The executive director, Africa Focus for Youths’ Development, Mr. Emmanuel Gabari, has said that, to have a balanced society free of gender violence, the men folk must begin to accord their female counterparts necessary respects and begin to see them as partners rather than subjects.
He said women, particularly in Africa have suffered greatly as a result of their gender, beginning from homes to the larger society where their rights are being trampled upon simply because they are not considered or believed to attain same heights as men.
Gabari made the assertion over the weekend in Kano during a two day capacity building workshop on engaging men and boys as advocates for women’s rights organized by African Focus for Youths’ Development and sponsored by Men Engage Africa.
According to him, in view of recent heinous crimes committed by some women against their husbands in the country which clearly shows the level of frustration amongst them, there is the urgent need to reorient the men especially the younger generations to grow up to respect women and see them as humans before gender.
Emmanuel who lamented over the plight of women said, a girl child often in the Northern part of the country, is only trained to be married off as parents don’t really believe in investing in their girl children thereby, making them vulnerable in the society, a trend he says must be stopped.
He said, at Men Engage Africa, it is believed that, every woman in the society must be given her due rights and to achieve that, the men whom have played lords over the women for too long must have a new mindsets towards them.
He said the Centre stands against every form of violence against women and advocates women should also be given equal opportunities as men in order to strive to attain greater heights and contribute positively to the development of their society.