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THE struggle for the emancipation of women from all political, cultural and socio-economic shackles that impede their effective contribution to national development has been on for decades. But it gained momentum in 1995 after the Fourth World Conference on women in Beijing, China in September. As a follow-up to the Beijing conference, a one-year campaign was embarked upon globally to eliminate violence against women.

But the most important instrument to achieve that was the Beijing Declaration where heads of states and governments made a commitment to guarantee “equal rights and inherent human dignity of women and men and other purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.” Among other things, they agreed to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and the Declaration on the Rights to Development. They are also to ensure the full implementation of the human rights of women and of the girl child as an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. However, 18 years after, none of the declarations has been fully actualised. Hence, the decision of the UN to mark the 2013 International Women’s Day with the theme: “A Promise is a Promise: Time for Action to End Violence Against Women”.

In Nigeria, like in other countries of the world, women are still suffering from a lot of indignities just because they are women. It is even worse in the case of widows who are subjected to all forms of rites and intimidation and denial of inheritance rights. This case was most illustrated by the harrowing experience of Imelda Ozokwere, who has been de-humanised by Alex Ozokwere, his brother-in-law and a Catholic Knight of St. John, for 29 years. This sordid treatment of Imelda brought to light some of the issues women have had to contend with in this 21 century. As part of our efforts to champion women issues and keep it on the front burner of national discourse, the editorial board of Realnews decided to dedicate this issue of our magazine to Imelda’s ugly experiences, the challenges and progress the Nigerian woman has made in actualising the ideals of the declaration as it concerns the elimination of violence against women both in the political, cultural and reproductive spheres of life. The main cover story entitled: Weighed Down by Culture and Custom was written by Maureen Chigbo, editor, while Olu Ojewale, general editor and Anayo Ezugwu, reporter, wrote the segments entitled: Still A Man’s World and The Scourge of Maternal Mortality, respectively. The stories are very refreshing and rich with information. Enjoy it

Maureen Chigbo
Editor 

— Mar. 18, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT