Uyo monarch abolishes traditional practices against women, girls, widows

Etim Ekpimah

The Paramount Ruler of Uyo, HRM Edidem Sylvanu Okon, has abolished all traditional practices against women, girls, and widows. The practices as enunciated by his Royal Majesty include wife’s battery; rape; depriving widows of their rights and other forms of practices considered inical to the wellbeing of women.

He added that with the support of the Women At Risk International Foundation (WARIF) in partnership with United Nations (UN) Women, added that the Uyo community had also been engaged in deep consultations with elders, chiefs, youth, women’s groups, religious leaders, and the broad populace, who all gave assent to end the practices.

With the support of the Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF) and in partnership with UN Women, our community has engaged in deep consultations with elders, chiefs, youth, women’s groups, religious leaders, and the broader populace.

He noted that the engagement was aimed at identifying, reviewing, and reforming discriminatory customary laws and practices that perpetuate violence against women and girls (VAWG).

“In alignment with our cultural evolution, the principles of justice, equity, and dignity, and in recognition of our collective responsibility to protect all members of our community, particularly women and girls, I hereby declare the abolition of the following harmful practices within Uyo Kingdom, effective 8^th May 2025.

“Wife battery and all forms of domestic violence; Female Genital Mutilation (FGM); Denial of inheritance rights to widows and other forms of economic disempowerment, and Sexual violence, abuse, and exploitation.

“This decision reflects our unwavering commitment to upholding human dignity, ensuring gender justice, and fostering a society grounded in peace, respect and shared humanity.

“Let it be known that from this day forward, any individual found promoting, practising or defending any of these outlawed acts shall be considered to be acting against the will of the throne, the community, and the collective consciousness of our people. Such actions will attract appropriate traditional and legal sanctions,” said.

Concerning female children, Okon noted that there was no difference between a male child and a female child, adding that all children are entitled to the same rights and privileges.

According to him, “Discrimination against widows, male and female children, has been abolished within Uyo territory. Widows are entitled to their husbands’ property in full. Men and women have equal rights, and there is no superiority between a man and a woman.”

Helen Umana (FIDA), President, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Akwa Ibom State, said they had heard so much about gender-based violence in the state, especially about rape including children being raped even by their fathers.

She expressed surprise that some of those raped are minors like six months, one year, and two years old. She asked, “Please tell me what a six-month baby girl will be able to do to attract other party to rape her?”

She explained that her organisation has been inundated with reports of gender violence against women. People call in at midnight, saying, “Oh! There is a fight between her and her husband; I have received a series of calls. Recently, I have had a very heavily pregnant woman come to my office, and she said her husband was hitting and beating her, and the woman was heavily pregnant.

“Tell me what he is looking for? Does he want the woman to die in that pregnancy? At the end of the day, the woman ran to the police station and reported the matter. When you are in a stuffy relationship, when the man, for no reason, is hitting you, why don’t you leave? We at FIDA have been able to implement rape law. If you are caught, you will go to jail.”

Ms. Patience Ekeoba, Acting Deputy Representative, in her declaration ceremony, said UN Women recognise the unique and powerful role of traditional institutions in shaping social norms and influencing behaviour at the grassroots level.

She added that the leadership demonstrated by His Royal Majesty and the Uyo Traditional Council is a bold and commendable step toward cultural transformation rooted in dignity and equality.

She said, the UN Women is the entity of the United Nations for gender equality and women’s empowerment, working on three (3) mandates: Normative Standards (laws, policies and conventions), Coordination of GEWE within the UN system and partners and programme operations.

“We work in five (5) programme areas: Governance in Public and Private Life (GPPL), Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG), Women Economic Empowerment (WEE), Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Humanitarian and Disaster Risk Reduction (HDRR).

“UN Women is proud to partner with traditional leaders, government institutions, civil society, and communities to eliminate all forms of Gender-Based Violence.

“We remain committed to supporting capacity-building, community engagement, and the development of community-led guidelines that translate today’s declaration into sustainable action.

“We will continue to provide technical support for coordination, communications, monitoring and evaluation, and accountability mechanisms to ensure impact,” she said.

The high point of the event was the signing of the order into the edict.

Signing alongside HRH, Edidem Sylvanus Okon are Nkechi Udoh, representing Akwa Ibom State Government; Adeola Poffs-Johnson, representing WARIF, and Beatrice  Eyong, UN Women representative.