Senator Dino Melaye has been issued a three day ultimatum by the Women Advocates Research & Documentation Centre, WARDC to apologise to Senator Remi Tinubu over his comments directed at her.
The founder of the group, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi further condemned Senator Melaye’s conduct at a closed-door session of the senate held during the week and demanded Dino to tender an unreserved apology to the Senate Committee Chair on Women Affairs.
The group further threatened that failure to meet the demands will lead to a shutdown of the National Assembly as Senator Dino Melaye’s conduct further stresses the issue of disrespect and lack of regard for women.
The women’s right group’s founder, Akiyode-Afolabi, in a statement released said: “Verbal abuse, assault and battery of women is becoming a pattern in our democratic dispensation and it is a reflection of the numerous abuses that women face on a daily basis in our society.
“According to the National Demographic and Health Survey Report 2013, 28 percent of women age 15-49 have experienced physical violence at least once and seven percent have experienced sexual violence in Nigeria. These figures are even not representative of the magnitude of the problem.
“Between 2003 till date, notable women lawmakers have experienced physical and verbal abuse from men who are supposed to protect their rights. Senator Iyabo Anisulowo was slapped by another lawmaker at the National Assembly while another female lawmaker from Edo State was battered by an aide to an immigration officer at the Assembly Complex earlier this year. Honourable Funmi Tejuoso was also physically assaulted at the Lagos State House of Assembly sometime ago. Then this gender insecurity against Senator Oluremi Tinubu who is not only representing her constituency in Lagos State but also over half of the Nigerian population; womenfolk”.
She further challenged the senate for its inaction describing the silence as a tacit support on violence against women in the country.