IWD: Women should hold more key positions in nation building — WIV Director

IWD: Women should hold more key positions in nation building — WIV Director

Women

By Millicent Ifeanyichukwu

Lagos, Feb. 7, 2020 (NAN) Blessing Okojie, Executive Director, Women of Inestimable Values (WIV), has said there was need to consider women for key positions to enable them contribute their quota to the economic growth of the country.

Okojie said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos in commemoration of the International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration observed annually on March 8.

NAN reports that IWD is a global day celebrating social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and have its 2020 theme as  ‘Am Generation Equality, Realising Women’s right’.

“The role of women in the society is very significant, important and should be taken into consideration for the benefit of our economic growth and development of our nation.

“So, more key positions and opportunities should be created for women to occupy their places in the various sectors in order to contribute their quota and make the difference,” she said.

The WIV Executive Director said that most developed nations were recording tremendous development because women occupied strategic positions in the economy.

“Most developed countries know that women are gifted, intelligent, influential and with unique features, they  bring out the best in anything committed into their hands in the nation’s affairs.

“However, I have discovered that in Africa, women are only seen as home makers, and not nation builders, unfortunately this is not correct, because women are needed in nation building,” Okojie said.

She said that it was essential for women to lay good foundations and morals from the family institution as anything contrary would result to a bad family system.

According to her, such negative foundation will experience insecurity, deviant behaviour and low economic growth, being the reason for the recent increase in rape and domestic violence in our society.

She, therefore, urged women to give priority to the family institutions as part of their contribution to make the nation a liveable society for all.

“As we celebrate this year’s women’s day, I will like to encourage women to focus more on their homes, which is the family institution, and also contribute their quota to all the various institutions.

“It is the only way we can fight against the increase rate of child molestation and domestic violence, as just recently a case of a three-year-old girl was reported to our NGO.

“The baby was raped by her mother’s boyfriend both anally and virginal in Ondo State, so you can imagine that and so many cases of domestic violence of women killing men, and men killing women.

“The government should provide stiffer punishment for perpetrators of all forms of violence and child abuse, and also create more awareness programmes on the consequences of abusing a child,” she said.

She, therefore, advised parents to be more careful of where and who they leave their children with, adding that both father and mother have their roles to play in protecting their children. (NAN)

MIL/ECN/WOJ

edited by Emmanuel Nwoye/Wale Ojetimi

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