#Choice4life: The fight To Make Better Reproductive Choices for Women And The Girl Child

There is increased incidence of violence against women in recent times.

A quick scan at daily news reports will reveal the case of the abducted school girls in #Chibok, Borno state, a young girl who is forced to go through a traumatised pregnancy which is a result of rape/ incest or a woman who is maltreated by her husband but is forced to stay in the marriage because of her children. These are all reflections of the abuse faced by women in today’s society.  

The aforementioned issues highlighted above are not far-fetched from what I read on a friend’s blog yesterday. It was about a lifeless newborn baby found in the gutter by one of the street cleaners in Fadeyi area, Lagos state.

While this is not the first time such incidents have occurred, it is worrisome and disheartening that in this 21st century, reports of new-born baby left for dead in front of motherless baby home, the church or even in the dumpster is still customary in a civilised society like Nigeria.

These incidents sometime happen because some victims of unwanted pregnancy are forced by family members to carry the baby to term. They (the victim) will later resort to dumping their baby or “deliberating” killing it after birth to avoid being stigmatized as an “after-one” or because they do not want to be tied down with a child at the expense of fulfilling their dreams.

Others go as far as getting rid of the baby through whatever means available because they do not want people to judge them as a result of their predicaments. They avoid going to the hospital to get professional medical help, and then resort to having unsafe abortion which may kill them or damage their reproductive organs.

More of this incidence has been blamed on the country’s restrictive abortion law and the lack of supporting system(s) - both from the family, the law-enforcement agents and the society at large.

Nigeria’s reproductive laws have not been fully supportive of women reproductive rights as the country’s abortion laws are pre-colonial (1861), out dated, and insensitive to maternal health issues of today.

The only legal indication for abortion in Nigeria (Penal & Criminal codes) is to save the woman’s life and to be done by any person. Women, who do not fall under the indication like rape & incest victims, are left to their own devices.

Unsafe abortion is thus a silent & persistent pandemic affecting mostly the economically weak.

Since the current law is not only subjective but restrictive, there is an urgent need for a review of the country’s restrictive abortion laws to help protect women and their sexual reproductive rights.

The Violence Against Persons Prohibition Bill (#VAPPBill) has been created to correct this injustice.

The Bill seeks to punish perpetrators of gender-based violence in Nigeria, especially against women as well as in homes and public places. The Bill will also help to eradicate violence in the public and private spheres by providing compensation to victims and the protection of their rights.

Presently, the Bill is awaiting the approval of the senate for it to be passed into law.

Government should become more conscious of the citizen’s welfare by passing the bill into law.

When this is done, maternal mortality rate will reduce to the barest minimal and women (and young girls) will have a secure future, especially in regards to their sexual and reproductive issues.