Group urges NUC to mandate institutions on implementation of gender policies

One coalition, the 100 Women Lobby Group, has called on the Nigerian University Commission (NUC) to enforce the development and implementation of gender policies in institutions.

The group made the call on the sidelines of a workshop on “Engaging Young Women Leaders in Gender Politics” for students and staff at the University of Abuja.

He said such a step would help curb all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG).

Ms. Felicia Onibon, the group’s National Coordinator, denounced rampant incidents of violence, sexual harassment and intimidation of female students.

He added that developing and implementing a gender policy would curb the threat.

Onibon said that some universities already had gender policies in place, while some were still working on it.

“Others are not thinking about developing it or implementing it in their institutions.

“We are asking the National University Commission to make it a duty for every university to have a gender policy.

“And they should be the watchdogs from the outside, while the university itself watches what’s going on from the inside.

“It is a document that will be very useful for both public and private institutions,” he said.

Onibon added that the workshop participants were carefully selected to contribute to the development of a document for the implementation of the gender policy in the school.

“We believe that the result of this workshop will influence the documents that will come out.

“There is no point in developing a policy document without the students. It is always better to let the students do their input and observations,” she added.

He urged the school leadership to make sure the policy document came out in a timely manner, followed closely to address the incessant cases of VAWG.

Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na-Allah, Vice Chancellor of the university, highlighted the need for a document for the implementation of the gender policy in the institution.

NA-Allah, represented by Professor Mabel Evwierhoma, director of the university’s Center for Gender and Security Studies and Youth Advancement, said the workshop was part of the move to develop a document on gender policy.

He said that the policy sought to guide, instruct and visualize the various actors within university campuses on how to respond to cases of GBV and support survivors.

“We can gain more if we finally have a proactive document and one that mitigates problems when they occur.

“It is also in line with world practice in terms of having a balanced gender equitable structure within the university,” he said.

For his part, Prof. Rafatu Abdulhamid, Coordinator of the Center for Gender and Security Studies and Youth Promotion, thanked the school management for the initiative to address GBV.

Abdulhamid said that the compromise would allow the participants to make their contributions that would form part of the document for the full implementation of the gender policy in the school.

One participant, Ms. Chiedera Chidozie, a 400Level Public Administration student, said that developing and implementing the gender policy would address issues related to violence, harassment and other vices in the institution.

“There must be certain regulations to guarantee that this policy is complied with because one thing is to create a policy or law, and another thing is to carry it out to the end.

“Certain strategies must be put in place to ensure implementation,” he said.

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Source Credit: NAN