Abia State Government has reiterated its determination to fight all harmful cultural practices and gender-based violence against women and children in families and communities across the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Women Affairs, Maureen Ahukwa, gave the assurance on Thursday in Umuahia while addressing members of the Abia State branch of the International Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA, during the 2026 FIDA Week.
Ahukwa, who said that building a just and inclusive society requires collective action, praised the efforts of FIDA in providing legal support for women and fighting child abuse across the country.
She called for sustained collaboration with the international women lawyers to ensure that every woman and child in Abia lives in a safe and dignified environment.
Delivering a keynote speech, Professor Marvel Onwuka of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, lamented that the maltreatment of women in families and various communities has negatively affected the academic and social behaviour of children.
She raised the alarm that some students in Nigerian universities are afraid to return to their parents’ homes before and after graduation because of unresolved conflicts between their fathers and mothers.
Earlier, in her opening remarks, the Chairperson of FIDA in Abia State, Aniawonwa Njideka, called for the timely and cost-free application of laws to protect women and children from harmful societal practices and also solicited expanded legal access for victims of abuse.
Other participants at the event demanded the thorough implementation and enforcement of existing laws to protect vulnerable women and children in Abia.