‘One in three women experience violence from intimate partner’

Deputy Director of the Africa Office at the MacArthur Foundation, Dr Amina Salihu, has raised concerns over the alarming rates of intimate partner violence in Nigeria, saying one in three women experiences abuse at the hands of a spouse or partner.
  
Salihu made this statement yesterday in an open letter marking International Women’s Day, praising Pastor Chinedu Ezekwesili, a clergyman of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, for his marriage to former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili. 
  
She described their partnership as a rare example of mutual respect and equality in a society where many still justify gender-based violence. Quoting findings from the 2012 British Council’s Gender in Nigeria Report, Salihu said that many young Nigerian women believe a husband is justified in beating his wife for reasons such as burning food, refusing sex, or going out without permission.
  
According to her, these beliefs continue to fuel widespread domestic abuse, making it one of the most persistent but least discussed crises in Nigerian homes.

She observed that a woman is meant to be a partner, not just an assistant, lamenting that society often perceives women as the latter.   Salihu noted that this misrepresentation of a woman’s role is frequently reinforced by the misuse of religious teachings to uphold patriarchal interests.