RE - Senator Abaribe Says Senators Fear Gender Equality Bill Will Turn Women To Prostitutes, Lesbians...
The
senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, Eyinnaya Abaribe,
in a culled report from Premium times was quoted to have said the Senate
rejected the Gender Equal Opportunities Bill because some lawmakers
feared the legislation could give women unfettered freedom to engage in
immoral activities.
I am a
female lawyer and I was actually sitting opposite Senator Abaribe when
he spoke. the meeting was organized by those who wrote the Bill to
explain why the Bill failed and what Nigerian women need to do (beyond
abusing people online, which wont move the issue forward anyway) to get
this Bill passed. The Senator gave a very intelligent set of suggestions to the women who were in the room and we were all very happy with his at the end of the day, especially because he offered to co - sponsor the Bill next time it is due for presentation. He noted that:
he said some of the northern senators felt they were not consulted enough when the document was being prepared and therefore felt it was a southerners v northerners bill. this is actually a legitimate concern because a lot of advocacy across party and religious lines needs to go into the process.
Finally he said women need to look for male champions of change to also speak in favour of the Bill and HE OFFERED TO BE ONE OF THE SPONSORS OF THE BILL next time it is being presented in Senate because it is going to be represented.
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