Lagos sets to stage Ewuro drama to tackle violence against women

L-R: Project Coordinator, Ewuro Project, Mr. Ayoola Jolayemi; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs & Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Mrs. Folasade Adesoye; Commissioner for WAPA, Hon. Lola Akande; Producer of Ewuro, Mr. Tim Godferey; Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Habib Aruna and Director, Child Development Department, Ministry of WAPA, Mrs. Alaba Fadairo during a Press briefing on the Ewuro Play Project to aid sensitization on Violence against Women, at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Tuesday.

Kazeem Ugbodaga

With increasing wave of violence against women in the state, the Lagos State Government is set to stage this year’s Ewuro drama project in December to draw attention to the plight of women in the state.

The focus of the Ewuro project is using the arts, music, drama and poetry to engage the audience and reawaken the minds of Nigerians to the true plight of the Nigerian women.

At a news conference on Tuesday at the Lagos State Government Secretariat, Alausa, in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, WAPA, Lola Akande said the ministry was first invited to the staging of the 2015 Ewuro play, saying that at that point, government recognized the need to participate in the project in order to move policy makers towards action.

“Ewuro is the Yoruba representation of the popular ‘bitter leaf’ and we all know how the bitter leaf tastes when first consumed, this depicts the current plight of many of our women, but as soon as you take water which we believe is the various interventions from all and sundry, sweetness is introduced at the end. Little wonders the Yoruba parlance, ‘Adunni ngbeyin ewuro’ (Sweetness is always the end of the consumption of bitter leaf).

“Through the exploration of our mundane experiences mirrored by the lives of the character, the Ewuro Broadway exposes instances of violence against women. The Ewuro story speaks to the aggressors and the victims alike, challenging the aggressors and empowering the victims. The Ewuro message is delivered through the irresistible hybrid of drama, poetry, music and dance,” she stated.

According to Akande, one of the responsibilities of the ministry was to vigorously eliminate all forms of discrimination against women which government had been doing using various platforms.

“This year’s Ewuro edition will take a different and more elaborate dimension as we intend to have series of activities as build up before the eventual dovetail into the stage production from 16th to 18th December, 2016 at the National Theatre, Iganmu.

“One of the major highlights of this project is that we will be supporting selected, not for profit organizations that are at the forefront of empowering women who have been or are still being rehabilitated from the wounds and pains of domestic violence and discrimination,” she added.

Akande called for support from the international community, corporate Nigeria, well meaning individuals, religious organisation and the people of the state to ensure that “we have a resounding success in this endeavour and our dream of a better life for our women is achieved.”