Women Commissioner Seeks Legislation On Discrimination, Neglects

The Rivers State Commissioner for Women
Affairs, Mrs  Joeba West has pleaded that
more laws be passed to alleviate the problems of neglect and discrimination
which women face regularly.

She made the plea Friday, in a public
hearing on the bill on the prohibition of the curtailment of the rights of
women to share in family property in Rivers State, which took place at the
House of Assembly Complex, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.

In a memorandum submitted to the Rivers
State House of Assembly Committee on Women Affairs, the Honourable Commissioner
made case for the Rivers women, who according to her, had over the years faced
the problem of disinheritance of family property at the demise of a father or
husband.

On the imperativeness of the bill, Mrs
Joeba West pointed out that both the natal as well as the conjugal families
have always deprived the women of their inheritance because of their sex. This
she maintained has militated against the growth and development of women and
has predisposed them to extreme poverty and dehumanisation.

In her words, “an unmarried woman is
usually deprived of family property on the grounds that she will transfer her
family’s wealth to her matrimonial family. On the other hand, a married woman
as a result of harsh native laws and custom still suffers deprivation, a
situation that places her in a dilemma.”

While commending the initiator of the bill
Hon Michael Okechukwu Chinda, for his foresight and interest in fighting the
cause of the Rivers woman, she is optimistic that the bill would address and
mitigate some of the challenges women face when it comes to family and communal
properties.

In her view, our customary laws, especially
regarding inheritance, are in urgent need of reform as they limit women’s
inheritance based on gender.

Citing some biblical references, the
Honourable Commissioner maintained that female children deserve equal treatment
with their brothers.

She therefore, called on the state
government to undertake “all measures” necessary to ensure a full implementation
in a consistent manner, of the bill on the prohibition of the curtailment of
the right of women to share in family property when eventually passed into law.

SylviaThankGod-Amadi