Abia State Vows to Wipe Out Harmful Traditions and Gender Violence Calls for United Front to Protect Women and Children.

The Abia State Government has made it clear again that it is serious about ending all harmful cultural practices and gender based violence targeting women and children across the state.

On Thursday in Umuahia, the state’s Commissioner for Women Affairs, Maureen Ahukwa, gave this assurance while speaking at the 2026 FIDA Week, hosted by the Abia State branch of the International Federation of Women Lawyers.

Ahukwa said building a fair and inclusive society is everyone’s business, not just the government’s. She praised FIDA for their work in offering legal support to women and fighting child abuse nationwide, and called for even closer collaboration with the female lawyers to ensure that every woman and child in Abia can live safely and with dignity.

The event’s keynote speaker, Professor Marvel Onwuka from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, painted a troubling picture. She said the way women are mistreated in families and communities is now hurting children’s academic performance and social behavior. Even more alarming, she revealed that some university students are actually afraid to go back to their parents’ homes before or after graduation—because of unresolved conflicts between their fathers and mothers.

Earlier, the chairperson of FIDA in Abia State, Aniawonwa Njideka, called for laws that work quickly and without heavy costs to protect women and children. She also pushed for easier legal access for abuse victims.

Other participants at the gathering demanded that existing laws be properly enforced not just written on paper to shield vulnerable women and children across Abia.