The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Pauline Tallen, has accused entertainers of promoting abuse of women’s bodies by employing vulgar lyrics and depicting female dancers in a most disdainful manner.
Tallen said this while speaking on the theme “My Body is My Own: Claiming the Right to Autonomy and Self-Determination,” at the launch of the State of the World Population 2021 report in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to Tallen, entertainers are frustrating the government’s efforts which include tackling the fear and stigma of survivors of violence, weak community and facility referral systems, lack of counselling services for women and girls and the communities as well as seeking justice for victims.
“It is almost disheartening to note that while we are confronting these obstacles to increase advocacy, the entertainment industry which has a large followership of young minds, continues to indirectly support the abuse of the female body as a sex object through vulgar lyrics and employment of female dancers in compromising customs,” Tallen said.
“This is indeed unacceptable. I want to use this opportunity to appeal to producers and writers to support us so that together we can ensure that Nigerian society is able to guarantee an environment where girls and women are able to make choices about their bodies without the fear of violence or having someone else decide for them.”
The minister promised that the government would continue to provide an enabling environment for the state and non-state actors in the eradication of violence and abuse of women.
Tallen also called on the states that are yet to pass the 2003 Child Rights Act and 2015 Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act which are aimed at eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls.
“This is why we are calling on all the remaining 12 states to domesticate the Child Rights Act of 2003 and the 18 states yet to domesticate the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, 2015 to immediately do so,” Tallen said.
