Nigeria’s youngest serving lawmaker, Hon. Rukayat Shittu of the Kwara State House of Assembly, has participated in the West Africa Female Parliamentarians Peer Review Conference on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) held in Accra, Ghana.
The three-day conference, organised by the Women in Politics Forum (WIPF) with support from the UN Women West and Central Africa Regional Office and the European Union, brought together female parliamentarians, gender ministers, ECOWAS legislators and development partners to assess legislative measures aimed at combating violence against women and girls.
The conference focused on reviewing existing laws, identifying implementation gaps and strengthening regional cooperation among lawmakers on policies protecting women and girls.
As part of the programme, participants visited the Parliament of Ghana under the leadership of the Executive Director of WIPF, Barr. Ebere Ifendu, where they observed parliamentary proceedings and engaged with members of the Ghanaian legislature.
During the plenary session, Speaker of the Ghanaian Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban S. K. Bagbin, welcomed the delegation and recognised Hon. Rukayat Shittu alongside other participants in attendance.
Shittu, who represents Owode/Onire Constituency in the Kwara State House of Assembly, participated in a regional working group alongside lawmakers from Ghana, Senegal and Uganda, where they exchanged experiences and explored legislative approaches to strengthening protections against violence targeting women and girls.
Unlike conventional conferences that focus mainly on presentations, the peer-review format allowed participants to assess legislative frameworks across countries, share best practices and develop recommendations for improving laws, parliamentary oversight and regional collaboration.
During the conference, Shittu advocated for a nationwide review of laws addressing emerging forms of violence against women and girls, including online abuse, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, image-based violence and digital harassment.
She said her working group focused on technology-facilitated violence against women and girls, online abuse, image-based violence and cross-border enforcement mechanisms.
“At the country level in Nigeria, we worked on a motion on strengthening protection against technology-facilitated VAWG and strategies for engaging male colleagues to end violence against women and girls,” she stated.
The lawmaker’s participation formed part of Nigeria’s contribution to regional efforts aimed at promoting the safety, rights and wellbeing of women and girls.
The conference is expected to strengthen the network of female parliamentarians across West Africa working towards legislative reforms, advocacy and improved implementation of policies addressing gender-based violence.
