Arthur Obi Okafor, a senior advocate, in this interview with VIVIAN OKEJEME, speaks on some challenges that confront women, gender parity and how men should help liberate women.
Violence against women
When you talk about gender-based violence, it is synonymous with violence against women. During the congress of women lawyers in Abuja I had the opportunity to deliver a keynote address. In all, one discovers that there is one thing that militates against a society free from violence against women, and that is lack of knowledge on the part of the men folk and also lack of awareness on the part of women as regards their rights and some processes available to them. You know, in this country which is a developing country, our people, especially, the men don’t understand the need to embrace the women folk and help them to come up in society. We all belong to various families, and we know the importance of women in our families, but we have chosen, may be as a result of customs which we have over the years and some statutes which are not feminine compliant like the penal code not to give a thought to why women should be protected and why their interest should be advanced.
I believe that in every developing society, women should be given prominence, but here in Nigeria and so many other African countries, men have taken up everything. They see women as their property that they can deal with the way they like. So, that is the problem we have. In Nigeria, women are in a better position to liberate the country because they have the golden heart towards all, both men and women. So, when you talk about FIDA, the impression people have is that they are agitating for the rights of women. They are agitating about the rights of the entire people of this country and the society, because the society is built up on family blocks; without a family there is no society.
As male-chauvinists
I have to say that when you talk about the National Assembly, you are talking about politics. Politics is a part of our lives and existence but the plight of women should go beyond politics; it is something that is so fundamental that we must have to address it without thinking of what to gain.
If we don’t have a strong participation of women in the affairs of the society, the society will not develop properly. So, in order to have a properly developed society, women should be allowed to make their own contribution. Women must be part of our match towards development.
So, when women talk about gender equality, given where they are coming from, you have to look at the historical antecedents. In the past, where were we? In the past where we converted our women folk as properties, where you have a right under the penal code to discipline your wife, where you think that the duty of the woman is in the home; and that is why they (women) are pushing for that equality.
Therefore, women are coming from a background where men have taken everything and women agitation is not for them alone; when a woman gets all these things they are talking about, she brings them home. Where is this home? The home is for the man, the children and the woman.
Women’s rights and the Kitchen
Obviously, if our President has said that it is a great setback. Look at what is happening in Western countries. Mrs. Hilary Clinton vied for the US Presidential election, in Germany, a woman is at the helm of affairs, even in the United Kingdom. Why should we not in Nigeria give women the opportunity to participate actively and positively in developing this country?
The plight of women as self-inflicted
Women are open-minded. If women would abandon their female folks and vote for men during elections, why wouldn’t men do same when women vie for elective positions, if they are qualified to hold such offices?
The point I’m making here is that we are talking about a self-inflicted problem facing women, but I am looking at it from the point of view that women are more open-minded. We (as men) have a duty to protect women and give them a platform to operate. If you want to develop, you have to bring everybody on board.
Because of customary practices over the years, their minds have been caged by male chauvinists, by the laws which we have. The same men should help in having women liberated so that they can contribute their quota to development of the country.
FIDA as the only vibrant women association in Nigeria
I do not think that we need to have so many organizations before we can achieve the goal of gender parity. FIDA and other non-governmental organizations should be alive to their responsibilities. FIDA should take a look at the laws and see the ones that are beneficial to them and exploit it to the fullest. For instance, a provision in the penal code that says, ‘a man has the right to correct his wife without inflicting grievous bodily harm.’ Now, women in the Northern part of the country where the Penal Code is holding sway, you don’t expect them to go to court because they are afraid of what happens to them if they go to court to question the law.
So, FIDA as an entity under the current Fundamental Rights Procedure Rules can go to court and fight for such women. The law has now gives people the opportunity to go to court on behalf of others. So, it is not a question of having so many NGOs; it’s a question of being more robust in the way we approach such issues. The point I am making here is that the government must come out and help women by subsidizing the activities of FIDA and other NGOs.
Do you carry out pro-bono (free legal services) for the less-privileged?
It is even in our rules that if you don’t execute pro-bono cases and have the certificate, you won’t be conferred with the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). In our time, it was not there. It is not just about doing pro-bono cases; we are talking about helping humanity in anywhere you find yourself. So, it is not about doing one criminal trial on pro-bono, but every Nigerian must see himself as his brother’s keeper. You must add value to our match towards a democratic society, not just doing one or two probono cases in order to have the certificates and then apply to become a SAN. You must positively do something to see that the society moves forward.
So, when you talk about FIDA, the impression people have is that they are agitating for the rights of women. They are agitating about the rights of the entire people of this country and the society, because the society is built up on family blocks; without a family there is no society.
