Some traditional rulers in Enugu State have expressed worry over the rising cases of harmful traditional practices and violence against women and girls in the state.

They made the disclosure at a one-day town hall meeting organized by an Enugu based NGO, Women Aid Collective (WACOL) and the Fifty-Fifty Action Women in collaboration with the Ford Foundation in Enugu on Saturday.

The theme of the meeting is “Change norms and practices that promote Violence Against women and girls”.

Some of such anti women cultural practices they noted are, denial of inheritance, forcing of the girl child into early marriage and female Genital Cutting.

Speaking at the event, the Traditional Ruler of Obige- Obukpa, in Nsukka Council area of the state, Igwe Raphael Ezeh, expressed concern over what he described as the inhuman treatment being meted against women and girls in some communities in the name of culture.

Eze, who is the Chairman, Enugu North zonal traditional Council said they had banished all culture that were obnoxious to natural justice.

He explained that the traditional rulers had played their part, urging other participants to help spread the news that violence against women and girl was evil.

While calling on everyone and groups to join hands in eliminating the menace in the state, the royal father agreed to end inhuman treatment against women and girls as a result of culture and norms in their respective domains and state in general.

Ezeh applauded WACOL for remaining a driving force on issues bothering on women and the girl child in Nigeria and Africa.

“Beating a woman is not a show of love and whoever engages in it is not normal because women deserve to be treated with dignity,” he said.

In his remark, Chairman, Igwe in Council, Enugu East Senatorial district of the State, HRH Hyacinth Edeani, said as traditional rulers, they were committed to eliminating harmful traditional practices in the state.

Speaking at the event, the Head of Communications, WACOL, Mrs Egodi Igwe said the meeting was aimed to dialogue with stakeholders and chart a new way of finding solution to the issue of gender based violence.

Igwe, who represented the Executive Director of WACOL, said that the organisation partnered Ford Foundation, an International Organisation, on the the project targeted at removing harmful cultural practices against women.

According to her, the norms we accepted as a way of life had affected women negatively.

The communication head noted that in Igboland, land and economic trees were only reserved for men, meaning that women would perpetually remained poor.

“So we gather community and religious leaders, youths, women and judiciary to interact and find solution to the menace,” she said.

Igwe urged the traditional rulers to introduce bye laws to end all forms of harmful cultural practices in their various communities.

“These bye laws will be codified and implemented in a manner that it will be gender friendly,” she said.

She explained that traditional ruler of a community had power to change harmful cultural practices to suit changing society.

This, she noted, would help bring best in women and empower them to contribute meaningfully to the development of the country.

Speaking also on the topic “Harmful Cultural norms against women and girl and its negative on community development”, the resource person, Mrs Uju Okeke, said that culture was not evil but must be rejected when it was harmful and against women.

She described negative culture as the one that subjected women to physical abuse, sexual violence, force ejection from home and harassment upon death of their spouse among others.

Okeke, who is the Executive Director, Centre for Mmadu on Human Right (C4M), said 70 per cent of women live below poverty line because they were denied economic resources and prevented from engaging in any work.

She, however, emphasized the need for cultural reorientation, empowerment of women, protection and implementation of laws to end violence against women and girls.