Governor Kayode Fayemi has read the riot act to rapists and potential rapists, saying his administration would show no mercy to “whoever rapes, abuses, or molests any woman in Ekiti” State.
The governor said this on Tuesday in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, when he declared open the 4th Ekiti Gender Summit.
The summit has the theme, “Gender equality and women’s empowerment post-Beijing: Political will and impact”.
Fayemi said his administration had put in place enabling legal framework that criminalised any issue bordering on gender inequality in the state, adding that the era when women were being maltreated and their voices being subjugated was over.
The governor said the laws, which were being implemented to the letter, were geared towards protecting and promoting the rights of women and gender equality.
He said his administration was being as described as “one that has the highest number of women political office holders in the country”.
He said,
“Our government is serious and thorough about the implementation and no mercy for whoever rapes, abuses, or molests any woman in Ekiti. The laws are there to take care of them. All the laws put in place to achieve this will be thoroughly implemented”.
Ekiti State First Lady, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, reiterated the Fayemi administration’s commitment to the implementation of the Gender-Based Violence Prohibition Law, Equal Opportunities Law, Child Right Law and other safety policies that protected the rights of the womenfolk.
While the wife of Osun State Governor, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola, said “strong legal framework is required to protect the women against molestations and discrimination based on gender”, her Ondo State counterpart, Mrs Betty Akeredolu, said,
“We must empower women and enact laws that can protect their lives. This summit will help us to evaluate the progress so far and how to plan for the future”.
In her lecture on the theme, Prof Olabisi Aina, who said every gender must be given the right to education to serve as a leveller between the rich and the poor, said,
“The gender equality war is not against men, but lives must be made better for women.
“Every human is born equal. Issue of poverty affects women adversely. It is a known fact that Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved without addressing the issue of gender imbalance.”
