Igga is a community located in Isi Uzo LGA in Enugu state. It shares a boundary with Anambra state. It is a tropical savanna environment. Most indigenes of Igga community are farmers, their main crop for cultivation is Rice. Their access to education is limited due to the insecurities of Herdsmen. The Insecurity in Igga community destabilized the community at large. Lots of youths left the community in search of greener pastures and young girls were married off before they could get basic education. Although there’s been little or no occurrence of harmful traditional practices, women were marginalized in this community. They experience economic abuse and issues associated with early marriages. The community also struggled with hygiene practices, which affected their health adversely; they battled with typhoid and malaria. The community has also had a few cases of gender abuse.
Research by the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey shows that 31 percent of women aged 15 – 49 have experienced physical violence and 9 percent have been exposed to sexual violence. In Southeast Nigeria, 35.7 percent of women have experienced physical violence and 12 percent have experienced sexual violence. In Nigeria, an estimated 1 in every 4 women will experience violence in her lifetime (The 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).
In Nigeria, the alarming prevalence of early marriage poses a significant challenge, with girls marrying before the age of eighteen reporting higher instances of physical violence, leading to adverse psychological and physical consequences. Early marriage contributes to an increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among young girls, exacerbating health concerns and imposing long-term health risks.
Research shows that the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in Nigeria is notable, ranging from 31% to 61% for psychological/emotional violence and 20% to 31% for physical violence, highlighting a pervasive issue that adversely affects women’s well-being. All these point to the overwhelming reality that physical abuse and early child marriage are still a mainstay, especially in rural communities.
With the interest and development of women and the community at the center of its mission, South Saharan Social Development Organization, SSDO, in partnership with ActionAid Nigeria, under the Local Rights Programme, LRP, established the Women Peer Education, WPE, Group and Gender Based Violence, GBV, Response Team in this community. An advocacy visit was carried out with relevant stakeholders in the community to introduce the GBV response team and its importance to the community.
The community representatives acknowledge the rise in abuse cases across the community, early marriages, and bad hygiene practices. They welcomed the idea of establishing a forum to tackle these issues. SSDO collaborated with the Ministry of Gender and Women Affairs. A division representative from the Sexual Assault Referral Center was invited from the LG to facilitate the training for the GBV response team.
A team of twenty women was formed for the GBV response team. The program officer and the gender officer from SSDO trained over 40 women using the Women’s Peer Education manual, and they have stepped down this training in their various women’s groups. (church groups and general community women’s meetings).
The establishment of the GBV response team has reduced the occurrence of any form of abuse ranging from intimate partner abuse to physical abuse and economic abuse. The community is aware of the forum and what it represents, and this has made the members careful in how they address issues generally. The group has been able to address two cases of physical abuse since its inception. The initiative has also successfully mitigated economic abuse where men deprive women of their rightfully earned income.
The establishment of the WPE has helped address the issues surrounding hygiene practices. The women in the community conducted advocacy visits to the elders and youths, and they cleaned up the stream, which was exposed to open defecation and waste. The establishment of the WPE has helped address the issues surrounding hygiene practices. Members of the community now boil water before consumption, and those who can afford sachet water opt for it. Having understood the role of hygiene, they clear the bushes surrounding their house, reducing the breeding of mosquitoes.
Before now, they often soaked their laundry for days, attracting flies that contaminate their food and cause stomach upset. This poor practice has been corrected. There has been a notable decrease in typhoid fever and malaria in the community. The forum addressed the issues of early marriage by encouraging parents to enroll their daughters for skill acquisition. It has also created a network where women can offer support to one another.
Theresa, a member of the GBV response team shared the changes she observed, “Prior to the establishment of the GBV response committee, the women in our community did not know their right, we assumed it was our husband’s right to collect all the money we made especially from farming.”
“There is a lot we did not know about hygiene practices and most people did not understand the implication of their hygiene behaviours. Parents believed that when a girl has hit puberty, the best option was to marry her off as they could not afford to train her in school, or carter for her. They also expect her to help train her younger ones. The establishment of these forums has helped strengthen the women in the community and given them voices.”
The women now better understand the importance of girl child education and are open to enrolling their girl child in skill acquisition centers. This has also brought about better parenting as they now have interactive conversations with their children concerning their goals and passions. There has also been a significant decrease in early marriages.
“In the past, we had over twenty young girls that were being married off. In some cases the dowry isn’t even paid. But recently the number has really dropped and there’s barely even five. We hope that in the near future, we will totally eliminate it.”
A community health worker spoke about the drastic improvement in public health, “Their hygiene practices have improved, and this has affected their health positively. The rate of typhoid in the health center has greatly decreased, and even when people are sick, they come to the health center for proper medical advice rather than self-prescription.”
South Saharan Social Development Organization is committed to equipping women, youth, and children with the skills needed to survive and compete favorably in Sub-Saharan Africa.
