*NAWOJ, over 30 women groups, CSOs brainstorm.
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The lawmaker representing Oru West Constituency in Imo State House of Assembly, Hon. Dominic Ezerioha has declared that a bill for the right of women and girls to inherit property of their late parents was part of the constitutional provisions of equal rights between man and woman.
Hon Ezerioha said this while speaking at a town hall meeting organized by Imo chapter of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists NAWOJ in collaboration with Imo State House of Assembly together with over 30 women groups and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to brainstorm on the recent enacted law on right of women to inherit property.
According to the lawmaker, the bill will also among others is to ensuring the rule of law, ending Intimidation of the woman and encouragement to the pride of the woman.
He stressed that the other part of the bill is that since both female and male are classified as children under the law, what should be given to a man should also be given to a woman as equality before the law.
Hon Ezerioha pointed out that where a woman commits a murder, as in section 238 that talks about manslaughter and section 239 of the constitution that talks about murder, the woman goes to the same jail term as a man that commits murder, wondering ” why a woman should be deprived of the thing that is supposed to come to her simply because she is a woman”.
Speaking, the Imo State NAWOJ Chairperson, Dr. Mrs Dorothy Nnaji said the recent development is a very welcome one for the female child.
The NAWOJ Chairperson disclosed that the programme was organized as a town hall meeting of heads of different groups who would get the information across to the women and target audience.
Dr. Nnaji expressed satisfaction with the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) law, and the right of females to inherit property which would enable parents with only female children to have relief that their daughters will be taken care of after their demise.
Addressing the participants featuring different organizations like Human Rights Commission, Caritas International, Catholic Women Organization of Holy cross and Assumpta Cathedral, Daawah Foundation and Orphanage, Anglican Women Guild, National Council of Women Society (NCWS), Virgin Heart Foundation, Honourbirth Foundation, Women in Labour (NLC), Nigerian Bar Association Women Forum, Association of Nigerian Female Students among others, the Imo state Chairman of the NIgeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Ifeanyi Nwanguma in his remarks, lauded the state House of Assembly, particularly the sponsor of the bill, Hon. Dominic Ezerioha, Oru West lawmaker for enacting the law and urged that the women groups use to programme to reflect on political, economic and social equality among others issues.
The Clerk of Imo State House of Assembly, Bar. Mrs Chinelo Emeghara while outlining the functions of the legislature hinted that an avalanche of laws for protection of women and children had been enacted and listed some of them like the Widowhood Protection Law 2012, Child Rights Law of 2016, Gender equal opportunity law 2007, Female genital mutilation Prohibition law number 6 of 2017.
Others by the 9th House included Imo VAPP Law 2021, Gunshot Compulsory Treatment Law of 2022, and the recent law permitting girl child right to inherit are awaiting the governor’s assent.
