Jimmy Arch
One of the most common and widespread human rights abuses is still violence against women and girls. Since 1981, women’s rights advocates have designated November 25 as a day to protest gender-based violence. This date was chosen to honor the Mirabal sisters, three Dominican Republic political activists who were brutally murdered in 1960 on Rafael Trujillo’s orders.
The UN General Assembly cleared the way for the global eradication of violence against women and girls on December 20, 1993, when it adopted resolution 48/104, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The General Assembly formally declared November 25, 2000, to be the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by adopting resolution 54/134 on February 7, 2000. Every year on that date, the Assembly asks governments, international organizations, and non-governmental groups to plan events aimed at increasing awareness of the problem.
Violence against women is defined by the UN as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”
Violence against women is pervasive in Nigeria and can take many different forms, such as early marriage, rape and sexual assault, and mental, physical, and domestic abuse. UNICEF reports that one in three women is either a victim of human trafficking, a victim of intimate relationship violence, or a victim of violent social standards.
Nigeria is home to numerous harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and widow abuse. According to reports, 401 women in Nigeria lost their lives to gender-based and sexual violence in 2022. More than 100 Nigerian women were killed in ten months, according to a story published in the Punch Newspapers on November 9, 2024. In response to gender-based violence, activists have demanded a state of emergency in Nigeria, according to The Guardian on February 25, 2025.
The immediate and long-term physical, sexual, and mental repercussions of violence against women and girls can be catastrophic, including death, and it is a violation of their human rights. Violence hinders women’s ability to fully participate in society and has a detrimental impact on their general well-being.
Raising awareness of gender-based violence is a necessary first step as the globe commemorates the 2025 International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. In order to address the root causes of violence against women in all spheres of society, Nigeria must act. The government must, among other things, increase financing to prevent violence against women and girls, maintain girls’ education, support women’s economic empowerment, and involve women in decision-making.
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