Keep your mouth shut. Prevention is better than cure – Minister tells women not to trade words with their husbands to prevent physical abuse

The Minister for Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohaneye, has advised women to avoid any form of confrontation with their husbands so as not to get beaten by the men.

She made the appeal at a Conference of Commissioners of State Ministries of Women Affairs in Nigeria in Abuja on Wednesday, Februry 28. The minister said avoiding trading words would prevent physical assault that may lead to injury or death.

“I am equally begging my women not to look for trouble, not even at home. Maintain peace in your home because if a home is peaceful, the woman has 80 percent to contribute to that. If you need peace, you can equally achieve it. Keep your mouth shut. Talking back does not yield fruit, rather it leads to death and destruction, it leads to bringing up bad children for society. Keep your mouth shut, it does not make you a fool but a wise person. When the man is shouting and saying all sorts of things, act like a fool and keep your mouth shut.

After a while, watch him. If he is a good man, he will come back to apologise. If he is not a good one, ignore him. Have what you want to do in your mind, but when we show who we are and we fight back, most times, it leads to hitting; you could be injured.

The same man that injures you will come back to say I am sorry. What will you do? Will you kill him? Even if we come out to fight for you and you lose one eye, are we going to replace the eye? So prevention is better than cure.”she said

The minister called for the signing of a law that would provide a mobile court to try gender and sexual based offences. She promised to lead a protest to the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the federation to sign the law.