Concerned by the frequency of rapes in the country of late with some orchestrated through social media platforms, ITREALMS Online would observe the second edition of its Digital Rights Series Web Seminar (Webinar) on Saturday, June 13, 2020.

The second edition of the Digital Rights Series is hosted by ITREALMS, an international award-winning news platform in collaboration with DigitalSENSE Africa Media, an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) accredited At-Large Structure (ALS), DNS Women Nigeria and NaijaAgroNet, a publication focusing on Sustainable Development, women, environment and new energy; on the theme, ‘Women and Rights in Digital Era’.

Affirming this, the Executive Director, Operations at DigitalSENSE Africa, Mrs. Nkem Nweke, said that the rate of recent rapes of women and girl-child in the country has become a great concern to her organisation and affiliates as well as women in Nigeria, especially for the fact that some of them started on social media like Facebook albeit ended in rape and death.

She said that while waiting for the National Assembly to fast-track the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill (DRFB), it’s very important to note that the lives of Nigerian women and girls matter if the country must make viable progress in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Nweke recalled that in February 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari declined assent to the initial Digital Rights and Freedom (DRF) Bill after it was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate at the 8th National Assembly respectively, stressing that this will not deter actors.

The bill, she observed has gained momentum as its now with the public committee at the National Assembly and commended the likes of Paradigm Initiative for their steadfastness in ensuring that DRF sees the light of the day and eventually get signed by Mr. President before end of this year.

She pointed out that the Goal 5 of the SDG which is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, has been identified as an integral part of SDGs considering the role of women in the society and development.

It would also highlight some of the targets of Goal 5 to include to “end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere; eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation; Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

She noted that Goal 5 targets, additionally, is to “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life.

“It is also ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, as well as undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, to name a few.”

To this end, she said the second edition of this webinar on Digital Rights would address some youth behaviour online, especially for the female gender.

Experts in social development and knowledgeable on the subject matter she said, have been assembled to discourse and proffer solutions.

Some of those slated to speak include an author, activist, Morenike Adebayo, United Kingdom-based development actor Abimbola Junaid and security analyst who presides over the Africa Security Forum, Mr. Temitope Olodo.

She further urged Nigerians and women and young women to participate in the webinar and actively too.

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