By Stanley Okehie
The traditional ruler of Azarubo Emekuku Autonomous Community Eze Chris Amadi Nwamara has commended the Centre for the Right to Health for extending a three-day retreat on leadership and norm shift to his community.
The Centre for the Right to Health, a non-governmental organization is implementing a project funded by the Ford Foundation in nine communities across five local government areas of Imo State.
The project is aimed at transforming cultural norms that contribute to violence against women and girls in the state.
Eze Nwamara said the retreat had enlightened participants on harmful traditional norms that affect the dignity and pride of community members.
Eze Nwamara who also serves as the Secretary of the Owerri North Council of Traditional Rulers condemned all forms of violence against women and girls, particularly rape, harmful widowhood practices and female genital mutilation. He noted that the retreat had exposed participants to appropriate sanctions for perpetrators.
He promised that the community would abandon all harmful traditional norms and embrace only traditions that uplift and promote the dignity of human life.
The President-General of the community Mr. Mark Chukwudi Oriaku said he had learnt that rape survivors should first receive medical attention before reporting the crime to the police. He expressed satisfaction with his knowledge of referral pathways.
He described female disinheritance and intimate partner violence as crimes prevalent in the community, promising to effect a change.
He also stressed the importance of breaking the culture of silence, noting that when leaders remain silent on certain issues, they may escalate and result in crisis.
He said participants had committed themselves to making a lasting change in the community by putting into practice all they had learnt, exposing perpetrators and ensuring commensurate punishment for their crimes.
He argued that most traditions practised in the past were upheld out of ignorance, emphasizing the need for communities to review their by-laws to reflect present realities.
A woman leader Mrs. Ijeoma Chukwuemeka said she had learnt about the dangers associated with female genital mutilation, promising to sensitize fellow women and expose those who continue to practise it after the sensitization.
“I have also learnt that women have rights in their father’s house and that rape cases should be handled by the police to ensure that the culprits face the full weight of the law,” she added, while thanking the Centre for the Right to Health for exposing participants to the many ills in society.
A youth leader, Mr. Chibuzo Opara listed widowhood practices, female disinheritance, female genital mutilation and intimate partner violence as common practices in the community. He promised to apply the knowledge gained from the retreat to make the community better.
He expressed satisfaction with the calibre of personalities who attended the retreat, assuring that the youths were willing to enforce policies that would be adopted by community stakeholders.
Earlier, a facilitator Okeiyi Juliet Obiageri said the retreat would empower participants to use their positions to ensure that the right things were done.
She expressed satisfaction with the response so far, noting that the community leadership had committed to reviewing its constitution and by-laws and incorporating the new policies to serve as a guide for the community.
The highpoint of the retreat was the inauguration of the Palace Charter Committee that will champion the review of the community by-laws.