Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Borno State branch has trained the personnel of the Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp on how to curb election violence against women.
Speaking at the occasion, the Vice President of FIDA, Mrs Amina Agbaje disclosed this during a two-day training with a theme, “Capacity Building of Law enforcement Agencies on prevention and response to violence against women(VAW) in elections, held in Maiduguri on Thursday.
She noted that the protection of women during elections is very critical to their active participation.
Represented by the state chairperson, FIDA Borno State, Hafsat Baba, Agbaje noted that over the years women have become victims of election violence, saying the narration must be addressed in the coming election in Nigeria.
“Eradication of political violence is key in advancing women’s political participation as it is of paramount importance to condense political violence before and after the election so that women can fully participate in elections,” Agbade said.
According to her, globally women share a common feature of marginalization and their participation in politics has continued to be minimal because most often they are afraid of coming out to exercise their civic responsibility.
“So this workshop is intended to strengthen the capacity of the law enforcement officers and institutions to encourage more participation of women by ensuring hitch-free violence before, during and after elections.
In her goodwill message, the state Chairperson of FIDA, Hafsat Baba noted that the participants were drawn from Police Force and NSCDC personnel in preparedness towards the next year’s election circle.
She stressed that there is a need for political classes in the country to preach and embrace peace despite the political differences.
Also, speaking at training, the State Commandant of the NSCDC, Musa Umar Farouk thanked the organisers for the timely training of the personnel and promised that they would support other security agencies to ensure free and fair elections in the state.
