Gender Rights: Minister Reads Riot Act to School Proprietors, Hotel Owners, Hospitals

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

In pursuance of gender rights and safety across the nation, the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has read out a riot act to school proprietors, hotel owners and hospital managements over the incessant abuse of women, young girls and children.

The minister who bemoaned cases of constant underaged abuse, exposure to alcohol and even death in hotels, bullying and sexual molestation in schools as well as refusal to treat gunshot patients without police reports in many hospitals said with the enactment of mobile courts, such menace will be brought to the barest minimum.

The minister spoke, Thursday, in Abuja, during a meeting in partnership between the federal ministries of health, women affairs and education, medical facilities, hotel owners, private school owners, and nongovernmental organizations as well as civil society organizations.

She said going forward, there will be signs in schools, hotels and hospitals having captions such as “No lodging of underaged girls and children or serving of alcohol”; “Bullying is here by prohibited”; “No sex for grade or harassment: See something, say something” and added that there will be numbers attached.  

The minister added that related objectives will include increase in speed deployment and dispensation if justice, the enhancement of speed and efficiency in case trial reduction of child labour and out of school children as well as reduce child abuse and the use of babies to beg for alms, amongst several others.
Her words: “The implementation of the mobile court will usher in guidelines for new operational methods for all hotels, hospitals both private and public, private and public schools and NGOs.

“All hotels should display posters of no under aged girls or children allowed for lodging in hotels. All primary and secondary schools should display sign post and there must be a sitting teacher in every classroom for both primary and secondary.

“There must be four teachers on duty who will always be outside watching the children play during breaks. There must be a sitting cleaner at the entrance of the toilet corridors to monitor what goes on.
“No hospital should reject an emergency patient. At least immediate first aid should be administered for restoration or resuscitation of life.”