Faith and cultural leaders across southeastern Nigeria transformed World Day for Cultural Diversity into a powerful platform for combating sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) during coordinated market outreaches on Wednesday.
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The WABMA Foundation organised the grassroots campaign, deploying Leaders of Faith and Culture (LFCs) equipped with megaphones to engage communities directly in three major markets across Enugu, Abia, and Anambra states.
In Enugu State’s bustling Ogbete Main Market, Pastor Christian Eze led discussions addressing harmful cultural practices, including early child marriage, female genital mutilation, unhealthy gender roles, and destructive widowhood traditions. Using biblical scriptures to advocate for gender justice, Pastor Eze provided theological foundations for equality and cultural reform.
“Market men and women actively participated, sharing their perspectives and experiences while asking insightful questions,” organisers reported. The engagement fostered a deeper understanding of gender-based violence issues, with several SGBV cases reported during the outreach, highlighting the urgent need for continued intervention.
The Abia State campaign, led by Evangelist Priscillia Ogbonna at Umuahia Main Market, combined cultural celebration with anti-violence advocacy. “We say YES to the dignity of every human in our community; we say YES to cultural practices that uplift the beauty of our people,” Ogbonna declared to assembled crowds.
Her campaign emphasised reclaiming positive traditions while eliminating harmful practices, using town hall dialogues, market engagements, and collaborative workshops to empower locals in redefining cultural values. The initiative successfully blended advocacy with ancestral pride, generating grassroots momentum for sustainable change.
Perhaps the most powerful moment occurred during the Anambra State event at Nibo Market in Awka, where a widow courageously shared her traumatic experience. She described how her in-laws seized her late husband’s properties and locked away her personal belongings following his death, leaving her destitute and voiceless.
“Overnight, I lost not just my husband, but my home, dignity, and even my own clothes—trapped in a room I could no longer enter,” the survivor testified through tears. Her account exposed how abuse often masquerades as cultural tradition, stripping widows of basic rights and dignity.
Anambra State Project VLFC Coordinator Yohanna Rachel responded, “Her resilience exposes how abuse masquerades as tradition. We stand with her to reclaim kinship that protects, not plunders.” The emotional testimony galvanised community members, resulting in increased pledges to report SGBV cases and a notable shift from complicity to action.
The foundation strategically chose market venues, believing that reaching people in their everyday environments would foster more direct and impactful conversations about gender-based violence prevention and response.
The coordinated outreach began at 8:00 AM in Nibo Market, Awka, followed by Ogbete Main Market in Enugu at 10:00 AM, and concluded at Umuahia Main Market’s Isi Gate at 11:00 AM.
WABMA Foundation’s approach of combining cultural diversity celebrations with anti-SGBV advocacy represents an innovative strategy for addressing deep-rooted social issues. By leveraging respected faith and cultural leaders, the organisation successfully created safe spaces for difficult conversations about harmful traditional practices.
The initiative demonstrates how cultural celebrations can be transformed into vehicles for social change, using familiar community gathering spaces to address sensitive topics that might otherwise remain hidden.
The foundation stated that such grassroots efforts are fundamental to achieving its goal of creating a society free from sexual and gender-based violence. The organisation continues seeking media partnerships to amplify these important messages and encourage broader community participation in combating SGBV.
Through blending cultural pride with calls for reform, the campaign successfully challenged communities to preserve positive traditions while abandoning practices that perpetuate violence and discrimination, particularly against women and vulnerable populations.
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