Urgent Call to Protect Vulnerable Women: Activist Advocates Evacuation of Mentally Ill from Streets Amidst Heightened Risk of Assaults and Ritual Crimes

Human rights activist and peace ambassador, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani, made a call on Friday for the protection of mentally ill women who roam the streets, safeguarding them from rapists and ritualists. She also urged authorities to evacuate these women and provide them with access to a healing center.

Ramatu, who runs the Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children in Nigeria, emphasized that mentally ill women have the same right to protection as all other citizens.

Tijjani called upon both the Federal and state governments to take action and evacuate all mentally ill women from the streets, providing them with treatment at psychiatric hospitals.

During her visit to some of the places where these women stayed in Kaduna, she expressed concern that mental illness often leads to the deprivation of a woman’s basic human and civic rights. She highlighted that mentally ill women are frequently abused, subjected to rape, sexual assaults, and physical violence.

Furthermore, she pointed out that the mental health of women is impacted by the trauma, domestic violence, sexual abuse, vulnerability, stigma, and victimization they experience. Their difficult circumstances, such as poverty, low education, low income, and challenging family and marital relationships, make them more susceptible to mental disorders.

Ramatu also lamented the plight of mentally ill women with children born from the rapes they suffer on the streets. She called on NGOs, civil societies, corporate bodies, and religious leaders to collaborate on initiatives that promote mental health through mainstream health promotion activities.

She proposed the establishment of preventive mental health programs as an essential part of care for those at risk of mental health problems. Educating citizens on the issue was crucial to generating new ideas that would lead to better mental health outcomes.

Ramatu emphasized that addressing the stigma associated with mental illness and mental health problems would contribute to creating a compassionate society that promotes social justice, equity, and access to the rights of persons with mental illness.