Women across Nigeria are calling on traditional rulers to step up big time against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), especially the scary new tech-driven abuses exploding on digital platforms that target women and girls in communities everywhere. This urgent plea came at the National Convening of Traditional Leaders on GBV Prevention in Abuja on Tuesday, kicking off the 2025 Sixteen Days of Activism Against GBV.
UN Country Representative Beatrice Eyong, speaking through Deputy Patience Ekeoba, warned that violence is morphing fast online with harassment and exploitation, but traditional rulers – as culture keepers – hold the power to spark reforms, boost accountability, and rally communities. She spotlighted wins in Akwa Ibom, Oyo, Enugu, and Cross River, where rulers ditched child marriage, harmful widow rites, and FGM, proving culture can evolve for justice when leaders lead.
Dr. Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi of FCTA Women Affairs Secretariat called rulers “cultural gatekeepers” who can smash silence around abusers, reshape norms, and drive change for safer families. She recommitted to partnerships like the Humanity Project for survivor support and violence prevention.
Alhaji Haliru Yahaya-Ndanusa, Convener-General of COTLA, vowed palaces as safe havens for vulnerable girls, promising to end physical, emotional, and digital harms while promoting responsible online behavior and ditching child marriage.
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