Safeguarding Women's Rights in the Home

Kudos to His Excellency, the Governor of Ondo State who acted speedily to ensure that the now deposed Deji of Akure did not go scot free after causing bodily damage to his wife of many years. Why and how spouses violate each other's rights in the home to the point of causing bodily still baffles rights advocates. More so when in some parts of the world, spousal violence especially against women is seen as a man taking his position in the home and disciplining an errant wife.

Considering that this is fifteen years after Beijing, and several countries including our very own as signatories to international instruments designed to protect women, one is amazed that a monarch would deign to cause his wife bodily harm. Though he has since been deposed and action is being taken against him, the truth is that his actions mirror to an extent the hidden dangers that many women face in marriage. Sadly, not many women are as empowered as the Olori who not only cried out for help but also knew who to contact for help.

At the commencement of this project, I received a call from a woman who wanted desperately to protect a friend of hers who was being abused physically by her husband. Glad that my organisation could do something by linking this woman to the relevant organisations that could assist her, we gave the friend who made the call the human rights hotline to give to her hurting friend to call. In spite of promising anonymity, she is yet to make the call.

Could it be fear and the perceived social stigma of addressing wrong spousal behavior for which she could be castigated by negative traditions, I have no idea. But as I write, my prayer is that she will learn from the massive support the Olori received even from fellow women and the government. Their actions go a long way to prove that spousal violence has never been and will never be anyone's culture.

Women, take advantage of the human rights violations reporting hotline and stay alive. The same advice goes to everyone whose right is being violated.