Southern Kaduna women on Saturday decried the high rate of widows and children displaced by the incessant attacks by suspected herders across the Southern part of the state over the years.
The women, under the aegis of the National Women Wing of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, lamented that women and children were worst hit by the insecurity situation which had claimed the lives of their husbands.
The National Coordinator of the Women Wing of the SOKAPU, Jemutu Katarma, while speaking in its maiden meeting which was held at the SOKAPU Secretariat, Barnawa, Kaduna, noted that the over 200,000 internally displaced persons across the area were women and children.
According to her, women and children make 90% of the numbers of IDPs, adding that most of them have been made widows and orphans as result of the killings in the area.
She said, “My dear sisters and brothers gathered here, my leadership happens to come under a period of severe security and economic hardship in Nigeria and Southern Kaduna in particular.
“Women and children have been the worst hit. Today, we have over 200,000 IDPs in several informal makeshift camps both in the state and outside and women and children make 90% of these numbers. Most of them have been made widows and orphans.
“There are children in Southern Kaduna who have missed schools for 5 years because they have been forced out of their villages after their parents have been killed or rendered too poor to provide basic school needs in the new places they escaped to.
“Thousands of our IDPs cannot only feed, but are also in serious need of medical assistance.”
Concerned by the development, Katarma said the union was desirous of training and empowering the women and children in the various IDPs camp across the southern part of the state.
“The present leadership of the National Women Wing is desirous of not only achieving the objectives of SOKAPU, the plight of our IDPs is topmost in our priority.
“We we are planning on creating awareness and enlightenment on the right of women and their civic responsibilities
“The awakening of political participation at all levels of women just but to mention a few as there will be a speaker specifically for this purpose,” she added.
The National President of the SOKAPU, Hon. Jonathan Asake, commended the women for their various endeavours across the country while expressing their readiness to complement their efforts in order to achieve their vision for the people of the area.
Asake, who was represented at the event by the Spokesperson of the SOKAPU, Luka Binniyat, also expressed concern over the plight of Internally Displaced Persons.
He also thanked Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike for the N200m donation to IDPs in the state.
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