ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi
The Minister of Women Affairs and Child Development, Dame Paulen Talen, on Thursday described rape as deadly as murder.
She said this when she paid an advocacy visit to the Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, at the Government House.
Tallen who commended the Bauchi State governor, for signing the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) bill into law lamented the high rate of gender based violence across the country and in the state in particular.
She therefore, called for the strict enforcement of the law to serve as deterrent to others.
The Minister said: “You recall our meeting with the all the governors in June this year where they, including you, resolved to declare a state of emergency on issues of gender based violence and rape.
“And since then, the issues of gender based violence and rape are still on the increase, even yesterday, we had another bad case here in Bauchi, sadly, a 60-year old man raping a child of five years.
“The good news is that you and your able wife has put in place structures and has been following up and is planning to reach out to the Commissioner of Police and the Chief Judge to ensure that justice is done once the perpetrators are caught.
“I also want to thank you for signing the VAPP bill into law not too long ago and you happen to be the first governor in the northeast to do so and that has gladden my heart. That is why I am here to thank you and the House of Assembly for putting and domesticating the VAPP law.
“What we are asking for is proper implementation of this law because rape is as deadly as murder. So many young girls die in the process and so many lives have been wasted,” she lamented.
The former Plateau state Deputy Governor commended the governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai for amending the law by including castration because “the best thing to do is to deal with the weapon of rape.”
She said that “inasmuch as we appreciate the good works you are doing, but as Oliver Twist, we are asking for more. We are also asking for more appointive positions to women to commensurate their support.”
Governor Bala Mohammed who was elated by the visit in his speech noted that Bauchi is years behind other states in gender equity.
He said that the VAPP law will be taken back to the State House of Assembly to ensure that areas of conflicts are amended pointing out that “it will be done to suite our tradition and our societal expectations, because this bill came from there, we have already discussed with the Chairperson of the National Council of Women Societies and my wife.”
He added: “The VAPP law has been signed and there are some impurities there and implementation is going to be very, very hard and I assure you that we will start the implementation.
“Areas where we find out that the punishments are not adequate the way Kaduna did, we will amend it to include those aspects so that castration will also be part of our own (VAPP law).
“Honestly, because I think we better destroy the instrument of rape by going for castration because even when I pardon somebody, I discovered that he was a serial raper.”
Mohammed said on the issue of Child Rights Act, there are some provisions that are against some traditional perception especially the issues of early marriage and the rest.
He however, said that his administration will soon set up an executive committee to be made up of Ulamas and Clergymen to discuss issues of child and early marriage and advice the government “because some of the rape issues all the Members are also guilty of all the perpetration of the crimes.”
Responding to a request by the Minister that women should be given the opportunity to contest the forthcoming local government council elections in the state scheduled for October 17th, he said that even though the women voted for him more than the men from the statistics that came out however, they have always become very shy to participate as contestants.
He said: “Nobody stopped them from participating in politics, but they are the most dogged people who stand the shine, the wind and everything to make sure the exercise their universal surferage by voting.
“That is why my wife and I know that we have a lot of burden and responsibility to discharge to our women folk, for finding themselves in this situation. Yes, they are the veritable tools which leadership is created but yet, they find themselves at the back and this has to do with tradition, with perception and we are doing our best in terms of making frantic efforts to reverse the trend.”
He promised to encourage the women to participate in politics and also seek elective positions lamenting that during the last primary election primaries, he did all his best because his party said there must be 35% affirmative action but lamented that some of the stakeholders were not favourably inclined.
“We will make frantic efforts to ensure that at least, Councillors are given to the women but they have to come and take it because politics is about numbers, it is about democracy, you cannot allocate positions and some of them are more credible than the men,” he said.
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