The Nigerian government is set to introduce mobile courts to address cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and other vices in the country, the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohaneye, said on Monday.
The mobile courts will be part of a broader effort to reform the country’s approach to SGBV and other crimes against women and girls. Under the new system, victims can report cases to the police and then be taken directly to a mobile court for justice to be served.
Kennedy-Ohaneye said the mobile courts will help to speed up justice for victims of SGBV and other crimes. She also stressed the need for a different intervention approach targeting grassroots women.
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“Sanitary towels being given to girls in some schools from time to time is not sustainable,” she said. “Instead of giving them the sanitary towels, we set up sanitary pad production ventures.”
Kennedy-Ohaneye also said that the government would provide charcoal burners and biogas stoves to rural women instead of sharing gas cylinders, which she said is not sustainable.
In a meeting with students’ union representatives on the sidelines of the briefing, the minister reiterated the government’s stand with Nigerian women, girls and boys, as well as her stand for justice on any case of sexual harassment in the country.
