Community cries out over rape, killing of women

By Anayo okoli & Chidi Nkwopara

Umuahia – WOMEN from Ohuhu community in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State now live in fear, following incessant killing of women in the community by people suspected to be ritualists.

At the last count, about eight women were said to have been killed either in their farmland or on pathways to their farms.

Sources in the community said this had been happening since last year but took a dangerous dimension in the last two months.

This figure is aside from scores of women said to have been raped by the hoodlums who are believed to be living among the people in the community.

Following the ugly trend, women at Ohuhu, which consists of about 23 autonomous communities, have all abandoned their farms for fear of either being killed or raped by the hoodlums.

Recently, a 46-year-old woman was killed in her farm and vital parts removed from her body.
Another young woman, a nurse, was also said to have been murdered on her way back from work, her bowels cut open and her womb removed.

… as group presents report on violence against women

OWERRI – A 38-page report on the root causes of violence against women, VAW, and assessment of gender-based violence, GBV, by repertory centres in Imo and Ebonyi states have been presented in Owerri.

Giving an overview of the research findings at a seminar, the Director, Centre for Women Health and Information, CEWHIN, Mrs. Atinuke Odukoya, lamented that women and girls constitute majority of the victims of GBV.

Odukoya said: “Violence by an intimate partner is one of the most common forms of violence against women. A wide range of physical, mental, sexual, reproductive and maternal health problems can result from violence against women.”

She was particularly irked that gender-based violence arises out of cultural practices, religious background or beliefs and socialisation process of the communities in question.

Noting that GBV was not strictly a woman affair, Odukoya also opined that men were sometimes victims of gender-based violence.