Wife of the Taraba State governor and Founder, Hope Afresh Foundation, Barr. Anna Ishaku has taken the fight against gender-based violence to the Taraba High Court and the State House of Assembly.

Highlighting the high rate of domestic violence against women, the Governor’s wife revealed that demographic reports in 2018 showed that 30 percent of women suffered domestic and sexual violence. She stressed that Gender-Based Violence was a threat to life and public health which needs to be crucially halted.

According to her, due to the weakening social structure, laws, and norms, most offenders were not given severe punishments.

Anna Ishaku said the Hope Afresh Foundation Taraba recommends the need for a declaration of a State of Emergency on Gender-Based Violence, setting-up a GBV management committee, and funding the GBV activities. She also reiterated the readiness of her foundation to wage campaigns on GBV, offer skill acquisition training to youths and women to reduce unemployment in the state.

In his response, the State Chief Judge, Justice Filibus Andetur, assured of the commitment of the judiciary towards ensuring cases of Gender-Based Violence were given speedy attention.



The Chief Judge stressed the need for enactment of new laws to deal with such cases, recalling that recently he sentenced a rapist to death for defiling a 10-year-old girl and subsequently killing her.

Andetur described the advocacy visit as timely and lauded the Governor’s wife for championing the course.

Similarly, Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Joseph Albasu Kunini revealed that a proposed law prohibiting all forms of violence and discriminations against gender-based violence has undergone first reading by the State Assembly.



The governor’s wife was accompanied by the wife to the Secretary to the State Government, Josephine Jellason, members of the National Council For Women Society, Women Wing of Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN), Taraba State Chapter, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), representatives of the Commissioner of Police, Federal Road Safety Sector Command and wives of other top government officials.