International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Benue State branch has disclosed that from 2022 to date, the association has handled 53 cases of violence against women in Benue State.
The state chairperson of FIDA, Prisca Ula who disclosed this during the celebration of the 2023 International Women Day in Makurdi, the Benue State capital said even though some of the cases are still ongoing in courts, some of the parties involved decided to withdraw the cases and settled on their own.
She said, “As we commemorate the International Women’s Day 2023, with the theme, DigitalAll; Innovation and Technology For Gender Equality, it is important to reflect and focus on the key role innovation and technology plays in promoting gender equality and as well stop violence against women.”
Ula called for gender inclusive Innovation and collective efforts from government, civil society organizations, FBOs, International institutions, and their agencies to help the plight of the Nigerian girls and women by increasing their digital skills to help bridge the inequality and digital gender gap.
While lamenting that the operation of digital technology has greatly shown the inequalities that exist between genders because of the small cooperative number of women that can effectively handle and operate in such spaces, Ula also acknowledged the unique challenges face by women in their work and places of abode.
Ula also said, “FIDA Benue acknowledges digital technology as one of the greatest innovations of our time. In our modern world today, digital literacy is an essential skill especially as most of our everyday activities in communities often revolve around the use of digital technology. As such digital technology has transformed the way we work, communicate, transact, learn, and even handle financial transactions.”
Ula identified gender gaps in technology-related fields like Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), which she said are the driving forces behind many technological innovations as one among the major challenges hindering women representation in innovation across the country.
The FIDA chairperson emphasised that encouraging the use of key strategies like Involving female scientists in Nigeria in the development of STEM policies, encouraging young girls to develop interest in STEM and empowering, women across board through ICT, encouraging women in STEM to engage international and national collaborative scientific research among others to attract more women and girls to STEM.
