The Gender Center for Empowering Development, (GENCED) has called on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to engage women in dialogues and explore more traditional channels of dialogues and diplomacy that leverage relationships to build consensus with an aim to resolve the issues in Niger and other West African countries.
According to the Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), when sanctions are put in place without considering economical implication on women and children and the people generally, it only heightens an already critical situation.
Speaking in an interview with The Chronicle in Sunyani, the Executive Director of GENCED, Madam Esther Tawiah, observed that ECOWAS, at this dire moment, should be deliberate in addressing the humanitarian crisis caused by the coup.
“Nigeriens should have access to basic needs, their freedoms and rights as guided by ECOWAS. The safety and well-being of women and children should headline any interventions put in motion by local and international governments and bodies,” she said.
She added that: “ECOWAS should also document and address all the Sexual and gender-based violence assaults during this period. As there will be the rise by use of force, threats, intimidation, or abuse of authority against women sexually and other forms of abuse.”
According to GENCED, “Women are more likely to be raped, often by multiple perpetrators and repeatedly and also frequently become victims of sexual slavery.”
Madam Tawiah said the current political instability in Niger had further exacerbated the poor state of the standard of living, and has also caused a huge gap in gender equality.
She explained that: “For instance, the impressive progress of 30% of women in parliament as of 2022 in Niger has been truncated due to military interference.”
“Women and children are the most casualties of war as they are already marginalized by societal systems.” Madam Tawiah said and added that: “In 2021 during the attempted Niger coup, the number of child marriages went up by 76% for girls under the age of 18 and 28% for girls under the age of 15.”
CHILDREN IN WAR ZONES
The GENCED executive director noted that “The food crisis in Burkina Faso due to the conflict, closing of borders denying civilians access to basic needs have placed over 400,000 children under risk of acute malnutrition.”
“Furthermore, closure of health care facilities in Burkina Faso has placed mothers and children at tough crossroads,” she said.
She said nations such as Niger where government institutions have been weakened by repeated instability have left civilians with no relief in matters of security.
DIFILEMENT
Cases such as defilement, human trafficking, gender-based violence, are left unreported due to lack of law enforcement. According to GENCED, 50, 000 women, girls and children are in need of protection from different forms of gender based violence not taking into account psychological trauma inflicted on all civilians (UNICEF).
“Armed groups find schools as easy targets, this has led to high numbers of children forced to carry arms and serve in the war”, Madam Tawiah said.
She noted that as families get displaced and their livelihoods disrupted, they turn to harmful means of financial relief such as child labour and early marriages.
She therefore demanded that the ECOWAS response to the coup in Niger must have the best interest of the people at its centre with gender sensitive responses.
SANCTIONS
Madam Tawiah expressed worry that sanctions placed by ECOWAS on Niger limiting access to the financial system, trade and closure of borders have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis leaving civilians with no access to basic services such as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and life-saving medication.
“As a block that relies on inter-state trades, these sanctions leave civilians without food as food commodities get stuck at the borders as Niger is key in the supply of good such as onions among other”, Madam Tawiah said and added that “Agriculture and small trade sectors are the source of livelihoods for most women who have now been left financially vulnerable in the region”.
GENCED said media reports that trucks of onions are stuck and getting rotten at the border due to the sanctions will push inflation up in the region which will mostly affect women.
The military coup in Niger which led to the suspension of constitutional order, military takeover of government and the detention of President Mohamed Bazoum, is one of the recent threats to political stability in West Africa.
With the military coup, Niger is currently one of the countries under military rule in addition to Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea in West Africa.
