…as CRH pays advocacy visit
Nigerians have been advised to adopt inclusivity, accept any health challenge in good faith and extend love, care and support to the physically challenged members of society especially women and girls with disability.
The Imo State Chief Imam and Chairman, League of Imams of Imo State, Sheik Barr Suleiman Yusuf Njoku gave the advice while receiving on courtesy, members of Centre for the Right to Health, a non governmental organization, in Owerri.
Sheik Njoku enjoined Muslims to be guided by the teachings of the Quran, stressing the need to treat everyone with respect irrespective of one’s health condition.
The Chief Imam who bemoaned the misconception that disability is a curse, called for a total change of mindset.
To the physically challenged, Sheik Njoku reminded them that God promised to test them with so many things including sickness and disability, and encouraged them to always persevere and still trust Him even in their worse life situation.
He assured CRH that Imams and other scholars would further enlighten the Muslim community on the challenges faced by women and girls with disability as well as the need to end discrimination and all forms of violence against them.
The Chairman, Imo State Muslim Council, Prince Bashir Mohammed Uwakwe commended CRH for leading the campaign on ending violence against women and girls with disability in Imo State and pledged his total support.
While promising to expedite action towards making the Mosque accessible for the physically challenged persons, Prince Bashir assured that gender-based violence and disability would be the discussion for their Jum’ah service.
The Chairman Yoruba-Muslim Community, Alatare Sulyman Musa and other Imams who spoke on the occasion thanked CRH for reawakening their consciousness towards the plight of women and girls with disability.
Vice President of Federation of Muslim Women Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Imo state chapter, Hajia Oseanbulu Maminetu called for renewed efforts to ensure that abusers pay dearly for their crime.
Sharing their experiences, the Imo State Chairman of Women with Disability, Blessing Korie and a member of the association, Edith Ukaegbu lamented the hardship faced by women and girls with disability, worsened by the soaring prices of goods and services in the country.
They called on government and public spirited individuals to join the efforts on alleviating their sufferings while urging members of their community to break the culture of silence.
Earlier, the Programme Director, Centre for the Right to Health, Mr. Bede Eziefule had told the Muslim Community leaders and the women that CRH was implementing a project on ending violence against women and girls with disability in Imo State.
He cited so many instances that suggested that women and girls were more vulnerable than others in society and charged them to join the campaign on ending violence against women and girls with disability.
The advocacy visit which had a large number of Muslim women in attendance also featured the screening of a documentary on the lived experiences of women and girls with disability.
