Benin/Law protecting women and girls in Benin: An awareness campaign in the districts

The legal platform of the Swedd-Bénin project is launching an awareness and advocacy campaign on the laws protecting women and girls in Benin. The sessions are taking place in the districts. The Minister of Social Affairs and Microfinance, Véronique Tognifodé, has lent her support to the teams in the field...

The awareness-raising and advocacy session held in the commune of Sô-Ava on Thursday November 21, 2024, on the laws protecting women and girls in the Republic of Benin, was marked by the presence of the Minister of Social Affairs, Véronique Tognifodé.laws protecting women and girls in the Republic of Benin was marked by the presence of the Minister of Social Affairs, Véronique Tognifodé. The ministerial authority went to support and boost the morale of the Swedd-Bénin project's legal platform, which she had deployed in all Benin's arrondissements to raise awareness among grassroots populations of the laws on gender-based violence against women and girls: early and/or forced marriages, rape, sexual harassment, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)...etc. In Sô-Ava, more precisely in the floating market of Ganvié, the Minister saw a determined and very committed team in front of a population attentive to explanations and details. The women in the floating pirogues religiously followed the messages passed on by the awareness-raising team. The elders of the lakeside village, who had come for the occasion, appreciated the government's approach, which consists in taking measures to protect women and girls more effectively, through fluid, grassroots communication. The Minister was particularly thanked for having travelled from Ganvié for this exchange session. She invited those present to support the government in its drive to create conditions for the development and empowerment of girls and women in Benin. She reminded the people of Sô-Ava of the importance of women's role in our country's development, which, she said, justified their receiving sustained protection from the State. Very moved and enthusiastic, the women expressed their concerns and pledged to denounce any perpetrators of such violence in Ganvié.

This series of awareness-raising sessions, which have been underway in the country's 546 arrondissements over the past few weeks, follows on from capacity-building sessions for players in administrative structures and community organizations on the new legal texts for the protection of women and girls, led by the Legal Platform of the Swedd-Benin project between December 2022 and January 2024. The 77 communes were completed in May 2024.

Source: matinlibre.com/