The IndustriALL Global Union, at its celebration on March 7, a day before the March 8 day marked out as International Women’s Day, tasked the Federal Government as well as labour unions to ensure that violence against women becomes history in the country.

Vice president and regional head of IndustriaLL Global, Issa Aremu, speaking at the celebration of the event in Lagos, said unions need to keep raising awareness that violence against women is real, and it is happening everywhere.

Aremu, who said IndustriALL decided to celebrate the event a day before, in order to give members the opportunity to participate in their national affiliates’ celebration, said violence against women was a violation of human rights.

“According to the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, ‘xiolence against women’ is ‘any act of gender-based violence that results in or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life,’” he said.

Women had earlier walked from Ojuelegba to Jibowu area of Lagos, to raise awareness about the day and its import for women.

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Speaker at the event, Dr. Joe-Okei Odumakin, enlightening women on the need to act on this year’s theme, “#PressforProgress” she said women must ensure that no more will they ever be used as spare tyres as it is prevalent in Nigerian politics today.

She lamented that society in all spheres disadvantaged women, adding that Nigerian women and girls are at the receiving end of the insecurity problem in the country.

She said, “It is now an issue to send children to schools. State of emergency has to be declared. Government would need to walk the talk, lots of killings going on in Benue, Taraba and others.

“There is need for gender balance in all places of leadership. Both men and women must join forces, just like IndustriALL did, there is strength in unity. We must collectively press for progress to end gender inequality in Nigeria. Time is now,” Odumakin said.

Earlier, the chairperson of the women committee, Oluchi Amaogu, charged women in the affiliate unions to take up the challenge of leading the campaign to end violence against women in their various sectors.