C’river women protest against environmental injustice in Nigeria
WOMEN in Cross River State, yesterday, protested against environmental injustice in Nigeria and canvassed the need for a framework environmental justice to protect women in the country.
They carried placards with inscriptions such as: Recognise Women’s Rights On Environmental Justice; Government Is Failing In Its Responsibility To Protect Lives And property; Give Us Our COVID- 19 Palliatives, Protect Women On Land Allocation, and Take Urgent Step To Reform Police, among others.
They also demanded respect for the rights of vulnerable persons, extension of COVID- 19 activities to rural areas, and for the police to show that they were true friends of the people, saying women have not been given justice and fair treatment in environmental issues as it concerns them.
Protesting under the aegis of Wane- aedon Development Association ( Waneledon) in Edondon Town, Obubra Council Area of the state, over 200 women and girls drawn from different communities gathered in Edondon for the rally.
They insisted that the time was ripe for the rights of women to be respected and urged government at all levels, civil society organisations, communities and the private sector to come up with an environmental justice framework, develop tools and strategies to eliminate unfair decisions against women.
Secretary- General of Waneledon, Joy Ogar, said: “Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all persons regardless of race, colour, nationality or income level, with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.
“Such framework should uncover the underlying assumptions that may contribute to and produce different exposures and unequal protection. It should expose the ethical and political questions of who gets what, when, why and how much.”
She, however, argued that environmental justice in Nigeria was ruined by the powerful, who arrogate citizens’ functions to themselves in the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies in utter disregard for meaningful involvement of all persons regardless of race, colour, nationality or income.