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Perspective on Sexual Right and Health

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MY PERSPECTIVE ON SEXUAL RIGHTS AND HEALTH

Let me start by sharing with you the real life experience of a female friend of mine who once married. She told me that her unforgettable day was the day her former husband approached her and requested to have sex with her, she declined because she said to him, she was not feeling fine. The husband did not agree with her and decided to tear the cloth she wore and forced her to sex. It was only in the morning she said, after he had finished satisfying himself, he realized she was not well after touching her body and found the body was hot. To that morning, she reported him to his parents but they said to her it’s a normal thing because that is how she can adapt herself as a NEWLY married woman.
Furthermore, Then she later decided to report him to her parents that she was no longer interested in the marriage and her parents after consulting with their son in-law’s parents decided to disengage the marriage. She was in tears when she was telling me the story, and she said to me she does not even want to see any of her former husband’s relatives, she also said to me that she is afraid of getting married to another man because she doesn’t want to experience the same thing which happened to her. After learning from her experience and the subsequent experiences learnt particularly among the participants of National Youth Consultation on Feminism held last year here in Abuja, Nigeria. I decided to stay back to critically and clinically look at the issues of sexual rights and health as it mostly affects the life of girls and women in our society (Nigeria).
Generally, I view rights as indispensable to human existence because they are what human beings requires or entitle to have in order for them to earn a live meaningfully. They include rights such as right to sustainable livelihood, quality basic services such as health, education and also right to be heard and also have identity. These rights are universal, in alienable and indivisible to all human born or alive irrespective of gender, religion, etc. I personally view these rights as indispensable because without them, human beings will live a life that I prefer to term as “empty life” with no purpose of being in existence as human being.
Moreover, my own understanding and at the same time conception of what sexual rights and health is, based on the above experiences, is having a satisfying and safe sex life that is free of violence, discrimination and without hindrance to relationships based on equality, respect and justice, and also have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to your sexuality. These rights should include right to bodily integrity, choose to be sexually activity or not, to have sexual relations that are consensual, right not to be pressured into sexual activity, to get married to one’s own free will, and also rights to information, access to contraception, birth control, fertility regulation, abstinence by informed choices, and prevention and treatment of STI’s including HIV/AIDS.
Conclusively therefore, sexual rights and health are very indispensable to human existence born or alive. These rights should be re-emphasized and humans should be allowed to enjoy them, failure to do these will turn our society to be lawless or even anarchical and by extension morally unstable.

NURA IRO MA’AJI
PROGRAMME MANAGER
GENDER, DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIETY FOR YOUTH AWARENESS AND HEALTH DEVELOPMENT, KANO, NIGERIA WITH SUPPORT FROM IWHC USA AND GPI NIGERIA
+2348025699001
nuramaaji2000@yahoo.co.uk

BEING A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE 3RD AFRICAN CONFERENCE ON “SEXUAL RIGHTS AND HEALTH” HELD IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, ABUJA, NIGERIA.

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MATERNAL MORTALITY AND NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT

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MATERNAL MORTALITY AND NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT

“We have not placed the issue of women and children at the center of our heart. There is no attention given to them despite the fact that they are asset to us. With out their good health, we don’t have future. The issues of mother and child are linked and we are failing to scale up high impact contribution that can save lives of mothers and children.”
- Dr. Tunde Adegboyega
Consultant WHO

It was on the evening of Sunday 8th of January 2009, while reading some past newspapers; I came across a report on maternal mortality on thisday newspaper of July 7th 2008, written by Taiwo Olawole. The report came with frightening and very disturbing figures concerning the rate of maternal death in the country which made me to voice out my mind concerning the subject matter and also offer some advises to both the state and federal government. The report revealed that Nigeria is the second highest in the world in terms of maternal death with 59,000, and India is occupying the first position with 117,000 deaths annually. The reporter went on to argue that Nigeria shouldn’t supposed to be ranked second instead should be ranked first, because he argued that the whole of Nigeria’s population constitute only 10% of India’s population. He further argued and I quote “India actually improved between 2000 and 2005. In 2000, India’s maternal deaths were 136,000. It was this figure that dropped to 117,000 in 2005. On the other hand, Nigeria’s 37,000 deaths in 2000 rose to 59,000 in 2005! So, place within the right context, Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate is perhaps the most dangerously high in the world.” Looking at the argument of the reporter, I think he is absolutely right and Nigeria should be ranked first not second.
After reading the report, the questions that come to my mind were: where are the policy makers? Did they really know what is happening? How about the promises they made while campaigning I mean the seven point agenda? Or did any of their relatives fall within the people that are dying annually? My answer to these questions are: they knew what is happening, only though, they have forgotten all the promises they made while campaigning, and perhaps I don’t think their relatives are dying of maternal problems. Though the report said states like Kano has already taken a step and went on to argue that “Interestingly, the Kano state free antenatal care which is now a model for some states, is not affecting the quality of services at government Hospitals.” The reporter also said “after the seemingly success story of kano state in reducing maternal and child mortality, some states have come to emulate the concept.” States like Nassarawa, Borno, Enugu, Rivers, Ebonyi and recently Kaduna have introduced various degrees of free medical facilities for pregnant women as well as for children which is a step on a right direction, even though there are complains of inadequate medical facilities, thanks to their effort and hope they will continue to do more so as to ensure that their efforts are sustained. I am also calling the attention of other states to copy from their brothers because the situation is very disturbing and needs urgent attention. Now that states has started making impact by providing antenatal care, Federal government should also do the same and provide free medical treatment for pregnant women and children, and to also collaborate with states, civil society organizations, donor agencies, so as to reversed the trend. Failure to do that will instead worsen the situation. For me, neglecting women and children is the greatest mistake any society can make, because they are our future and we have no option other than to take good care of them, and I am sure you knew that. Please am appealing to you lets all stand up and do some thing, remember united we stand divided we fall.

NURA IRO MA’AJI
SYAHD, KANO STATE, NIGERIA
nuramaaji@gmail.com
2348032601697


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Divorcees and Northern Governors In Nigeria

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DIVORCEES AND NORTHERN GOVERNORS


“Success in marriage does not come merely from finding the right mate, but by being the right mate”.
Barnett R. Barker

Generally, most men do not care about spending time in finding the right mate before getting married, not to even talk about being the right the mate after getting in to the institution, they rather demand and expect more from the institution instead of thinking what the institution will require from them. Revelations from the report written by Hassan A. Karofi in Sunday Trust News paper of December 28, 2008, did not only show the crises bedeviling the institution of marriage in kano state, but also gave us a picture in to the current condition of women divorcees in the state and also the possibility of finding same situation in other part of the northern region. The report argued that, there are about 20,000 women divorcees in kano alone, and 15,000 thousand of them are attending activities of just one association called Voice of Women Divorcees, and this association complain of not getting any support from Kano sate government or even any of the international donor agencies. This is perhaps an unfortunate and disturbing situation.
In 2004, population council Nigeria office, made a survey and reported that about 50 percent of marriages in northern Nigeria are at an average age of 15, and the worst thing is that, these girls have limited educational attainment with no economic empowerment skills. What am saying is that, this situation deserves urgent attention in the whole entire northern states not just kano state. Though, kano state government has stated taking steps towards empowering the divorcees in the state, I am perssonally advising the whole entire northern state governors to make a survey in their various states concerning the rate of divorce and condition upon which divorcees are experiencing.
More Over, am also advising the governors to incorporate Non Governmental Organizations with focus on women’s issues, so as for you to find it easier in empowering the divorcees. Invitations should also be extended to international donor agencies so as for them to make their own input. Programs that will further educate people on issues related to marriage both from religious point of view and any other way through which people can understand the message and Legislations that will check mate the situation should also be put in place.

NURA IRO MAAJI
SYAHD, KANO STATE
nuramaaji@gmail.com
+2348032601697


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WOMEN AND HIV/AIDS IN NIGERIA

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BETWEEN WOMEN AND HIV/AIDS IN NIGERIA
This issue of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria has remained the most pressing issue of concern over the years, and has attracted the attention of non-governmental organizations domestically and internationally. This is due to the fact that various Nigerian governments have not paid adequate attention toward reversing the epidemic. Historically, studies have shown that the first two HIV cases in Nigeria were identified in 1985 and were reported at an international AIDS conference in 1986. Since then, no effort has been made by government to assess HIV situation in the country until in 1991 when the federal ministry of health made their first attempt to assess the situation, the result showed that 1.8 percent were infected with HIV, and subsequent surveillance report revealed that during the 1990s, the HIV prevalence rose from 3.8 percent in 1993 to 4.5 percent in 1998.

However, hope was restored in 1999 when President Olusegun Obasanjo established National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), and in 2001, he set up HIV Emergency Plan (HEAP). Despite these positive intentions, in 2006, it was estimated that just 7 percent infected women and men were receiving antiretroviral therapy and only 0.2 percent of pregnant women were receiving treatment to reduce the risk of mother to child transmission of HIV. In 2005, studies showed that 240,000 children were living with HIV most of whom became infected from their mothers. Another study also showed that 80 percent of HIV infections in Nigeria are transmitted through heterosexual sex and this due to transfusions account for up to 10 percent of new infections in Nigeria. Moreover, women are particularly affected with the epidemic in Nigeria. In 2006 for example, UNAIDS estimated that women accounted for 6.15 percent of adults aged 15 and above living with HIV. All these in my own opinion should be attributed to the poor health care system we have in Nigeria, which is also characterized by corruption and mismanagement. This is because large parts if the country lack even basic health care provision making it difficult to establish adequate HIV testing services.
Finally, I think if the dream of the present administration is to make Nigeria one of the twentieth most industrialized economies of the world by the year 2020, the problems militating against health care system in Nigeria must be dealt with in its entirety. Secondly, since women suffer most without their consent, they should be allowed to participate in the decision making process so as to find the best way out.
NURA IRO MA’AJI
SOCIETY FOR YOUTH AWARENESS AND HEALTH DEVELOPMENT (SYAHD) KANO STATE, NIGERIA
nuramaaji2000@yahoo.co.uk
+2348025699001


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