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Childhood experience prompted my GBV advocacy – Olofinyokun, SDGs Ambassador
Precious Olofin
Precious Olofinyokun, a Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Ambassador and gender right advocate, has narrated how her childhood experience shaped her passion for advocacy against Gender Based Violence (GBV).
News Agency
She disclosed this on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
She narrated how as a growing up child, she witnessed a man battering his wife and the man still demanded the wife to apologise to him, a development which she described as unfair to the woman because of her gender.
She added that her subsequent engagement with her grandmother to seek answers to such a societal bias against the victim proved unsatisfactory.
She said that particular event was a turning point in her life aspiration and why she chose to be voice for the voiceless women in the society.
“While growing up, violence was a thing we grew up with; limiting the girl child or the woman.
This allowed their gender to be a major determinant to them.
“One of the major things that actually happened was when I witnessed a man battering his wife and after they asked the woman to apologise again to the man.
“Then, I engaged my grandmother that it was not right,how can a man beat a woman and they still mandate the woman to apologise?
“My grandmother said that’s the way it is, after that I started finding answers on my own by reading books and asking my teachers questions and I also realised that girls are marginalised in terms of education, these and more are the reasons why I’m so passionate about eradicating GBV.
“When I got to SSS classes, I told my friends that I wanted to be voice for the women and girls when I grow up.
“To the glory of God today, I am an advocate of gender rights especially favouring the girl child, young people, and women.
Development Goals
“I am a social organiser and canvasser for sustainable development practices and currently a sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Ambassador.
Gender and Development Studies
” To cap it all, I am currently a postgraduate student with specialisation in Gender and Development Studies,” she said.
Program Assistant and Gender Desk
Olofinyokun who presently works as Program Assistant and Gender Desk officer (Gender and vulnerable Person’s Unit)Funmilayo Adunni Olayinka Women center Fajuyi Ado Ekiti, is also member At Sexual Assualt Referral Centre (SARC) Ekiti, as a member of the Rapid Response Team.
She listed her areas of focus to include girl child education, women empowerment and leadership training.
Others, according to her are: advocacy and awareness on need to keep girls in school through provision of menstrual hygiene and provision of vocational trainings and start-up loans for women.
She, however, described inadequate funding, lack of political will and
inability to implement laws and policies around women as major challenges facing eradication of GBV in the country.
Regardless of these challenges, Olofinyokun revealed that she had set a target for herself in her chosen path.
“My target is to see more women and girls taking leadership positions and becoming who they want to become without any hindrance or barrier due to their gender.
” I want to see them fulfill their purposes and for me, I want to be among top Nigerian women championing voices of women in few years to come,” she said.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
