Bauchi State government, through the Hisbah Department of the state Shariah Commission, has pledged to marry off at least 100 repentant sex workers.
The Permanent Secretary in charge of the department, Alhaji Aminu Balarabe-Isah, disclosed this on Tuesday at the formal inauguration of vocational training for 575 repentant sex workers in Bauchi.
He said the government would sponsor the weddings of both Muslim and Christian women among them, and provide them with dependable and reliable sources of livelihood.
“We would facilitate the entire process after obtaining their consent and that of their parents and guardians before the marriage takes place,” he added.
He commended them for taking the bold decision to renounce the practice, which may affect their lives negatively and place a permanent stigma on them.
The permanent secretary explained that the repentant sex workers would be trained on vocational skills which include hairdressing, knitting, entrepreneurship, tailoring and cosmetology.
He identified other skills that the repentant sex workers will learn as makeup, catering, poultry/fishery, shoe/bag making, and computer literacy classes, adding that the training would be done in collaboration with the National Directorate of Employment.
