World Bank, Nasarawa to tackle female genital mutilation, others

The World Bank in partnership with the Nasarawa State government has expressed determination to tackle female genital mutilation, sexual harassment, sexual molestation and indecent dressing amongst females across various institutions of higher learning in the state.

The Director, Public Defender at the Nasarawa State Ministry of Justice, Mrs Justice Justina-Allu, stated this in an interview with journalists at a one-day sensitisation workshop for stakeholders on the dangers of female genital mutilation and gender-based violence in the society.

Mrs Allu called for a behavioural change to address the issues of sexual harassment and sexual molestation, among others.

She said: “For the students and other young ladies moving around naked, they should know that it is an offence in section 26 of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law in the state.

“Whoever is seen naked on the street commits an offence and the punishment is one-year imprisonment or a N100,000 fine or both, so all the ladies exposing their bodies should be aware that it is not allowed by the law,” she said.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the workshop brought together community and religious leaders from all 13 local government areas of the state.

The Gender Pillar Head of CoPREP in the state, Mrs Esther Yonah, who expressed worry over the negative impact of genderbased violence and female genital mutilation on the selfesteem of women in the state, noted that female rights had been the most abused and neglected despite the several campaigns launched to create awareness, which was what gave birth to the workshop.