Get Guardian on GoogleAs Nigeria prepares for the 2026 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, a lawyer, Barrister Olubunmi Uluba, on Monday commenced a 220-hour Guinness World Record attempt to raise awareness of laws protecting women and girls from sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) across 15 African countries.
The initiative, which began at the Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development, Abuja, involves continuous reading aloud of legal frameworks from Nigeria and 14 other African countries over nine days and four hours.
Supported by UN Women Nigeria, Ministry of Justice and FIDA, the exercise seeks to bridge the gap between existing legal protections and public awareness, while strengthening advocacy for accountability, survivor protection and access to justice.
Speaking at the commencement, UN Women Country Representative, Beatrice Eyong, described the initiative as an innovative approach to public education, warning that ignorance of existing laws remains a major obstacle to addressing gender-based violence.
She said SGBV was not merely a women’s issue but a development challenge with serious implications for communities and the economy.
“One of the greatest obstacles is the gap between the laws that exist and public knowledge of those protections. Sometimes the duty bearers don’t know about these laws, and sometimes the rights owners don’t know about these laws. You cannot enforce any law that you actually don’t know about,” Eyong said.
She noted that child marriage and early marriage also perpetuated poverty by denying girls access to education, vocational skills and economic opportunities.
According to her, the success of the initiative should not be measured solely by the Guinness World Records achievement but by the millions of people reached with knowledge of their rights.
Representing the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, the Head of the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Unit, Federal Ministry of Justice, Yewande Gbola-Awopetu, said ending SGBV required more than legislation, stressing the need for effective implementation, institutional accountability and sustained public enlightenment.
She said every survivor deserved to be heard, protected and treated with dignity, while perpetrators must be held accountable.
Also speaking, founder of the Network of Women with Disabilities, Lois Auta, drew attention to the additional barriers faced by women with disabilities in accessing justice, including inaccessible police stations, inadequate sign language interpretation and exclusionary court procedures.
She urged government to domesticate, fund and enforce protective laws, insisting that “nothing about us, without us.”
Similarly, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Abuja Branch, represented by its Publicity Secretary, Chimdindu Onyedim-Etuwewe, commended Uluba, noting that the exercise would also provide an opportunity to assess outdated laws and advocate reforms.
Uluba commenced the marathon with Chapter Four of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, focusing on fundamental rights, beginning with Section 33 on the right to life.
Other laws scheduled for reading include the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, Child Rights Act and disability rights legislation, alongside relevant SGBV laws from 14 African countries.
