16 Days Of Activism: Women Affairs Minister Gives Nigerian Women Hope, Says President Tinubu Putting In Policies For Their Safety/Wellbeing.

 

Nigeria Minister of Women Affairs Imaan Suleiman Ibrahim has assured Nigerian women that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has put in policies to ensure their safety and wellbeing.

This is as she disclosed that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through the Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions,  is  working to ensure that no matter where a woman or girl lives, from the largest city to the smallest village, she is protected, supported, and empowered.

The Minister also revealed that the ProtectHer and Health Safeguard Initiatives, is expanding survivor services and creating safe spaces where women can walk in without fear and walk out with hope. 

"These are places where they can be heard without judgment, treated with dignity, and supported medically, legally, and emotionally" She assured

Hajiya Imaan Suleiman Ibrahim hailed Nigerian women across the communities,for  breaking barriers, girls gaining confidence, and families and institutions gradually embracing a culture of protection and dignity. 

She assured, " That such  positive shifts reminds us that while challenges remain, we are moving forward.

The Minister stated this at the close of the 2025 edition of 16 days Activism and National dialogue on ending gender Based Violence held in Abuja.

According to the Minister,  "This year’s global theme, “Orange the World: Unite to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls,” resonates deeply with our current reality. 

"Violence is no longer confined to physical places. It follows women into their homes, into their workplaces, into their communities, and now, through our devices, even into the privacy of our thoughts. Too many women wake up every day with fear sitting beside them, fear stalking them online and fear limiting their potential. No nation can become great when half its population is forced to live with that level of anxiety.

She stated that around the world, the situation is grave. "Over 830 million women have endured intimate partner violence, and more than 250 million have suffered sexual violence from non-partners. 

"One out of every three women you pass on the street, every third woman in a classroom, every third woman in an office, will experience violence in her lifetime. Here in Nigeria, thirty-one percent of our women aged 15 to 49 have lived through physical violence, while one in four of our girls has faced sexual violence before even reaching adulthood. These are daughters who never got the chance to grow without fear, girls who carry scars; physical, emotional, and psychological into womanhood.

"The cost to our nation is immense. Every year, we lose trillions of naira, funds that could build schools, equip hospitals, or create jobs simply because violence continues to silence productivity and drain potential. Even more worrying is the rise of digital violence. In the last four years alone, technology-related abuse has increased by over 45 percent. A young girl today is exposed not only to physical harm, but also to cyberbullying, humiliation, blackmail, and threats that linger forever on the internet. These are not abstract concerns. They are lived experiences of real people.

"Gender-based violence is not a women’s problem. It is a leadership problem. It is a societal problem. It is a national development problem. And it robs us of the innovators, teachers, professionals, entrepreneurs, and the leaders we need to build the Nigeria we dream of.

"This is why, under the leadership of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Ministry of Women Affairs has adopted a coordinated and evidence-driven response. Through the Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions – 774, we are working to ensure that no matter where a woman or girl lives, from the largest city to the smallest village, she is protected, supported, and empowered.

"Our legal framework has grown stronger than ever before. The Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act has now been domesticated in thirty-five states and the FCT, creating a foundation for justice that is finally nationwide. We are advancing the National Strategy to End GBV, strengthening institutions, training responders, and pushing for accountability in every corner of the country. We have also achieved near-universal domestication of the Child Rights Act (2003).

"Through the ProtectHer and Health Safeguard Initiatives, we are expanding survivor services and creating safe spaces where women can walk in without fear and walk out with hope. These are places where they can be heard without judgment, treated with dignity, and supported medically, legally, and emotionally. 

"As violence expands into digital spaces, our Digital Harmony Programme is preparing women and girls to navigate the online world with confidence and safety. We are teaching them their rights, improving reporting systems, and working with technology companies to ensure that online spaces do not become new battlegrounds for abuse.

"We are also strengthening families and communities, recognising that prevention begins long before a crisis. A family that nurtures respect, a community that challenges harmful norms, and a society that refuses to accept silence all play a role in creating safety.

"Economic empowerment remains central to our work. Women who earn, who save, who own assets, and who lead businesses are less vulnerable to abuse, and more able to rebuild their lives if they must. Through the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up, thousands of women across the federation are gaining financial independence and the confidence that comes with it.

"We have also developed our National Women Economic Empowerment Framework (WEE) policy, a critical framework for strengthening household prosperity and enhancing the enabling environment for education. Kaduna, Lagos and Kwara States have fully domesticated the WEE Policy, we are alos championing ongoing engagements and commitments from other states.

"Our investment in data is transforming the way we respond to violence. For the first time ever, Nigeria has a National GBV Data Situation Room, where thousands of cases are being monitored, analysed, and used to guide funding and policy decisions, Because every decision that affects women’s lives should be based on truth, not assumptions.

"Today’s Dialogue goes beyond policy discussions. It is a call to conscience. It is a moment for every sector; The Government, private sector, civil society, traditional institutions, faith leaders, and digital platforms to recommit to a Nigeria where violence has no hiding place. The partnership of the IFC and World Bank through the SUGI Project strengthens this national commitment and brings the private sector more deeply into the fight.

"As we move from dialogue to action, 

We must expand survivor support systems so that help is never far away for those who needs it 

"We must establish faster prosecution mechanism and ensuring that all security agencies adhere to standardized GBV response protocols 

"We must improve our data and reporting systems and strengthen our National GBV Data Situation Room

We must also empower traditional rulers, religious leaders and community groups to drive anti violence campaigns.

"We must also strengthen our fight against technology facilitated abuse. We need to enforce stricter penalties for cyberbullying, digital blackmail and online exploitation.

Finally, we must expand women focused financing, supporting women owned businesses and offering economic reintegration programmes for survivors 

  

While presently his paper, the Country Director of World Bank, Mathew Verghis, stated that, "Gender Based Violence, GBV is a binding constraint to development in Africa—including Nigeria—because it erodes human capital, depresses economic productivity, deters girls’ and women’s education and labor force participation, and strains health, justice, and social systems. 

He revealed that, "The World Bank’s Gender Strategy (2024–2030) explicitly elevates “progress in ending all forms of GBV” as a core development objective given its wide social and macroeconomic repercussions.

"For Africa: GBV is not only a rights and public health crisis; it is a macro‑relevant development constraint. Reducing GBV boosts school attainment, labor force participation, firm productivity, and the effectiveness of public investments—directly advancing poverty reduction and shared prosperity.

" In Nigeria, GBV remains a critical barrier to unlocking the country’s economic and development potential. Nigeria has made considerable progress on select human development indicators, including narrowing the gender gaps in primary and secondary education. Yet significant challenges remain in terms of women’s economic empowerment. With high GBV prevalence rates (21 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 experience some form of physical violence) and limited help-seeking behavior (58 percent of women who experience violence never seek help or tell anyone about the violence), GBV is a key barrier to women’s equal participation and advancement in the labor market. 

"In 2022, the World Bank Group embarked on a yearlong Gender Equality and Development +10: Accelerate Equality initiative to explore the progress made and lessons learned in increasing women’s economic empowerment under the 2016–2023 Gender Strategy.

" In this retrospective process, gender-based violence (GBV) was flagged as the most egregious manifestation of gender inequality and an urgent challenge to global public health, human rights, and development. 

"As a result, the new WBG 2024–2030 Gender Strategy responds to this urgency by prioritizing ending GBV as one of 3 strategic objectives.

"Building on emerging evidence, the World Bank approach to GBV prevention and response combines actions at the national, community and business levels. At today’s event we will discuss various pathways to ending GBV through World Bank and IFC engagements including developing national GBV policy plans with adequate financing, enacting legal and regulatory reforms based on international conventions, strengthening survivor-centric GBV response services, implementing community-based prevention interventions and anti-harassment codes to overcome harmful gender norms, and addressing GBV in and through schools by fostering mutual respect and positive gender attitudes.

"As this year we mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – one of the most progressive international agreements on women’s rights to date - the World Bank commits to advancing a bold ambition to accelerate actions to end GBV by piloting integrated public and private sector interventions as part of the 2024–2030 Gender Strategy. Nigeria is one of 16 fast-track countries that is implementing this comprehensive approach and we are thrilled to support the Government on this ambitious agenda. 

Pleading with the personalities present at the event, he said,  "Let this gathering be more than a ceremony. Let it be a pledge—to ensure that every girl can walk to school without fear, every woman can pursue her ambitions without harassment, and every community can thrive free from violence. Together, we can make Nigeria safer, fairer, and stronger.

 The Director Women Development of Federal Ministry of Women Affairs also stated that ending GBV is not only a government responsibility, but a collective national duty.

The Director disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs continues to place strong priority on preventing and responding to SGBV through policy reforms, survivor-centered services, strengthened coordination, and community-level sensitization. However, we recognize that the scale and complexity of this challenge require unified, well-coordinated, and evidence-driven solutions.