisation (SSSDO),a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), based in Enugu.
The Enugu state FIDA chairperson further tasked the rural men and women of Ifite Nze Community to abhor obnoxious traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, forcing women to sleep with the corpse òf her dead husband or to drink water used in bathing the corpse before she would be adjuged to be innocent from the cause òf her husband’s death.
She also tasked women in rural communities to seek for meaningful ways of generating incomes of their own, so as to contribute in the upkeep of their respective families.
Barr Mrs Abalah said the sole dependent on the husband of the house to cater for every expenses in the family has been identified as one of the causes of violence in the family which often degenerates into fisticuffs, with adverse implications.
She said even though the causes of violence against women was mostly attributed to culture and tradition of the olden days, but the increasing rate of sexual and socio economic violence in the society is what can still be avoided.
She stressed that when the women are engaged with meaningful resources and contributes to the upkeep of the family, the psychological trauma on their husbands will be highly reduced and that this will reduce the threats of violence which most often leads to physical assaults or depression on either side will be avoided.
Speaking, a staff of the NGO, South Saharan Social Development Organization, Mrs Stella Anih, disclosed that the organization is willing to assist the rural women with a soft loan from 50,000 to N300,000 to start mini trade and own farms of their own, instead of solely depending on the efforts of their husbands.
The President General of Ifite Nze Community, Mr Wisdom Obodo, assured that the rural dwellers will trade with caution on issues relating to violence against women so as to maintain peace in their respective families.
