She said that such development would enhance empowerment of women, including the decision making process of women in the society
The Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari,
has called on women in leadership positions to be role models for
younger generation of women leaders to achieve full inclusion of women.
Buhari
said this in Abuja at the third annual conference organised by SHE
Forum Africa with the theme: Regroup, Reboot and Remove the mask.
Aisha Buhari was represented at the conference by Dr Toyin Saraki, wife of the Senate President.
She
said that women, including those in leadership positions, needed to
come together to map out concrete plans on how to promote gender
equality.
Buhari said that women also needed to
work towards promoting health, safety, education and entrepreneurship
for people in the work place, market and rural communities.
“As women and mothers of the nation, the faith of the next generation of both girls and boys occupies much of my thinking.
“To
achieve gender inclusion, the world must break up and pay attention to
the rights and opportunities of all human beings to reach and live up to
their full potentials,” Buhari added.
She
urged governments at the local and international levels, private and
public organisations as well as individuals to work towards the
realisation of sustainable community development.
She
said that such development would enhance empowerment of women,
including the decision making process of women in the society.
According
to Buhari, this will address the undeniable vices and social norms that
make women and girls to be treated poorly than men and boys.
She
also urged business owners, civil society groups and institutions to
proffer solutions to inequality in order to promote creative solutions
and systemic change in the society.
Mrs
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, a Gender and Development Specialist, said there was
need for Nigerian women to regroup, reboot and remove the mask because
Nigeria was at war.
“There is a war going on in Nigeria and the rights of women are greatly affected.
“Women
are dying daily due to maternal mortality, women are being kidnapped
and one out of three women experience some form of violence in her
lifetime.
“Poverty, exclusion and abuse are things that have almost been normalised in our country.’’
Fayemi
said Nigeria has been featured badly in the global gender economic
measures and called on women to take their rightful place in the
economy.
She said in the Gender Economic Measure, Nigeria features very badly on most global indicators.
“The 2015 World Bank Gender Equality rated Nigeria as 158 out of 177 countries on the gender economic measures.
“The
2004 World Economic Forum on global gender report rated Nigeria 118 out
of 178 counties, Nigeria presently feature as one of the 20 worst
countries in the world to be a woman,’’ she said.
She
said issues on gender equality and women right had been undermined,
adding that culture, tradition and religion are used as an excuse to
exclude women from attaining their full potentials.
The
gender activist said there was need for more feminist in the decision
making process such as women with agenda for change, transformation and
how to move women right issues forward.
“We
have only six per cent of women in the National Assembly in Nigeria;
eight states in Nigeria do not have women at the state Houses of
Assembly,’’ she said.
Fayemi called on all
stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of gender policy
framework on Violence Against Persons Act and National Gender Policy,
among others.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon