Brig.-Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed, Director General, NYSC, has urged corps members to embark on massive grassroots gender sensitization and advocacy campaign against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against women.
The DG gave the challenge in Lokoja on Friday during the commencement of the corps’ Phase one of Grassroots Gender Sensitization and Advocacy Campaign against GBV in rural communities.
Represented by the Kogi NYSC Coordinator, Mrs Mofoluwaso Williams, the DG expressed worry over the spate of gender inequality and gender violence against women and in some cases against men in most rural communities in the North.
Ahmed said that the campaign was a well thought out initiative of the Reforms Unit of the NYSC, which would be implemented on the platform of the Corps Gender Vanguards, with the aim of exposing the ills of gender-based violence and gender inequality.
“It’s unfortunate that gender issues are often misconstrued as affecting females alone, but in reality it’s a matter of interest to both sexes, including their rights and responsibilities.
“It’s also important to remind all and sundry that gender based violence is not only physical and psychological but also constitutes abuse of the fundamental human right of the victims, ” he said.
According to him, this misconception informs the choice of the theme: “Gender equality, respect all,” to tell the society the importance of it.
He explained that in the past, some societies considered the female as weaker sex and tend to ascribe certain roles that relegated them to the background.
The NYSC boss added: “It has since become clear that some societal roles are not necessarily determined by our biological make-up alone and therefore, can change with time and in different situations.”
While declaring open the campaign, the DG appealed to all and sundry to support the NYSC gender vanguard through the provision of the enabling environment for greater impact of the campaign for a better society.
Earlier In his welcome address, Mr Sunday Aroni, State NYSC Head Reforms Unit, thanked the DG for expressly granting approval for the event in spite of other competing demands for scarce resources.
He noted that the program could not have come at better time than now when the whole world was clamoring for protection of human rights.
Aroni said, “NYSC has been in the fore front in the fight against gender inequality through the instrumentality of corps gender vanguards with the aim of exposing the ills of gender-based violence in our society.
“The gender we all know is for both sexes, male and female, whose equal rights to education, protection against all forms of abuse and molestation remain sacrosanct.
“Let us all, therefore, say no to all forms of abuse and molestation of our children who are the future leaders.”
The campaign is taking place simultaneously in rural communities across the northern states.
