Displaced by Insurgency and Flood: Residents Continue to Experience GBV in Borno

 

The nature of farmland in Fariya community PC: Zainab Yetunde Adam


By: Zainab Yetunde Adam & Sa'adatu Awwalu Salihu

 

22-year-old Fatima Julde is one of the women who were displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in Maiduguri and resettled twice in different locations as a result of flooding. Mrs Julde sought temporary shelter at Alau Dam, Konduga Local Government in 2015. But, in 2023, the river's constant overflow washes away their shelter and farmland and in turn made her and her family seek another temporary shelter at Fariya, a desert community in Jere Local Government.


The residents, could not farm like in their previous location due to desertification and had to go to nearby farmlands in search of firewood for cooking and water for consumption which is unsafe for them, especially women of the community.

This report gathered that Girls and women in Fariya community are vulnerable to Gender Violence which is often silenced. 


Umma Shehu* who is an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) taking temporary shelter in Fariya community put to bed as a result of rape. 


According to Umma* she went to buy Mango and that was where she got attacked by unknown men in the bush.


 "Two of us got pregnant while the fate of the other three girls remains unknown," She said.


However, parts of Umma Shehu’s* statement were corroborated by a community leader, Mrs Binta Abdullahi.  Mrs Abdullahi said that Most displaced women and girls sent to fetch water or to get firewood, turn out to be victims in the area because they will be raped before giving access to fetch water or firewood."


Mrs Abdullahi recounts about three girls - displaced by the flood and raped in the bush while getting firewood and how the abuse was silenced due to fear of stigmatization.


"For other women, farming in such terrain appears to be a twist of fate coupled with the low rainfall and daring escapes from insurgents,"  She explained.


Although few caseworkers are available to counsel the community on known GBV cases only, Mrs. Abdullahi appealed to more Non-Governmental Organizations to come to their aid, support them, and raise massive awareness against GBV and Climate change as GBV cases increase by the day.


Video clip showing Women and girls heading to nearby farmlands. PC: Zainab Yetunde Adam


Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world. Globally, the United Nations estimated 736 million women — almost one in three — have been subjected to physical and or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life. 


Executive Director of Integrated Women & Youth Empowerment Centre (IWAYEC) in Borno, Afiniki Mangzha said providing women and girls with better livelihood and resources will help limit their exposure to GBV in Borno, Nasarawa or any part of the World and for them not to go out to the bush to farm far away in risky areas.


In Lafia, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Nasarawa command, Deputy Superintendents of Corps, (DSC) Jerry Victor said, "From November 2022 to this year we have recorded  127 cases of GBV, some victims have convicted in court while others are awaiting trial".


With this year's Theme of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women "Invest to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls” " these reporters observed that people especially survivors don’t feel okay to report and talk about GBV cases in safe spaces or with GBV activists for redress.

As the global world marks this year's International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the interviewees hoped that every individual, government, or corporate agency would decide to see that the Rights of Girls and Women are protected against physical or sexual violence.


Names with asterisk k are changed to protect sources


This report was supported by Education as a Vaccine (EVA) with funding from FEMNET on the African for Activist Climate Justice Project (AACJ).


            


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BHFLP Supports Borno Flood Victims, Commends Government's Swift Response

Image
  BY: FAIZA JIBRIN The Being Human Foundation For The Less Privileged (BHFLP) has pledged immediate support for the victims of the recent floods in Borno State, which devastated homes and properties. In a statement by Hauwa Abdullahi Suleiman, the foundation commended the swift actions taken by the state government in response to the disaster. The foundation expressed solidarity with Governor Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Dr. Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai Al-Amin Elkanemi, and the entire Borno community. BHFLP conveyed deep sympathy for the affected citizens and acknowledged the hardships caused by the flood. The foundation praised the Borno State Government for setting up temporary shelters at Bakasi Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp and Galtimari school, providing refuge to those displaced by the floods. BHFLP committed to supporting the state's efforts by delivering essential relief materials, including cooked food, to affected families. BHFLP emphasize...
Read more

HOW LAND DEGRADATION AFFECT FARMERS IN BIU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

Image
  I ndiscriminate disposal of non-biodegradable waste. Photo; Fatima Bintu Idriss By: Fatima Bintu Idris Climate change is becoming an issue day by day, as its effects continue to erode soil fertility, hence threatening means of survival. Anthropogenic activities caused by people keep increasing most especially the dumping of non-biodegradable waste which contributes massively to the infertility of the soil.  Communities in Borno state, largely depend on farming systems to ensure food security. In southern part of the state, Biu local government area is known as the food basket of the state, but in recent years, people experienced poor harvests for reasons unknown.  Maryam Mohammed said they had a bad harvest caused by an unknown factor even after following all farming strategies, their crops still failed them. Unlike Maryam, another farmer - Halima Bukar was able to identify that her farmlands no longer function the way they used to because the soil is not fertile anymo...
Read more

In Search of Knowledge: Parents Abandon Wards in an unusual Adventure across Northern Nigeria.

Image
Aliyu Abba, 12. PC: Adama Abubakar By: Adama Abubakar It was a breezy Sunday morning in Kano when I left for Borno, Nigeria. I was very excited because I had been wanting to visit Maiduguri for a long time. But the smile on my face and the amount of happiness I felt were cut short when I engaged in a strange interaction with the boys I came across, who appeared to be unlike many I had met in my life.  The boys sitting next to me had a mix of innocence and curiosity in their eyes, and I was curious to know who they were, so I asked if they were with their parents or guardians, given their ages, which could be between 7 and 11 years old, and they answered 'NO', letting me know that they are all by themselves. I could not speak, so I remained silent and began to ponder.  I remembered that earlier, as our bus was about to leave the park, an elderly man, probably in his 50s, approached our bus and gave some advice to the young children; from the advice given to them, I learned that...
Read more