The Minister of Women and Social Development, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has advocated action for women empowerment and gender inclusion.
She made the call at a workshop on the implementation of the National Women’s Economic Empowerment policy, attended by eight commissioners for women affairs on Tuesday in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the workshop was organised in collaboration with the Development Research and Projects Centre and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies. States represented at the workshop include Plateau, Akwa Ibom, Kano, Borno, Kwara, Kaduna and Enugu, aimed at providing guidelines for the domestication of the WEE policy in states.
WEE policy was launched in 2023 to streamline gender policies, and to address disparities faced by women in accessing financial benefits and opportunities in various sectors. The initiative is meant to enhance gender equality, reduce poverty and coordinate efforts among development partners to promote women’s rights and empowerment in Nigeria. The policy also seeks to address the gender pay gap and women’s empowerment. One year after its launch, most states had yet to domesticate the policy for it to take effect nationwide. The minister, however, emphasised the importance of changing societal narratives and stereotypes against women. She highlighted the proactive role the ministry was taking in empowering women and reshaping the narratives.
According to her, true gender inclusion cannot be achieved without women’s empowerment, emphasising the need for “tangible actions rather than endless meetings.’’ She announced the commencement of the distribution of empowerment packages to 15 states, signalling the government’s commitment to support women. Kennedy-Ohanenye revealed that the ministry had launched a portal for the registration of women, with over 283,000 members already captured. She, however, expressed concern that some states had yet to actively participate in the registration process. The minister urged women-focused agencies and organisations at the sub-national level to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to register community women groups.
She added, “This collaboration aims to ensure that all women, especially those in rural areas, have access to empowerment opportunities.”
Kennedy-Ohanenye lamented the diversion of funds meant for women empowerment, emphasising the urgent need to address the issue to prevent further suffering and deprivation among women.
Speaking also, the Deputy Director, Economic Growth, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs Grace Obi-Okpabi, decried the lack of inclusion of women’s contributions to economic planning. She said most time, women’s issues were looked at through the prism of ‘hand-outs’ instead of their economic contributions. The deputy director noted that women, who constituted 49 per cent of the population, should be adequately captured for national planning. The Executive Director, DRPC, Dr Judith-Ann Walker, commended the research centre’s collaboration with NIPSS for over 20 years. She said such collaboration between civil society organisations and government institutions is significant in addressing societal challenges. “The commitment to support domestication of the WEE policy at the subnational level, as well as the emphasis on the importance of policy implementation, underscore the practical steps being taken to effect positive change for women and girls in Nigeria,” Walker added. The Director-General, Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development, Mrs Asabe Bashir, emphasised the need for women to access cheap credit. Bashir, who was represented by Mrs Jumai Idonije, said women empowerment is not just morally imperative, but economically viable.’ According to her, Nigeria is the first African country to launch WEE as a project, adding that implementation of the project is an important initiative for women empowerment and necessary for societal development.
The Director-General of NIPSS Prof. Ayo Omotayo, who called for meaningful conversations on women inclusion, pledged the institute’s support in the implementation of the policy at the federal and state levels. While lamenting low enrolment of women into the NIPSS course, adding, “Women have 18 slots for the 2024 course, but currently there are only nine women. Any nation that prioritises the empowerment of women is on the path to development.’’
