IWS condemns rape, canvasses women representation

The International Women’s Society (IWS), has condemned the rate of incessant rate of rape and stigmatisation of victims just as the group also called for fair representation of women in public leadership in the country.

The group stated this recently during the presentation of its mid-term report in Lagos.

Speaking against rape culture, the 62nd President, IWS, Ngoli Ogbolu, said: “It touches at the very core of our being for somebody to desecrate our bodies, and so we don’t want it for any other person. We decry it and we hope that the government would bring it to sharp focus and provide institutional support that will help stem the tide of rape.”

While calling for fair representation of women in government, Ogbolu stressed the need for legislation that will ensure more women are involved in the fabric of public leadership.

“It is not enough to empower women. The game-changer is to provide legislation that will ensure women are accounted for in positions of power. This will put women in position to best look after their women-folk. We are looking at a situation where 50 per cent make up the population of Nigeria,” she stated.

The IWS also commended former Special Adviser to President Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mrs Orelope Adefulire, for her generous donation in giving a facelift to its Skills and Acquisition Centre in Lagos.

According to Chairperson, Skills and Acquisition Centre, IWS, Feyisola Abiru, “We believe we can now accommodate more students, three times number of our present capacity with the expansion of our centre funded by Mrs Orelope Adefulire.

“This year we are graduating 65. In total, we have positively 1600 students have graduated directly and indirectly affected over 27,000 lives. Our programme currently trains students in areas such as Catering, Fashion, Beauty, Adult Literacy and Hospitality.”

Also speaking, Vice-President, IWS, Ibiwunmi Akinola, drew attention to the plight of widows, saying: “In Nigeria, we have about 35 million widows and with our Widows Trust Fund, the International Women Society (IWS), has been able to reach over 1000 widows.

“We have received more than 100,000 applications for support but due to paucity of funds, we can only reach a fraction of that. By empowering widows, we are able to feed their families. We have given them items like cookers and fridges among others. We also provide support through legal and expert advises to them.”

Founded in 1957, the IWS is populated by a group of public-spirited women who have dedicated to championing the cause of women and youths in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

IWS Nigeria channels her empowerment drive through adult literacy, skills and acquisition, scholarship, orphanage home, widows’ trust funds and lots more. All these are part of the organization’s visions to build a better society where poverty will be severely minimised.