Mrs Pauline Tallen, Minister of Women Affairs in Nigeria, has proposed castration as a punishment for incest perpetrators.
Tallen made the recommendation at a news conference in Abuja on Sunday to commemorate 16 days of activism against gender-based violence (GBV).
She described incest as the most heinous form of gender-based violence, requiring such severe punishment as castration.
“Incest is the most heinous form of gender-based violence, and I advocate castration as a punishment for perpetrators.”
‘Let us name and shame those who commit incest because it is the worst,” she said.
The minister urged the media to spread the message that all forms of violence against women and girls must end, and he urged states to domesticate the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act.
The prevalence of incest and other forms of GBV, according to Dr Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is due to a conspiracy of silence.
Incest thrived only where the victim was coerced into silence, according to Kanem.
She expressed concern about the insecurity of women and girls at home, where they are supposed to be protected by the family but are, in fact, violated.
“Unfortunately,” he lamented, “the girl child who is supposed to be nurtured in her family is raped by the same family.”
The executive director expressed UNFPA’s commitment to working with Nigeria to create a future where women and girls are protected and valued, calling GBV a crime against humanity.
She urged Nigeria to increase women’s access to family planning services and to put an end to all forms of violence against women.
Ms Rachel Snow, Chief Population and Development Branch, expressed UNFPA’s determination to assist Nigeria in conducting a credible and reliable census.
Snow characterized the census as a critical component of national planning and development.
She stated that UNFPA was ready to assist Nigeria in making the census transparent, credible, and reliable.