By Ononye VC
The traditional ruler of Onitsha,His Majesty Obi Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe has called on advocates of prevention of gender violence to set up practicable framework to go about their advocacy inorder to prevent or minimise the abuse in the society.
According to Igwe Achebe,advocacy for prevention of gender violence must be properly defined to bear distinction and true meaning inorder not to clash with the culture and tradition of the people.
Igwe Achebe gave those charges when a team of multi-stakeholders action committee on gender based violence prevention in Anambra State paid him a visit on Tuesday to seek his support and blessing for the advocacy.
The monarch pointed out that by setting a new agenda for prevention of gender violence,the advocates should visit the villages,engage and sensitize them through public enlightenment and creation of awareness on the evils of gender violence.
Igwe Achebe lamented that owing to poor orientation and mismanagement of a great number of the youths in most families in addition to the prevalent harsh economic situation,the country is placed on a knife edge as the negative effects would push the youths to drugs,armed robbery, kidnapping,rape and other vices.
Citing his indigenous domain,Onitsha as an example,Igwe Achebe said the community has decided various programmes for women and youths empowerment to steer them away from negative activities like gender violence,drug addiction and prostitution.
Earlier in his remarks,the leader of the team,HRH Igwe Pius Omachaonu of Olumbanasa disclosed that a certain survey conducted by an international organisation had fingered Anambra State as one of the states with the highest index of gender violence adding that though his team doubted the report,there was a need to approach stateholders like royal fathers and other influential people in the society like the Obi of Onitsha to lend their weight to the advocacy and for the Obi to oblige as the face of the campaign.
Others who spoke and appealed to Igwe Achebe to support the advocacy and throw his weight behind the project are,the co-ordinator of the programme Mrs Hope Okoye,the Secretary Barr Mrs Lauretta Ikwuka and the representative of the co- chairman and leader of Muslim community in Onitsha,Al-Imam Sheriff Olarenwaju.
After the meeting,the Obi of Onitsha took the visitors to interesting places within his massive palace.
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