UN Women commits to promoting the comfort of women in Nigeria
By Moses A. UYANG
The United Nations Women in Nigeria continues to make maximum use of the month of March to promote the good of Nigerian women in celebration of International Women’s Day 2022. In a novel initiative, this UN agency headed by Madam Comfort Lamptey has Kick-started a programme called: ‘WomenX’.
WomenX aims to “draw attention to the need for concerted action towards promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls through strategic activities implemented in partnership with the government of Nigeria and other partners within the month of March, which has increasingly come to be recognised as International Women’s Month”, they noted.
This event which took place on Thursday, 17 March 2021, at the Banquet Hall, NAF Conference and Suites in Abuja had the presence of dignitaries as well as a host of women-led organizations.
In her welcome remarks, the UN Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Madam Comfort Lamptey, observed that the UN Women are totally committed to making life better for women in Nigeria.
She called on the Nigerian government to not set her women backwards but to open up space for more women’s participation and inclusion in the life of the nation.
She also expressed her gratitude for the resilience of Nigerian women as they continue to for their rightful position in Nigeria.
The event which was activities packed had some interesting presentations from four speakers: Rinsola Abiola, Executive Director, Equity Now Initiative. She while it’s necessary to get women elected into diverse positions in the governance of Nigeria.
She called on support by fellow women towards themselves in their bid to get into elected positions. While speaking on Climate Change and the Rural Women, Habiba Ali, the MD/CEO, of Sosai Renewable Energies Company gave vital highlights on the plights of rural women in regards to climate change. She called on the government to always make resources available for women in rural areas across Nigeria.
More so, while the event saw the screening of a short film, poetry and a drama that drew the consciousness of the audience to the urgency to tackling climate change and gender inequalities, there were also two other speeches from Hansatu Adegbite, Executive Director, Women in Management, Business and Public Services.
Hansatu animated the audience as she spoke about Sustainability and women-owned Businesses. She noted that apart from giving training to women, these should be accompanied by financial empowerment.
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She called on women in business to collaborate with other like-minded women in other to foster the continued growth of their businesses.
On his part, Rotimi Olawale, the Executive Director, Youth Hub Africa who spoke on the topic: ‘Can a Nigerian Man be Feminist’ beaconed on all Nigerian men to cultivate the habit of sharing family or societal responsibilities with women with a sense of fairness and equity.
Finally, in his closing remarks to end the first-ever WomenX event, the UN Women Nigeria Deputy Country Representative, Mr Lansana Wonneh, expressed his gratitude to the audience and especially to the speakers for their insightful presentations that really call for deep reflections and actions.
Mr Wonneh noted that families and society must make a conscious effort to educate boys to become men who will treat women with dignity and respect.
