Women’s Day: Foluke Daramola, Okei-Odumakin Others Take To The Streets

Nollywood staff and activists in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, this morning led hundreds of school children to protest rising cases of women and girl-child abuse to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.

The procession took off from Allen Roundabout, Ikeja to the Alausa Secretariat, after some speakers have expressed their views on women and girl-child abuse in the country.

Traffic on the ever-busy Awolowo Way, Ikeja was disrupted by the protesters chanting and singing.

Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, whose group, Women Arise, staged the march, decried the rising cases of women and girl-child abuse, saying that it was uncalled for and urged government to do something about it.

“There have been so many acts of violence against women and girls. Women should rise against it while the government should pay more attention to this,” she said.

The theme of this year’s celebration is: “Fix the girl, shape the future.”

Nollywood actress, Folake Daramola called on girls to keep themselves and shun every form of prostitution. She called on mothers to spend more time at home so as to inculcate the right values in them.

Another actor, Lanre Badmus, urged children to run away from prostitution. He also commended the state government for banning children from hawking.

Badmus appealed to girls to pay more attention to their education as this will shape their future.

Also speaking, Prof. Remi Sonaiya of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, appealed to girls to keep their body from defilement and every form of abuse.

Hundreds of children were seen distributing flyers to passersby to sensitise them against violence during the march.

Some of them carried placards with inscriptions like: “Women’s Right Now” and “Greed of Leaders, Grind the Future of girls: End Corruption.”

As at the time of filing this report, the deputy governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire was addressing the protesters on child abuse.

She said the government was doing its best to end child abuse and violence against women.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga