The Police Commissioner in Bauchi State, Lawan Jimeta, on Thursday advised parents against allowing their girl-child to hawk goods as it exposes them to rape and other forms of violence.
Mr Jimeta gave the advice when a coalition of Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, under the auspices of Women’s Voice and Leadership, WVL, paid him a visit in Bauchi.
The commissioner, who noted that hawking was dangerous, wondered why parents should expose their girl-child to it.
“Parents and guardian should desist from sending girls out for hawking,’’ Jimeta said, noting that the incidence of rape continues because victims fail to speak out.
He urged NGOs and CSOs to engage in enlightenment and campaign to curb the menace of violence against girls and women in the state and society at large.
The commissioner gave assurance that his command would assign gender desk officers to attend to all sexual and gender based violence complaints by the WVL in the state.
He also pledged to conduct regular town hall meetings with stakeholders on gender based violence.
Earlier, the team leader, Comfort Attah of the Attah Sisters Helping Hand Foundation, ASHHF, solicited for the support of the commissioner to fight violence against women.
Also speaking, Maryam Garba, a member of the team, explained that the women’s voice leadership project covered 11 local government areas of the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the implementing NGOs of the Women Voice of Leadership, WVL, project include ASHH Foundation, Rahama, FOMWAN and FAHIMTA with the support of Action Aid and funded by Global Affairs Canada.
NAN
