Alhaja Airat Omowunmi Ogungbenro, the Executive Coordinator of Airat Ogungbenro Children Protection and Women Concerned Initiative (ACP) Initiative, is the Naibah 2 Amirah (Vice President 2) Oyo State Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN), former Vice Coordinator of Oyo State Child Protection Network (CPN), Chairperson, FOMWAN CPN Committee, Secretary of FOMWAN Counseling Committee and member of FOMWAN National Publication and Humanitarian Committees. In this interview with YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE, she speaks on religion and women rights, violation of rights and other issues.
Do you agree that religion and culture aid violation of women rights?
In a way, I will say religious doctrines, traditions and norms can be (mis)used to encourage and justify gender discrimination and violations of women’s rights. Religion can also be a positive source of motivation and mobilisation in struggles for gender equality and non-discrimination. It all depends on individuals and how they use religious doctrines.
How will you assess rights violation in Oyo State especially those involving women and children?
The Commonwealth Equality Project (CEP) has supported the Oyo State House of Assembly and the people of Oyo State to review and pass the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Bill into law. The VAPP Act provides a legal framework for the protection of all citizens – including vulnerable people such as women, girls, children, youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
The Oyo State Government has already started implementing the VAPP Law. All these were done to protect and guide against violating the rights of women and girls.
As a women organisation that engages in a lot of advocacy, how have these activities helped to better the lot of women and children?
We have done a lot in advocacy; the Airat Ogungbenro Children Protection and Women Concerned Initiative (ACPI) in collaboration with FOMWAN, CCPHR and the Oyo State Government funded UNFPA sensitisation programme on Female Genital Mutilation and this held in six communities in Oyo West and Atiba Local Government areas of Oyo State where there was public declaration ceremony on the abandonment of female genital mutilation. To ensure sustainability of the programme in those communities, we set up a system that put in place a kind of surveillance team consisting of locals, who are champions so that the barbaric act will no more be in existence.
Airat Ogungbenro Children Protection and Women Initiative has successfully rescued victims of child trafficking; one of them was 10 years of age and was placed with an aged woman to be her caregiver until the girl was repatriated back to her family in Togo. Another child who had been trafficked since age 10 was rescued when she was 16 years old after working in four different states without being given privilege to attend or see the corner of a classroom, she was placed in school after which she learnt nylon cutting; the perpetrator was apprehended and handed over to security agencies. We also rescued survivors of rape and provided shelter and psychosocial support.
Some believe a Muslim woman should not work, what will you say about this?
Muslim women may undertake employment outside their homes. This can be traced to Qur’an 28 verse 23 which talks about female employment regarding Moses and two working women, and to Khadijah, Muhammad’s first wife, a merchant before and after converting to Islam.
Islam requires every person to look for work and earn money to satisfy his personal and his family’s needs with his own earnings. It regards begging from others as haram (unlawful) if one can earn. It also obligates a worker to earn his income through halal (lawful) means.
Many people have some negative ideas about women aspiring for greater heights in positions considered a male domain. Are these views justified?
Definitely no; women can be whoever they want to be, nothing should stop women aspiring for a greater height or position. There is much advantages to having women at the top. Women are more dedicated, efficient and effective.
Often, policies made for women don’t have impact on women at the grassroots, how can this be changed?
Grassroots women should be adequately consulted before designing any policy for them. I have an experience I need to share, in a community where the husband and wife often meet by the time their children are sent out to fetch water in the stream and government decided to make borehole, the project will not be utilised since their needs are not met. In summary, education, enlightenment, empowerment and sensitisation is needed to sustain a better life for women.
Will you say the Nigerian society is fair to women?
Nigerian society is fair to women if we look into the Nigerian Constitution together with series or laws enacted like VAPP Law but how far is the enforcement of these laws by the security agencies? Even the citizens are also not helping the situation.
What inspired you into humanitarian and development activities?
I have been involved in humanitarian and development activities since my childhood, whenever a newborn came into my compound, I moved to the household of the baby to care for the baby and it is when I needed to eat or sleep that I went back to my family but when I became a family woman, I realized what it entails to be a mother. But I can say it was when I lost both my parents at the same time as a teenager and became an orphan, it was a heavy task; all these motivated and inspired me.
What will you say is responsible for the seeming rise in cases of sexual abuse especially involving children?
It can be enormous to navigate through all the risks and dangers that we need to be aware of to keep our children safe. The following reasons are factors why child sexual abuse is on increase in the society; stressful home environment, low self-esteem, unmonitored access to technology, children who do not feel that they can be open with their parents may become distant, isolated, and insecure, and therefore more susceptible to a perpetrator’s grooming, loneliness because: if a child is left alone or unsupervised on frequent basis, a perpetrator has more opportunities to get close to that child, children who identify as LGBTQ+ , children who do not have a clear understanding of boundaries are highly unlikely to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior, children with disability are at least three times more likely to be sexually abused.
There is also domestic abuse; in a home where various forms of abuse, neglect, and maltreatment are occurring, sexual abuse is likely a high risk as well. This is particularly the case in homes with physical abuse. We all need to guide against all this to eliminate sexual abuse in our society because if it’s on the increase as it is now, it leads to many more out of school and streets children.
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