Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has advised women on the dangers that can be encountered in wearing indecent dresses.
He warned that women should save themselves unnecessary violence that can be triggered by immoral dressing.
Obasa, who spoke while declaring open the Fifth International Conference on Women and Children at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos also noted that the society should be beyond reproach in its campaign against women molestation, saying that some reported cases have turned out to be untrue.
“We should guard against false propaganda as some reported cases of violence against girls and women have proved non-existent.
“Our ladies should desist from everything that can expose them to unnecessary violence. They should be mindful of friends they keep, gatherings they find themselves and the kinds of dresses they put on. Some of these variables are inherent triggers of violence against them in most cases. So, morality should be their watchword in every occasion,” the Speaker advised.
He reminded his listeners that the Lagos Assembly passed two laws some years back on child abuse and violence against women.
These laws, he said, became necessary because the state government and the society can no longer accept the adornment of domestic violence in the garb of family affair.
According to him, the laws are also established to, “provide information about support services and encouraging citizens to break the culture of silence by reporting cases of violations and pursuing criminal litigation to punish offenders.”
In her opening remark, wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, challenged the international community to be more pragmatic in its pursuit of children and female protection.
The governor’s wife, who was represented by Mrs Rhoda Ayinde, queried the potency of the extant conventions, major international treaties, national policies and legislations that seek to protect the rights of women and children.
“It is only when the international community and government, across the globe wake up from their deep slumber and deploy commensurate political will to this ill-will that the feminine gender will begin to leave a sigh of relief,” she stated.
@Lagos Speaker, like seriously? Even the ones involving 5 and 8 year olds?
The Honourable Speaker’s unfortunate comments put a shadow on the otherwise good work Lagos is doing concerning VAW. There is proof that how a girl or woman is dressed has no bearing on whether she will be assaulted or not. His comments however well intentioned is victim-blaming and takes away responsibility from the attacker. Instead of telling women to change they way they dress, how about teaching boys and men to behave better towards women regardless of how they’re dressed. It makes no sense that we have to defend ourselves from our “protectors”.