News
2007
Update on Covenant University Policy
Press Release issued by BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, Lagos on 9th October, 2007
In continuation of our human rights intervention for the benefit of public interest on the Covenant University’s policy of compulsory HIV/AIDS and Pregnancy testing, BAOBAB for women’s human rights, a non government, non profit making organisation concerned with the protection, development and exercise of women’s human rights in Nigeria has watched with dismay the loose level of intervention of public institutions to tackle issues headlong as dictated by their establishment. Read More
Federal Government bans HIV\AIDs, pregnancy tests at Covenant University
October 8,2007
Authorities of the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, have been barred from further conducting compulsory HIV and pregnancy tests on its students and staff.
The university owned by the Living Faith Tabernacle, a.k.a Winners’ Chapel, had made HIV and pregnancy tests mandatory for both staff and students at the point of entry and exit into the institution.
The exercise had precipitated widespread public criticisms, with parents of some affected students expressing reservations on the new initiative....More
Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of the legitimately elected government of Burma, has been transferred to Insein Prison, called by one former prisoner "the darkest hell-hole in Burma."
This courageous human rights defender, the more than 1000 political prisoners detained, and the hundreds of thousands of people in Burma engaged in peaceful protests against an oppressive military regime, deserve the freedom and democracy they have struggled for since the 1988 uprising. Those peaceful protests ended in the slaughter of 3000 people. Already, news reports indicate that the army has started to use violence against the protestors. Let us act now to avoid another bloody crackdown....More
Nigeria: Ministry Inaugurates Gender, Peace Keeping Task Force
Daily Trust (Abuja)
1 October 2007
Posted to the web 1 October 2007
Ni'matu Shehu
Abuja
The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs has inaugurated an inter-ministerial task force on gender and peacekeeping in order to make women participate actively in peace processes as peace makers, peace builders, peacekeepers and negotiators in conflict-torn countries.
Women Affairs Minister, Hajia Saudatu Usman Bungudu, who inaugurated the task force in Abuja Friday said the inauguration became necessary after the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 recognised the disproportionate effect of conflict on women and the South Africa strategy workshop organised by the UN Department of' Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO); the Commonwealth Secretariat, as well as the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)...More
AFCF launches an appeal to collect donations for the victims of the disaster in Tintane where thousands of households are in deplorable conditions.
English translation: Hello, AFCF is launching an appeal to collect donations for the victims of the disaster in Tintane where thousands of households are in deplorable conditions. 56 cases of diarrhea registered during the day yesterday and today 62 in the middle of the morning. I want to bring to your attention that the need for food and medicine is increasingly being felt. All of the family goods have been taken away by the water. AFCF dispatched four activists in place with a car full of foodstuffs. The activists maintain that there is still a lack of foodstuffs. AFCF is collecting in kind gifts and donations from all its partners and friends. We ask you to use the AFCF bank account number: 01506473501-81 BAMIS Mauritania. Thank you. Sincerely, Aminetou M/Moctar AFCF
Original Message: Bonjour, L'AFCF lance une campagne de collecte des fonds pour les victimes de la catastrophe de Tintane ou des milliers de ménages sont dans une situation déplorable, 56 cas de diarrhée enregistrés dans la journée d'hier et d’aujourd'hui 62 au milieu de la matinée. Je porte à votre connaissance que le besoin grandissant en nourriture et médicament se fait sentir, tous les biens des familles étaient emportés par les eaux. L'AFCF a dépêché quatre militantes sur place avec une voiture chargée des denrées alimentaires, elles affirment qu'il y a toujours une punerie de denrées. L'Association engage une collecte des dons en nature et en argent avec tous les partenaires et les amis. Nous vous prions d'utiliser le compte Bancaire de l'AFCF N°:01506473501-81 BAMIS Mauritanie merci. Salutations, Aminetou M/ Moctar AFCF
Nigeria: Law Reform Commission Wants Stiffer Penalty for Rapists
Vanguard (Lagos)
13 August 2007
Posted to the web 13 August 2007
Umoru Henry
Abuja
The Nigerian Law Reform Commission is pushing for stiffer penalty for anyone convicted of rape, saying the incidence of rape and other sexual related offences in the country is traceable to the leniency of judges and present penalty attached to the offence.
The commission spoke at a time the incumbent Federation Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Mike Kaase Aondoakaa (SAN) promised to look into the possibility of enacting a law that will serve as deterrents to culprits of the offence..More.
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights: Defending the Rights of Young Women in Academic Establishments in Nigeria
BAOBAB Strategy Team for Violence against Women was inaugurated on 18 July 2007 . The objective of the meeting was to deliberate on all forms of violence against women and strategize on the best approaches to consolidate BAOBAB’s work on curbing this menace. As part of the deliberation at that meeting, BAOBAB informed the strategy team of a Newspaper report captioned: “ Scholars and Saints: Covenant University Stipulates Negative Test To Pregnancy, HIV As Precondition For Graduation By Final Year Students” dated July 14 th 2007 by the Saturday Punch.
BAOBAB is concerned that this action of the university authority is a fundamental infringement of human rights, discriminatory and promotes gender disparity in the treatment of women and girls. An analysis by the team revealed that the action of the university is ultra vires the Nigeria University Commission (NUC) regulation and violates the National Agency for the Control of AIDS Committee (NACA) guidelines for voluntary confidential testing. In a swift response to this, the team sent out a protest letter on 19 th July 2007 to the university and other relevant agencies, calling on all concerned to take appropriate steps in putting an end to this development.
As a result of the exchange in correspondences with our vast network, BAOBAB and the members of the team initiated discussion on this controversy. This gave rise to diverse suggestions and activities by members of concerned human rights activists and Organisations. In response to the suggestions BAOBAB constituted an ACTION TEAM of LEGAL EXPERTS to deliberate on the controversy from a legal perspective. The Action Team Meeting held on Friday 3 rd of August 2007, came up with some recommendation on the possibility of instituting an action through the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) strategy. The issue of “Locus Standi” was seen as a set back for the action and BAOBAB with contribution from the team further undertook the responsibility of doing a media advertorial, calling on aggrieved students/parent/wards to contact the organization with respect to the university compulsory HIV/Pregnancy Testing policy.
BAOBAB on behalf of the team has involved the print media by sending out an article addressing the controversy. The article was sent to various media organisation and has been published by The Guardian Newspaper and Thisday Newspaper. The article was entitled: “ Compulsory HIV/Pregnancy Testing on Students: Between Legality and Morality” and “ A Psychological Death Sentence” respectively.
BAOBAB has since then been monitoring the news and newspapers publication for any further development on this controversy and in calling for a policy reversal by the university authority, BAOBAB has identified allies in some government agencies such as the Ministry of Youth Development, the Nigeria University Commission (NUC), National Agency for the Control of AIDS Committee (NACA), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that have severely depreciated this action and are presently investigating the situation.
Please find detailed information on this in the following documents:
Nigeria :Rape and Violation of the Girl-Child
The Speaker of the House of Representatves, Hon Patricia Etteh was recently appalled at the report by the first lady of Niger State...Read
Iran: Back to Stone Age
The crime: AdulteryVictims: Two consenting adults of the opposite sex.Verdict: Death by stoningThis is the sad ending to a love story that germinates deep in the heart of the Islamic Republic of Iran.Mr. Jafar Kiani and Ms. Mokarrameh Ebrahimi of Aghchekand in the northwest Qazvin province of Iran were lovers.They were married, but not to each other at the time of their arrest.They have an 11-year- old boy out of that adulterous relationship.According to reports obtained by Amnesty International, Kiani and Ebrahimi were convicted of adultery more than a decade ago.The child has known no other home but the gloomy cells of Choubin prison where he lives with his mother.On July 5, 2007, Kiani was buried up to his waist with his hands tied behind his back.Those responsible for carrying out the verdict threw stones and rocks of a particular size at the convict until he died a slow, painful and humiliating death.Under Iran's Islamic law, adultery is punishable by stoning.Stoning was widely imposed in the early years after the 1979 Islamic revolution.Rarely did authorities publicly confirm such a punishment, it was always hushed up.However, the brazenness with which the authorities have confirmed this latest act is chilling.It is a clear violation of international law to which Iran is a signatory. In December 2002, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the head of Iran's judiciary ordered a ban on the practice of stoning."The execution has apparently gone ahead despite Iran's moratorium on execution by stoning, a moratorium that had been in effect since 2002," said Jose Diaz in a statement issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.Iran is known to dish out death sentences quite liberally. Capital punishment by public hanging is common for offences that include rape, murder, armed robbery, apostasy, blasphemy, drug trafficking, adultery, prostitution, treason and espionage.With Kiani dead, his partner Ebrahimi is being held on death row in Choubin prison in the province of Qazvin.Canada has strongly condemned this act and is lobbying the government of Iran to prevent Ebrahimi suffering the same fate.Niaz Salimi, an Iranian-Canadian social activist and a member of the Canadian Muslim Union, says the execution has left people believing this practice is part of Islamic law."Stoning has nothing to do with the Koran and Islamic Shariah," she said. "It is just mixed up and messed up."Salimi says she is actively campaigning against this barbaric practice."Each individual can make a very valuable contribution. This campaign should be supported by every Iranian and non-Iranian who is concerned about human rights. It is very important that we make it an international campaign."In the past few years, some of Iran's reformist legislators have demanded an end to death by stoning as a punishment from adultery.They failed in the face of stiff opposition from hard-line clerics.Several women's rights activists, headed by feminist lawyer Shadi Sadr, have also been campaigning to have stoning removed from Iran's statute books.One such activist is Nasrin Sotouden, who is also an Iranian lawyer."All the women in the campaign against stoning have faced heavy penalties such as whip lashes and jail," she said in a telephone interview from Tehran."The hardliners are trying to stop this activism. We really need a reform in our law."Sotouden said more than 50,000 people have signed petitions for the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign, and 72 feminist organizations have united their efforts "to stop this disgraceful act condoned by the government of Iran.""We are still hopeful. We are going to submit this petition to the Iranian parliament. We have not lost our hope yet."Meanwhile, on death row in the bleak confines of Choubin prison, 43-year-old Mokarrameh Ebrahimi awaits her fate.She is probably unaware of the international campaign that has been launched to save her and others in her situation, as she hopes that she does not meet the same fate as her lover, and the father of her son, Kiani.Fariba Sahraei is an Iranian Canadian journalist enrolled with the Sheridan College's Canadian Journalism program.As a freelancer she works for BBC Persian Now.Teenaz Javat is an Indian-Canadian journalist enrolled with Sheridan College's Canadian Journalism for Internationally Trained Writers program.http://www.thespec.com/article/230458
CEDAW Domestication in Nigeria : The Controversy over Articles 12 and 16
By K F Ajoni
Posted to the Web: Friday, June 29, 2007 http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/features/law/law229062007.html
There has been series of reactions to the set back suffered by the Bill on CEDAW at the National Assembly recently. Many commentators described the non passage of the bill by the National Assembly as ‘throwing away the baby with the bath water’ while a few applauded the act and appealed to the National Assembly to ensure that the bill does not see the light of the day. While I do not intend to join issues with the opponents of the CEDAW bill, because I feel it will be counter productive to do so, I want to put in perspective some of the basic issues addressed by the bill with the hope that this will clear some of the misconceptions surrounding the bill.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW, is one of the most ratified human rights treaties. As at the 2nd day of November 2006, 185 countries, over ninety percent of the members of the United Nations, had become parties to the Convention. The convention is a comprehensive bill of rights for women and is based on the principles of equality between men and women on the notion that women experience particular forms of discrimination because of the gender.
When governments become State parties to a convention, they can identify particular elements that they will not be bound by and thereby ‘enter a reservation’. CEDAW permits ratification subject to reservations, provided that the reservations are not incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention. A number of States enter reservations to particular articles on the ground that national law, tradition, religion or culture are not congruent with Convention principles, and purport to justify the reservation on that basis. Articles 2 and 16 are considered by the Committee to be core provisions of the Convention. Some States parties have withdrawn reservations to those articles after seeing its relevance in promoting development in their States. Nigeria ratified the CEDAW in 1985 without any reservation. The meaning and extent of the provisions of CEDAW has expanded over time. The General Recommendations by the CEDAW Committee have interpreted rights progressively and developed new standards.
In line with this, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, affirming that access to health care, including reproductive health is a basic right under the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, determined at its 20th session to elaborate a general recommendation on article 12 of the Convention. States parties’ compliance with article 12 of the Convention is fundamental to the health and well-being of women. It requires States to eliminate discrimination against women in their access to health care services, throughout the life cycle, particularly in the areas of family planning, pregnancy, confinement and during the post-natal period. The examination of reports submitted by States parties pursuant to article 18 of the Convention demonstrates that women’s health is an issue that is recognized as a central concern in promoting the health and well-being of women.
For the benefit of States parties and those who have a particular interest in and concern with the issues surrounding women’s health, the present general recommendation seeks to elaborate the Committee’s understanding of article 12 and to address measures to eliminate discrimination in order to realize the right of women to the highest attainable standard of health. We must also note the emphasis which other United Nations instruments place on the right to health and the conditions which enable good health to be achieved. Among such instruments are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Nigeria is a party to these instruments.
Article 12 provides:- 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care services, including those related to family planning. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article, States Parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in connection with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, granting free services where necessary, as well as adequate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation.
CASE OF SHAHZIMA TARIQ AND SHAMIAL RAJS FOR ENTERING INTO SAME SEX MARRIAGE
In September 2006 Shahzima Tariq and Shamial Raj got married in a medium large city, Faisalabad,in the Punjab. Both of them knew each other since they are cousins. Since they were mutually committed to each other and determined to spend their lives together they decided to strengthen this commitment by framing it within a marital bond. This was to them the most natural thing to do. This decision was also precipitated by Shahzimas father Tariq Hussain since he was determined to marry Shahazina to someone he owed considerable money to.
Despite the marriage, or because of it, Tariq Hussain and the rest of Shahzimas family continued to harass them and filed several charges against Shamial Raj for kidnapping his daughter and for a number of offences such as fraud. The two of them then approached a lower court in Faisalabad to prevent such harassment. The lower court decided in their favour since they produced their marriage certificate and because both of them were adults. The family continued to harass them to a point where they thought that their lives might be at stake.
Shahzima and Shamial then came to Lahore and found a lawyer, Rana Sajjad Hussain, Advocate High Court, to file a writ petition on their behalf to the High Court to put a stop to such harassment. The case was put before the Kh..Mohammad Sharif Judge of the High Court and the first hearing was set for the 3^rd of May 2007. On the 4^th of May the father of Shahzima appeared before the Court and gave testimony that Shamial was actually a woman. Shahzima and Shamial did not come to this hearing because, their counsel submitted, they had been threatened the previous night and thought they may be murdered if they appeared in court. The Judge ordered a physical examination to be done by a five member medical team at the government Services Hospital. The report was to be submitted on the 8th of May 2007.........More
Nigeria: Cedaw Bill - Masari Wants Speedy Passage
Daily Trust ( Abuja)
Muideen Olaniyi
Speaker of the House of Representatives has pledged to ensure the speedy passage of an impending Bill aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination against women.
Hon. Aminu Bello Masari made the pledge yesterday when the stakeholders in the Bill led by Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs, Hon. Saudatu Sani, paid him a courtesy visit.
Hon. Bello Masari enjoined the committee to present the report on the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Bill next week to facilitate its passage before the termination of this tenure.
The Speaker advised them to work in collaboration with the senate to facilitate the domestication of the convention which has been ratified in the country since 1985 and ensure that it becomes totally applicable....Read More
Iraq:The Moment a Teenage Girl was Stoned to Death for Loving the Wrong Boy
3rd May 2007
A 17-year-old girl has been stoned to death in Iraq because she loved a teenage boy of the wrong religion.
As a horrifying video of the stoning went out on the Internet, the British arm of Amnesty International condemned the death of Du’a Khalil Aswad as "an abhorrent murder" and demanded that her killers be brought to justice.
Reports from Iraq said a local security force witnessed the incident, but did nothing to try to stop it. Now her boyfriend is in hiding in fear for his life.
Miss Aswad, a member of a minority Kurdish religious group called Yezidi, was condemned to death as an "honour killing" by other men in her family and hardline religious leaders because of her relationship with the Sunni Muslim boy.
Read More
Nigeria: Ijaw Women Want Peace in Niger-Delta
Vanguard ( Lagos)
April 17, 2007
Worried with the spate of negative reports emanating from the Niger-Delta areas in recent times, a group of mothers from the Ijaw tribe, "Ijaw Mothers Initiative" has resolved that it is time to step in and restore sanity, security of lives and properties in the region.
This position was made at a press conference last week in Lagos, where the group stated that the issues of oil pollution, deprivation, poverty, kidnapping and hostage takings among others have dominated the scene of activities in the Niger-Delta region, and as a result, the Ijaw Mothers Initiative is in a further attempt and a complimentary effort to other interventionists and organisations to bring a lasting solution to the crisis in the region, has vowed to travel through the nooks and crannies of the Niger-Delta creeks to interact and listen to the Ijaw youths whose voices echo pain.
The interaction will afford the women the opportunity to offer counsel to the youths while delivering the message of a need for the development of the region.
The leader of the group, Mrs. Beatrice Agama said that "as mothers, we gave birth to the youths and we believe that they will listen to us, it is our desire to reach out to our children (the militants) in their hideouts.
The Ijaw Mothers Initiative vehemently condemned the prevailing situation where some individuals/groups ride on the back of Niger-Delta emancipation to seek personal financial benefits at the expense of peace and the collective wellbeing of the people in the area.
The group in its believe that there is time for everything, time to bring to the fore our grievances of deprivation, underdevelopment and marginalisation appeals to the Niger-Delta youths to embrace peace as the time to give peace a chance is now.
NIGERIA : What Have Eight Years of Democracy Done for Women Politicians?
LAGOS , Apr 14 (IPS) - "Men are the decision makers; women should be cooking in the kitchen while men play politics." This is the type of comment that Dorothy Ukel Nyone's male counterparts repeatedly made when she announced her intention to contest a seat in Nigeria's state elections, which got underway Saturday.
Nyone, who wanted to represent the Gokana area in south-eastern Rivers State for the ruling People's Democratic Party, was undaunted.
"I drew up a manifesto and went ahead with mobilising a lot of support, especially among my fellow women, and I was confident that I would win the party primaries," ...More
Nigeria : Elections Threatened by Violence and Abuse of Power
Government Must Act Against Political Violence, End Election-Related Abuses
( Lagos, April 4, 2007)—The Nigerian government’s partisan meddling in the electoral process and its unwillingness to tackle political violence threatens to undermine nationwide polls scheduled for April 14 and 21, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today.
Federal authorities need to take concrete and dramatic steps to ensure a free and fair election. They must end their complacent attitude towards election-related violence and obey any forthcoming court rulings that reverse government efforts to bar opposition candidates from the polls.
“The Nigerian government should ensure that these elections mark a sharp departure from the violence and corruption that has marred the political system,” said Peter Takirambudde, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “But it seems plain that on April 14 and 21, Nigerian voters will again face the threat of violence, intimidation and fraud.”...More
Sudanese Women to be Stoned for Adultery--Updates
20 Mar 2007
KHARTOUM, March 20 (Reuters) - Two Sudanese women have been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery after a trial in which they had no lawyer and which used Arabic, not their first language, the rights group Amnesty International said.
Sadia Idriss Fadul was sentenced on February 13 and Amouna Abdallah Daldoum on March 6 and their sentences could be carried out at any time, the London-based group said in a statement released late on Monday.
North Sudan implements Islamic sharia law.
"The women had no lawyer during their trial and were not able to defend themselves, as their first languages are those of their ethnic groups," Amnesty said.
Both women are from non-Arab tribes but the proceedings were in Arabic and no interpreter was provided, Amnesty said. Their trial took place in central Al Gezira state.
Source: Reuters
http://alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MCD051092.htm
Sudan - Case SDN 090307.VAW
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: Sentencing to Death by Stoning of Two Women on Adultery Charges
Geneva, 9 March 2007. The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sudan.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the OMCT network, of the recent sentencing to death by stoning of two women by the criminal court of Al-Azazi, Managil province, Gazeera state.
According to the information received, the court headed by Judge Hatim Abdurrahman Mohamed Hasan sentenced to death by stoning Ms. Amouna Abdallah Daldoum (23 years old) and Ms. Sadia Idries Fadul (22 years old from Tama tribe, Darfur), on 6 March 2007 and 13 February 2007 respectively, for committing adultery. The two women were charged under article 146 (a) of Sudan’s 1991 Penal Code, which states that “whoever commits the offence of adultery shall be punished with: a) execution by stoning when the offender is married (Muhsan); b) one hundred lashes when the offender is not married (non-muhsan).”.....Read More
International Women's Day, 8 March 2007
International Women's Day, celebrated internationally on 8 March every year for over thirty years now, will focus this year on the theme "Ending Impunity for Violence against Women." The Day serves to highlight the fact that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms require the active participation, equality and development of women; and to acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security...Read More
Iran: Women on Trial for peaceful Demonstration - Update
Some good news, thanks to the national and international support, as of
March 8, 2007, all the arrested women activists, except for 3, were
released. Let's push for the release of the remaining three.
Please sign this online petition to support their release: http://www.meydaan.com/English/petition.aspx?cid=52&pid=11
Iran: Women on Trial for peaceful Demonstration
Activists Arrested for Protesting Discriminatory Laws
New York, February 27, 2007
Iran is prosecuting women for peacefully protesting laws that discriminate against them – and that violate Iranian and international law.
Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch
On March 4, the Judiciary will hold a trial for five women charged with “acting against national security by participating in an illegal gathering.” The women on trial are: Nusheen Ahmadi Khorasani; Parvin Ardalan; Sussan Tahmasebi; Shahla Entesari; and Fariba Davoodi Mohajer. In addition, the Judiciary has charged at least four other activists, Alieh Eghdamdoost, Bahareh Hedayat, Delaram Ali and Azadeh Forghani, with the same offense but has not set their court date....Read More
Partnering For Change: Movement Building in the 21st Century
January 21, 2007
Panelists: Asma Khader, General Coordinator of Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan (SIGI/J) and Sindi Medar-Gould, Executive Director of BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights in Nigeria
 At the Seventh World Social Forum in Nairobi, Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) will present an interactive panel and dialogue with women’s rights activists from Africa and the Middle East who will discuss strategies to strengthen social movements, particularly the women’s movement, in an era of crisis for civic organizing. Efforts to achieve gender equality, human rights, and social justice are being increasingly challenged by rising extremism and fundamentalism, wars and conflict, poverty, and violence. Activists are overcoming these barriers by working together to devise innovative, context-relevant strategies that will transform power relations and dynamics with the family, community, and society.. .... More
2006
The Role of Women in Ngeria's Political Process and the Contribution of Baobab For Women's Human Rights......Read Press Statement
National Discussion on Women's Human Rights & Religion
The latest in the series of the National Discussion was held on November 24 & 25 2006.This forum was convened to commemorate the tenth anniversary of BAOBAB and todiscuss and create awareness on the interconnectedness of global and local issues and the effects on the rights of women as equal citizens.......More
Concept Paper.....Read
Communique........Read
Press Conference October 2006
Moving Women’s Human Rights from the Margins to the Core in Nigeria:
Celebrating a Decade of BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights…..Read
Woman Wins Bahrain Parliament Seat For First Time
Agence France-Presse - 17 October, 2006
A woman won a seat in Bahrain’s Parliament for the first time as registration for Nov. 25 elections ended late yesterday without a contest in her constituency, an official said…More
UN: New Report Says Violence Against Women Is a Human Rights Violation
Classification Obliges States to Punish Perpetrators and Prevent Abuse
(New York, October 9, 2006) – Human Rights Watch and the Center for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University welcomed a report issued by the United Nations today that classifies abuse against women – whether it happens in the home or elsewhere – as a human rights violation. As such, states are obliged by international human rights standards to hold perpetrators accountable…..More
Subject: Fighting the Good Fight for Women's Rights
National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast a report by Jacki Lyden on All Things Considered this Saturday, September 9th, featuring the Women's Learning Partnership's Transnational Partners Convening. This year's five-day gathering included 22 representatives from 15 of our partner organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and culminated in the international launch of our campaign on Arab women's right to nationality. We invite you to listen to the voices of our partners at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6044642
Subject: Re: United Nations University
The United Nations University (UNU) recently compiled some selected BEST essays written by past fellows of the UNU courses. The final essay of Chibogu Obinwa of BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights on the course “International Co-operation and Development,” titled “Women and Poverty: A development Concern,” was amongst the ones selected from her set. The publication is a reference guide in the UNU library for future students.
A New Resource: Tactical notebooks on New Tactics in Human Rights
Source: New Tactics in Human Rights (via the AWID list)
There are more than 40 tactical notebooks written by groups from around the world on the website for New Tactics in Human Rights. The website also includes New Tactic's Workbook, which has been used in a variety of human rights courses at universities this year. The authors - including an educator, a librarian, a health care worker, and a women's rights advocate - recount their personal experiences in these detailed tactical notebooks. Although their backgrounds and situations differ, all used innovative tactics to help address an urgent human rights situation. Read these notebooks to learn how a tactic was actually implemented, what factors influenced its use, and the challenges that surfaced along the way.
For further details please go to http://www.newtactics.org/main.php/ToolsforAction/TacticalNotebooks
Just for your info, amongst the notebooks is:
A Mock Tribunal to Advance Change: The National Tribunal on Violence Against Women in Nigeria
By Mufuliat Fijabi, BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights, Nigeria.
Court throws out petition...
2006-09-09 09:36:00
By Judica Tarimo
The High Court of Tanzania yesterday rejected a petition by human rights activists to declare the customary inheritance law unconstitutional.
A panel of high court judges comprising justices Salum Masati, Augustine Shangwa and Thomas Mihayo, said the court had declined to grant a request by the petitioners, Elizabeth Stephen and Salome Charles, both residents of Shinyanga Region.
The two are widows who claimed to have been denied their rights to inheritance.
Reading the verdict, Justice Thomas Mihayo said, the court admits that the customary inheritance law was flawed and actually discriminates against widows and female children. However, it could no be declared unconstitutional.
”The court declines to grant orders as proposed by the petitioners,” said Justice Thomas Mihayo.
The petitioners had wanted the court to direct the Attorney General to make some necessary amendments on the customary law, pay the cost of denying them their basic and constitutional rights, and finally declare the Customary Law (Declaration Order) N0. 4 of 1963 unconstitutional.
The case was filed by Women Legal Aid Centre (WLAC) on behalf of the petitioners.
On the list of petitioners’ counsel included, Geneviene Kato (lead counsel), Nakazael Lukio Tenga, Julius Ndyanabo, Eugence Mniwasa, Bahame Nyanduga, Alphonce Katemi and Mohamed Tibanyendera. Others are Athanasia Soka, Alex Mgongolwa, Magdalena Rwebangira, Jessie Mngoto, and Maria Kashonda.
The Attonery General was represented by the State Attorney, Mixon Ntimbwa.
Counsel representing the petitioners challenged the constitutionality of the customary laws, saying it denied widows their rights to inherit properties of their deceased husbands, contrary to the country’s Constitution and international human rights conventions.
According to the evidence tendered in court, Sukuma customary laws allowed relatives of the deceased husbands to chase them out of their estates.
The counsel wanted the court to declare the customary laws null and void on the grounds that it discriminated against widows and female children, during the distribution of inheritance property.
The law also offered lions’ shares to boys compared to daughters,in the course of inheritance distribution process .
But justice Mihayo, said there were other remedies through which the affected widows could access their rights, instead of declaring the law unconstitutional.
The court said nullification of the law would create confusion amongst members of different societies because Tanzania has many tribes.
”If the court accepts these proposals, other people from different tribes would file similar cases, challenging their customs,” noted Mihayo.
The court provided options to the petitioners to pursue their cases - submit their proposals to the district councils, which will recommend to the responsible minister to modify a certain customary law.
”If the minister accepts the proposals, he may publish them in the government gazette or make some amendments on the laws to suit public interests,” said Justice Mihayo.
But the petitioners’ counsel said the would appeal. ”We are not satisfied with the ruling; we are going to the Court of Appeal very soon,” said Alex Mgongolwa.
Chief Mufti issues fatwa against terrorism
A mahant from Varanasi and a mufti from Punjab came together on a common platform in Mumbai on Thursday to jointly declare a holy war (jihad) against their respective co-religionists who preach hatred and perpetrate violence against innocent citizens…...More
Iraq: The status of women in Iraq: an assessment of Iraq’s de jure and de facto compliance with international legal standards (American Bar Association - Iraq Legal Development Project)
The Assessment covers thematic categories: political participation, civil society and women in decision making; violence against women and the right to personal security; labor and economic rights; family and marriage; nationality; health; and education……More
For the Arabic version…..Click here
Somalia: Gender-Based Violence Galvanized Warlords' Foes
MOGADISHU, Somalia, June 17 -- Sometimes, the women here said, it began
with
a knock on the door after dark or with a kidnapping in broad daylight. And
sometimes, the gunmen who ruled this city would use a long, sharp knife to
slice open the tin shacks of poor families and snatch their daughters
away……More
Pakistan: Demand action after incident of sexual violence at the Islamic Learning Department of Karachi University
Human Rights advocates are shocked over the attempted rape of a female law student by staff of the Islamic Learning Department of Karachi University on 28 July 2006. They urge you to write to the Pakistani authorities to demand action for the arrest of the perpetrators and the filing of a criminal case.
The perpetrators include a senior computer operator, two other employees at the Islamic Learning Department and a student of Department of Physics. Even though the perpetrators were brought before Vice Chancellor Dr. Pirzada Qasim, he suspended them a few days later only after the incident was widely publicized in the newspapers, and also allegedly prevented the victim from lodging a complaint to the police station.
Meanwhile, no serious disciplinary and legal action has been taken against the perpetrators due to the alleged influence from the Pakistan Rangers stationing within the university premises.
More than a month has passed and the authorities of the University have still not reported the case to the police.
A fact finding team led by an NGO has also discovered that the two main perpetrators, had been caught once before for a similar incident at the Shiekh Ziad Islamic University, which is located within the premises of the Karachi University. However, under the alleged influence of the Pakistan Rangers, they were later transferred to the Islamic Learning Department of the Karachi University after receiving disciplinary action.
Although the four alleged perpetrators have reportedly confessed to their crime in written statements before the inquiry committee formulated by the Karachi University to investigate the case but no serious action has been taken against them.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please write to the persons listed below and demand that they take action for the arrest of the perpetrators and the filing of a criminal case at the police station so that a police investigation can begin. Please also urge the university authorities to complete its inquiry as early as possible and to provide full protection to victim and her family.
Sample letter
Dear…..
We, human rights activists, are extremely disturbed to learn about the rape attempt on a student at Karachi University by four men involving three staff members of the Islamic Learning Department and one student of the Physics Department on 28th July 2006. It is far more shocking that more than a month has passed and the authorities of the University have still not reported the case to the police. Karachi University authorities and the Vice Chancellor are taking too long to investigate the incident.
Although the perpetrators have only been suspended, they are still allowed to visit the University campus daily and have pressurized students to stop protesting the incident. They are also allegedly supported by some officials belonging the Pakistan Rangers. The callousness exhibited by the University authorities and the threat of scare tactics has left the victim and her family with no other option but to take refuge in an anonymous location.
We have been informed that the four alleged perpetrators reportedly confessed to their crime in writing before the inquiry committee set up by the University’s authorities to investigate the case. This fact was confirmed by key University authorities before a finding team sent by an NGO. The fact finding team has also discovered that the two main perpetrators of this incident, had been caught once before for a similar incident at Sheikh Zaid Islamic University which is located within the premises of the Karachi University. However, the alleged influence of the Rangers led to incident being hushed up and after a disciplinary action they were transferred to the Islamic Learning Department of Karachi University.
The lack of interest by the authorities in resolving the issue and taking preventive measures has raised serious concerns. Moreover the Vice Chancellor’s failure to notify the police of the incident only helps perpetrators escape from liability and encourages similar abuses and violence to take place within the University premises.
In light of the above information, we strongly urge you to conduct a thorough investigation in this case and take legal action against the offenders. Any findings or inquiry report should be made public. We also recommend that the victim be allowed to continue her education in safety at the University.
Sincerely,
Please send your letters to:
General Pervez Musharraf
President
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
E-mail: please see http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx
Mr. Ashfaq Gondal
Principal Information Officer to President of Pakistan
President Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 927 008
Mr. Muhammad Wasi Zafar
Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights,
S Block,
Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad,
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2628
E-mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk
Justice Iftikhar Choudhry
Chief Justice of Pakistan
Supreme Court building
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 921 3452
Justice Sabih Uddin
Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 921 3220
E-mail: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk
Mr. Ishrat-ul- Ibad Khan
Governor
Government of Sindh
Governor House Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 21 920 1201
E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk
Dr. Arbab Abdul Rahim
Chief Minister of Sindh
Chief Minister House
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 21 9202000
Joint Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block,
Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad,
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 51 920 2819
Fax: + 92 51 920 3119
Dr. Peerzada Qasim
Vice Chancellor
University of Karachi
Tel: +92 21 9261337
Fax: +92 21 9261340
E-mail: vcku@cyber.net.pk
Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
Attn: Mara Steccazzini
Room 3-042
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)
THE CASE OF CHEN GUANGCHENG AND THE VIOLATIONS OF HIS HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA
Chen, a lawyer and human rights defender, became subject to harassment, arbitrary detention and other human rights violations last year after exposing a large-scale population planning campaign that both violated the Population and Family Planning Law of the People’s Republic of China and included coercive and forceful actions such as imprisonment, assault and non-voluntary sterilization and abortion in Linyi city, Shandong province. On Thursday, 24 August, he was sentenced to four years, three months imprisonment in a trial that excluded his own lawyers from participation.
“This action against Chen is surprising in light of China’s recent improvements in law and practice, which calls for non-coercive reproductive health services,” said Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice and the leader of an interfaith delegation that traveled to China in 2003 to investigate its family planning practices. “It demonstrates governmental ambivalence in implementing these policies. International pressure—especially from those supportive of reproductive health—is essential to building Chinese resolve to respect the human rights of women regarding reproduction.”
Appalled by the treatment of Chen, the signatories of the letter stated: “We hope this resolution will include the release of Chen Guangcheng and associates as the result of proper due process and in conformation with international human rights standards.”
This is a link to a PDF document of the final letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao:
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/news/pr/2006/documents/ChenGuangchengsignonFINAL.pdf.
THE STONING SENTENCE OF ASHRAF KALHORI
Ayatollah Shahroudi has acted to stop the execution of Ashraf, the 37 year old mother of Four, who was sentenced to stoning for having had extramarital sex.
Below is a letter on the update of her case.
Subject: Update on Stoning Sentence of Ashraf Kalhori
I am writing to thank you for acting to save Ashraf Kalhori from execution by stoning.
I am glad to inform you that Ayatollah Shahroudi has acted to stop the execution of Ashraf, the 37 year old mother of four, who was sentenced to stoning for having had extramarital sex.
On her behalf, I sincerely thank every one of you for signing the petition and helping to save her life.
Earlier this week, I submitted the petition to the office of the Judiciary Chief, Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi requesting remittal of her sentence. The petition included the signatures of more than a hundred Iranian women rights activists and over four thousand signatures collected online.
It is a wonderful feeling to see people coming together to save the life of another human being. I should also say that it is a great pleasure for me, as her lawyer, to share my happiness with all of you who were with us and supported the effort to save her.
However, the fate of Ashraf is not clear yet, and I am asking you to please continue your efforts and keep your voices loud until we make sure that she is safe. Furthermore, we must demand a change in the law that makes stoning illegal as a "sentence" for any crime.
I would like to thank you again for acting on time. I will continue to keep you updated on issues of stoning.
Warm Regards,
Shadi Sadr
TALENT COMPETITION CONCEPT
In any society, political participation of women should be an integral part of the development process. This is bearing in mind also that political participation is the process by which all citizens, men and women know and are able to exercise their basic rights and responsibilities as well as participate in achieving sustainable democracy and development. Political participation entails broadening of women’s options for influencing gender sensitive legislation at both regional and national levels of governance especially for women who have been marginalized in the political process. This process also allows women to make choices rather than be restricted to decisions imposed on them.
BAOBAB, acknowledging the fact that socialization process begins at the early stages of life, believes in working with the young ones. In this regard, one of BAOBAB’s activities in promoting the human rights of women is a biennial talent competition event designed for young people between the ages of 6 and 24 years. The idea is to engage the young ones to be creative in using diverse genres of art, e.g. prosaic write ups, poetry, music, poster designs with different messages of women’s human rights.
The talent competition has the following key objectives
1) To enable children and young people exercise and develop their talents, while raising their awareness of the issue of women’s rights as human rights
2) To promote young people’s understanding and appreciation of human rights from a gender perspective
4) To facilitate an early process for the shaping of children and young men and women’s discourse in a manner that will not take for granted that women’s rights are human rights
5) To nurture their ability to recognize violations of women’s and girl’s rights in their own experiences
6) To provide an opportunity and a creative outlet for children and young people to consider the issues of justice and the ability to exercise one’s rights. It is also an avenue for discovering hidden talent among young people.
BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights (BAOBAB) is holding its 3rd National talent competition this year. This year’s competition which also coincides with BAOBAB’s tenth year anniversary has the theme - ‘The Role of Women in Nation Building’. This aptly reflects the current global consciousness of the need to integrate women in leadership, as well as the recognition by the United Nations that women’s participation in decision-making is crucial to any development process.
In developing the theme for this year’s competition, BAOBAB also considered the fact that this year marks the 50th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) of the United Nations, with a thematic focus on women's participation in decision making including political participation. This is bearing in mind also that we have recorded some women Presidents or Prime Ministers in three countries so far this year - Liberia, Germany and Chile.
The competition will be in two areas – essay writing and poster design. The age categories are – children (6-12 years), teenagers (13 – 18 years) and young adult (19 -24 years of age). Entries should be sent to BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, 76 Ogudu Road, Ojota Lagos or P.O.Box 73630 Victoria Island Lagos before July 15, 2006. Essays can be emailed to talentcompetition@baobabwomen.org
When the entries for this year’s competition have been received, there would be an identification of judges that would select the three best entries in each category using the criteria that would be developed. Some of the prizes to be won are Computers, Computer training scholarships, one year book scholarships, educational games, scholarship for French language courses.
The winners will be announced at an award ceremony in the last quarter of the year.
BAOBAB generally hopes to use this medium to emphasise the need for a re-socialised society where women’s human rights become an integral part of every day life!
2005
September 2005
The NGO-CEDAW coalition wrote an analytical review on the Nigeria’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) report. The coalition concludes that Government should strengthen its efforts towards the achievement of BPFA, CEDAW and the MDGs as well as strategically engage civil society in this regard. The coalition emphasizes that the MDGs cannot be achieved by the 2015 target, without implementing the BPFA and CEDAW. Read the full review....
July 7, 2005
Press statement
Nigerian NGO CEDAW Coalition Meets on Millennium Declaration and Development Goals Review Summit.
The following organizations and individuals: BAOBAB For Women’s Human Rights, Lagos, Project Alert on Violence Against Women, Lagos, Women’s Rights and Protection Agency, Abuja, WODEF, Lagos, Women’s Advocates and Research Centre, Lagos, Centre for Rights and Development, Lagos, League for Democratic Women, Kaduna, Inter African Committee, Lagos, Young Business and Professional Women, Lagos, Foluke Omoworare, Lagos, Chinyere, Fred-Adegbulugbe, Lagos, and Julie Ekong, Lagos. Met on July 6th 2005 at a CEDAW NGO Coalition Meeting hosted by BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights in Lagos to deliberate on the upcoming Millennium Declaration and Development Goals (MDGs) Review Summit in September 2005, at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.
The highlight of the deliberation was on the need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to live up to expectations in respect of its commitment to the achievement of the MDGs.
The group observed that Nigeria is still very far from its effort to achieving the MDGs. Specifically; there is still lack of reflection of gender balance in government policies and intervention programmes. Since the MDGs cannot be achieved without promoting gender equality and women empowerment, it is crucial that gender concerns are mainstreamed into the process.
The group stressed further that the government should maintain a continued link between the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the MDGs. Unless the CEDAW and the BPFA are domesticated and implemented, respectively the road to the realization of the MDGs by the year 2015 in Nigeria may be too far.
Finally, the Coalition is calling on the Federal Government to expedite action on realizing the MDGs, by taking appropriate measures to eliminate all barriers to the development of women.
Signed
NGO-CEDAW Coalition
Analytical review of the NGO-CEDAW coalition on Nigeria’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) report / implementation: In preparation for the Millennium summit and Millennium Development Goals review at the United Nations (UN) headquarters on the 14th-16th of September, 2005.
The NGO-CEDAW coalition held several meetings on the Nigeria’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) report. The NGO-CEDAW coalition, comprised of women’s human rights and like-minded organizations in Nigeria, committed to the promotion and protection of women’s human rights in Nigeria.
The coalition’s review was done in view of the fact that Goal 3 of the MDGs calls for empowering women and promoting gender equality, specifically setting targets to eliminate gender disparity in all levels of education by 2015, with additional indicators on employment of women and the proportion of women in parliaments. The coalition believes that gender equality is an essential crosscutting component for meeting all the goals. In this regard, the coalition stressed the need for the Nigerian government to integrate the provisions of the Beijing Platform For Action (BPFA) as well as the outcome of the BPFA review (Beijing +10) and the provisions of the CEDAW within the agenda for the achievement of the MDGs in Nigeria.
Background
In September 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Summit, the largest-ever gathering of world leaders- 147 heads of State and Government and representatives from 189 nations in total- agreed to a groundbreaking set of time-bound and measurable goals and targets. These Millennium Development Goals, as they came to be known, aim to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women. The Summit's Millennium Declaration also outlined a wide range of commitments in human rights, good governance and democracy, as well as gender equality & women empowerment.
Five years after, various Heads of State and Government including Nigeria met to review the progress made by countries of the world towards achieving the MDGs at UN Millennium Summit (MDG+5) in September 2005 in New York. To this end, members of NGO-CEDAW Coalition, Civil Society Groups and the Media, working on women’s human rights in Nigeria reviewed the Nigeria’s Millenium Development Goals report and the implementation progress of the MDGs in Nigeria from a gender perspective using the provisions of Beijing Platform For Action (BPFA) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as yardsticks.
According to United Nations Secretary General, Dr. Kofi Annan,” In our work to reach those objectives as the Millenium Declaration made clear, gender equality is not only a goal in its own right, it is critical to our ability to reach all others”. (“Study after study has shown that there is no effective development strategy in which women do not play a central role”).
Observations:
Goal 1 of the MDGs seeks to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by reducing by half the proportion of people living on less than one dollar a day and proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
Important as goal one is, to be considered the top most goal of human development, to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty by reducing by half by 2015, the number of people living below one dollar per day. The Nigeria MDGs report in its poverty eradication programs, does not have gender desegregated data of the number of women, girls and children in relation to men and boys who benefited from the government's poverty eradication programs. The Nigerian society is still awash with the denial of young girls/women access to credit facilities, education, employment, market activities and cross border trade. Seventy percent (70%) of Nigerians are living below the poverty level of less than one dollar a day.
Also, the Nigerian Government's anti-poverty programs are carried out mostly in the urban areas. There is limited provision by the government on transport. Especially women in grassroots are affected by lack of transportation.
Both CEDAW and BPFA call for the elimination of discrimination against women in relation to employment, access to agricultural credit and loans, bank loans, owning and administration of property. Both conventions hold government responsible for developing strategies and methodologies that would make the feminization of poverty history, by providing access to credit, business services, training, markets and promoting women’s economic rights and independence.
Governments are obligated under CEDAW and committed under BPFA to take a range of measures to guarantee women’s rights and access to economic resources that are critically necessary for poverty reduction. Articles 11, 15,13.b, 16.1.h, 14 of CEDAW and strategic objectives A.2, A.3, A.4, F.1, F.2, F.3, F.4, F.5 and F.6 of BPFA obligate government to ensure gender equality in all aspects of employment. Laws, policies and administrative processes must guarantee that women have equal rights in relation to poverty, contracts and loans- in public economic life and also within the context of marriage and family life. Women must be provided with access to markets, credit and technology. Heightened attention must be paid to the situation of rural women, and in particular their equal rights to land and property ownership must be ensured, as well as adequate living conditions in relation to housing, sanitation and water supply.
Goal 2 of the MDG seeks to Achieve Universal Primary Education by ensuring that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling in enrolment and completion by 2015.
Articles 10, 10a, b, c, d, e, f, 14.2.d and general recommendations 19 of CEDAW and strategic objectives B.1, l.4, B.4, 13.5 and L.7 of BPFA call for equal access to education for boys and girls. Governments are encouraged to develop programs that are geared towards reduction of female student dropout rates and the organization of programs for girls and women who have left school prematurely.
In Nigeria, gender equality is not deliberately being encouraged in school enrollment. Available statistics do not show comprehensive figures of the number of girls that have completed full course of primary and secondary education in all the States of the federation in relation to boys. The coalition considers this very important so that areas of intervention when developed can be effective.
Goals 4, 5 and 6 seek to reduce child mortality and Improve maternal health by reducing by two-thirds the mortality rate among children under five and reducing by three-quarters the maternal mortality ratio.
Articles 21.1, 12.2, 14.2b, 10.h, 5.a, 11,15,16, 7.b and recommendations 15 and 19 of CEDAW and strategic objectives c.1, c.2, c.3, c.4, c.5, L.2, L.5, D.1, F.1, G.1 of BPFA obligates government to set up social structures needed to effectively deliver appropriate health services. In Nigeria, a range of gender inequalities entrenched in social, economic, cultural and political structures have rendered this situation even more threatening. Depriving women of educational and literacy opportunities significantly impairs their ability to care for their own health and that of their children and to ensure proper nutrition.
The politicization of the health sector and its subsequent under funding coupled with corruption make a farce of the realization of goals 4, 5 and 6 which hope to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. With less than 2% of the world’s population, 10% of worlds maternal deaths, estimated at 1,100 per 100,000 live births, takes place in Nigeria, one of the highest in the world. Nigeria has one of the lowest levels of modern family planning use in the world: Only 35% of its population are privy to modern family planning methods. 19% of its population, between the ages of 19 and 24, experiences high fertility and many unintended pregnancies. Prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases is estimated at 5.6% of the population.
Issues of budgetary allocations to health sector, which is a far cry from the 26% of the budget recommended by the world health organization, have put the health sector in Nigeria into a precarious situation. Funding and equipping of government hospitals, salaries and incentives for health care workers and availability of trained medical professionals are silent in the Nigerian report, yet these are veritable indicators of a country’s attempt at improving child and maternal health.
One major way of halting or reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria | 
