IWD: When will Nigeria quit talking?

The International Women’s Day is a moment to reflect, celebrate the wonderful creature; women and call for drastic change in plights and travails of the girl-child and women in the country and our communities. Despite the global efforts and impacts, no country has achieved gender equality. Regardless, this is a special opportunity to deepen the agitations as we must stop paying it lip service. Nigeria must get down to work to lead the rest of Africa on women advocacy, rights and empowerment.

According to the United Nations Secretary General, 7,000 incidents of sexual violence were recorded against women and girls by terrorists in Nigeria between 2009 and 2017. This is a grim statistics highlighting how girls are fast becoming pawns in the scheme of terrorism.

This is an inhumane insurgency trend this nation must stop forthwith. The Leah Sharibu and the Chibok girls’ debacle is enough calamity for a lifetime. The rights of women are still in jeopardy. Wikipedia (2017) puts women in the labour force in Nigeria ratio at 50 per cent but one in three women are victims of sexual or gender-based violence. Aside from the poor, prevalent cultural mindset of a notoriously patriarch society, illiteracy and vast lack of awareness of rights by women in the local communities do not help matters.

• Obasanjo, Nigeria’s political colossus ― Atiku

As fast as we can, we must improve women’s participation in politics. The unorthodox approach of using them for electioneering without trusting them with leadership position is repudiating. Nigeria’s federal cabinet features just seven women out of a 42-man membership, every Nigerian state government should emulate Kwara’s AbdulRazaq who appointed 52 per cent women cabinet, so as to start addressing the issue of underutilisation of women in nation building.

Nigerian women’s rights to health must be accorded better attention. The health problems for the women include breast and cervical cancer, high maternal mortality rate, female genital mutilations and vesico virginal fistula. These are health challenges that are life threatening. To keep a nation, one must keep the women healthy. The Nigerian women deserve best medical attention from the government at all levels.

As Nigeria marks the International Women’s Day a few days ago, the nation should reflect on how to make heroines out of every woman. Any encumbering legal, social and economic system of the country on gender inequality should be dismembered.

The girl-child education should be given a definitive commitment. The punitive culture and mindset of degradation of the womenfolk should be seriously frowned upon. The earlier the nation has more female researchers, scientists, doctors, engineers among others, the better. The whole world is increasingly aware of women’s might and Nigeria should not be left behind.

As the theme for this year’s celebration suggested, realising women equality is a generational responsibility. Therefore, the press, civil societies and development bodies should support the government at all levels to achieve this global goal. There may be a need for massive awareness on gender-based issues across the country.

Ibraheem Abdullateef,

Kwara State.