A group focused on women and children's issues marched to the Lagos State House of Assembly on Friday to demand legislation on femicide.
Ololade Ajayi, the organizer of DOHS Care for Vulnerable Women and Children Foundation, led the march.
Femicide is the intentional killing of a woman or girl because of her gender.
The group members marched chanting “End femicide”, “Not one woman more, not one woman less”, “Call it femicide”, from Shoprite mall in the Ikeja area of the state to the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The protesters carried banners and signs with various inscriptions such as '#CALLITFEMICIDENG, Resist, don't cry', 'Legislate against femicide', 'STOP STOP STOP FEMICIDE', 'Stop the murder of women and girls' and others.
Ms Ajayi said they had sent a letter with a draft bill on femicide to the state House of Assembly in April.
Letter, proposed law
In their letter, they told the speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, that the Lagos State Domestic Violence Act and the state Penal Code do not contemplate femicide.
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Omolara Olumegbo, a lawmaker representing Lagos Island Constituency 1 and chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Job Creation, responded to the letter this month, maintaining that there are laws that address their concerns.
She wrote: “While the intention behind this bill is noteworthy, it is important to note that Lagos State in 2021 passed the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Act,” she wrote.
“The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Act protects survivors of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence from all forms of discrimination and stigmatization and ensures that they have access to medical, legal and counselling assistance.
A member of the group held a placard in front of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
“The law also guarantees the protection of women against all forms of domestic violence that occur at home, in public or in the workplace.
“It is believed that the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Act is also sufficient to cover cases of femicide against women and girls.”
Ms. Olumegbo added that Chapter 23 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015 “sufficiently addresses cases of homicide, murder and suicide. Femicide is a subset of murder and there are comprehensive provisions on murder in the law to ensure that those convicted do not go unpunished.”
Demands
Meanwhile, Ms Ajayi argues that existing laws do not explicitly mention femicide.
She noted that the response does not address the patterns behind the murders of women, which the femicide bill seeks to address.
Ms Ajayi also argued that the bill should be considered to ensure justice for women and girls who have died and to prevent future deaths.
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“We tell him (the president) that our bill on femicide has to be recognized, presented in the plenary session of the House and adopted either in the penal code or in the domestic violence law, or as an amendment,” she said.
A member of the group held a placard in front of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
“We are saying that we want an invitation from the Speaker and the House at large to deliberate on this bill, because ignoring the killings, the intentional killings of women and girls in Lagos State is tantamount to dismissing women, saying our lives are not important,” she said.
She urged the House to recognise and adopt the Femicide Bill, stressing that the bill will address the high number of women and girls who have died due to domestic violence, which current laws do not “adequately cover”.
She insisted that current laws only cover survivors of sexual and domestic abuse.