“tradition or culture and religious beliefs in Nigeria as a typical patriarchal society see the wife as the property of her husband, who has a moral right to beat her as a penalty for insubordination and/or perceived wrongdoing.” We need to also quit victim- blaming and over- empathising with abusers.
What is the way forward?
According to UN Women, Nigeria has implemented 75% of the laws needed to advance gender equality which the UN wants to achieve worldwide by 2030. The media plays a key role in creating social change and influencing behaviours (good or bad). By examining entertainment media, it's evident how music lyrics and videos put across subtle and obvious messages that can promote violence against women and girls. The power of the media can be harnessed to create social change. In recent times, artists like Omah Lay have been seen to create awareness about mental health in their songs. This is a method of using media as an advocacy tool to bring about awareness and change towards social issues. The same can be applied to ending violence against women and girls. The Strong Voices project by Idimma, a non- profit in Nigeria, has been creating radio dramas for mass broadcast, telling stories centred around issues like SGBV. This is aimed at creating mass awareness, especially in underserved communities, with a call to action that highlights how people can seek help. The same radio dramas have been shared on a podcast to reach a younger, more digitally savvy population. This is leveraging existing media structures to advocate for behaviour change and action. We need to also quit victim-blaming and over- empathising with abusers by justifying their actions or linking them to factors that may garner public sympathy. We need to be able to collectively speak up and take a stand against abuse, as silence communicates implicit tolerance for abuse.
27
November 2023 | Collective Action Magazine
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease