Kwara First Lady denounces violence against women

Wife of Kwara state governor, Mrs Olufolake Abdulrazaq, has called for a concerted effort to denounce all forms of violence against women in our society like in other parts of the world.

Speaking at an event to mark 2020 international women’s day in Ilorin on Sunday, Mrs Abdulrazaq enjoined people to challenge stereotypes, call out abusive behaviours and support women successes.

She also enjoined global advocacy for women’s rights, equality and justice, poverty, sexual violence and other discrimination against women.

“We must continue to denounce all forms of violence in our society, especially those against women in consonance with what is obtainable in other parts of the world. As women, there is a wellspring of pride in knowing that we are so willing to
support one another and seek to obtain maximum benefit from our capacities”, she said.

Mrs Abdulrazaq, who is also the coordinator of a philanthropic organization, Ajike Peoples Support Centre, advocated for women empowerment on all fronts, saying those who are working tirelessly to ensure that our women realize their full potentials should be celebrated

“It is however imperative for us as a people to reflect on the progress made and to further encourage our women on the need to not be deterred in the pursuit of their chosen ventures as their capabilities are limitless.

Interestingly our governments and our men, gradually as it may seem, are towing the global line of gender parity in public and private concerns, further paving the way for women self-realization.

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This development is evident in the Government of His Excellency the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s integration of gender-friendly initiatives, and you will agree with me that with His Excellency’s appointments he has really been fair to the womenfolk, surpassing the 35 per cent prescribed women inclusion, as his Government is the most female inclusive in the country ever.
This feat I believe should be recorded in the annals of our history to encourage female inclusion in governance.

This I also believe should encourage our women to support themselves and share in each other’s drive to achieve set goals.

It is our resolve at the Office of the first lady and the Ajike people’s support centre to continue to support the social and economic advancement of our women and youths in the state and we will not relent in ensuring that we continue to promote the course of the people of the state through lending our voice to advocacies, encouraging entrepreneurship and promoting the wellbeing of our people to complement the efforts of government in these areas.

“While we primarily unite today in the spirit of celebration, we also must rededicate ourselves on many fronts. We must strive to ensure that all women can achieve their ambitions with equality in return.

“We must continue to denounce all forms of violence in our society, especially those against women in consonance with what is obtainable in other parts of the world. As women, there is a wellspring of pride in knowing that we are so willing to support one another and seek to obtain maximum benefit from our capacities.

“Ladies and gentlemen, today also provides an opportunity for us to declare support for the generation equality concept as a means of realizing women’s rights. This could include actions such as challenging stereotypes, calling out abusive behaviours and supporting women successes.

It is, therefore, crucial for us to impress on our society to utilize every opportunity such as presented by the commemoration of this day to seriously do some introspections and come up with useful suggestions on how to harness the innate capabilities of our women by allowing them to flourish just like their male counterparts.

Permit me at this juncture to commend the ministry of social development for putting together this event and for constantly seeing to the development of Kwara women both in our rural and urban centres.

Let me also use this occasion to salute women who are blazing the trail, those who stand as role models to our young ones, I commend the men also who has been supportive of this cause, the media for their role, Governments and non-governmental organizations for their respective roles towards achieving a gender-balanced society.

“On today’s occasion as always, I stand with Kwara and indeed Nigerian women to actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias and, broaden participation, improve situations and celebrate women achievements.

For we are all parts of a whole, our individual actions, conversations, behaviour and mindset can have an input on our larger society. I support #EACH FOR EQUAL