Arrangement has been concluded by the people of Becheve in Obanlikwu local government area, Cross River State to abolish age- long tradition of exchanging underage girls for money or commodity with older men to enable the brides families solve their immediate problems.
Executive director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Monday Osasah made the disclosure at the end of a training session for selected media houses on how to report gender-based issues in Calabar at the weekend.
Osasah stressed that the battle against the age-long practice was won due to the pressure mounted by his organisation on the Becheve community to end the practice, stressing that interfacing with leaders of thought in Becheve kingdom had produced result.
The practice which is akin to modern day slavery where senior males in families exchanged their daughters to older men from same community for cash or get items such as pigs, goats, and perhaps poultry birds in return would soon be extinct.
Osasah who condemned the practice in its entirety, urged all hands to be on deck so as to ensure than certain traditions that were considered harmful can be interrogated by the media so that those involved in such practice can have a better perspective of traditions considered to be offensive and barbaric.
He said that the training would help to boost capacity of media men whenever they are assigned to report ethical/ gender sensitivity issues which will help to shape the society.
The capacity building session initiated by European Union and the United Nations is a spotlight initiative to help in eliminating violence against women/ girls.
The spotlight initiative of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) implemented by African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) if fully achieved, would help to shape the society which we live as gender-based issues hitherto swept under the carpet would now be exposed.
