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  • Mar, Thu, 2020
Health

IWD: Women Trust Fund wants adequate legal commitment to gender equality

Governance
By Justina Auta
Abuja, March 5, 2020 (NAN) The Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF) on Thursday in Abuja, says Nigeria needs adequate legal commitment to gender equality and also strong political will to boost representation of women in governance.
Chief Executive Officer, NWTF, Ms Mufuliat Fijabi, made this known in a statement made available to the News of Nigeria (NAN) ahead of the International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration.
IWD which is celebrated every March 8 is a global day set as by the UN to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
Fijabi said the IWD 2020 theme, “I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights” was apt, adding that it aligns with the UN women’s new multi-generational campaign and generation equality.
According to her, the platform also provides a platform to amplify the concerns of women and girls, especially in addressing gender power gap and other forms of discrimination that harm all.
She, however, decried the low representation of women in governance and gender parity, which she attributed to lack of political will and inadequate legal commitment.
She said: “Nigeria lacks adequate legal commitment to gender equality.
“Also, lack of political will on provisions within existing National Gender Policy or other gender related policy documents and commitments makes it difficult to hold governance structures accountable for the recurrent low women representation in governance.”
She, therefore, explained that the NWTF engages equitable citizens’ participation to enable it close gender gap in governance, leadership and politics.
“ We are consequently driven by the tenets of general equality which are rooted within a collaborative system that generates knowledge and pool resources towards accelerated result on fair representation of both genders at all levels of decision making processes.”
While calling on other stakeholders to bridge gender gap especially in governance, the NWTF boss reaffirmed the fund’s commitment towards women’s empowerment. (NAN)
JAD/OSA/IAA
==========
Edited by Shittu Obassa/Isaac Aregbesola

Health

IWD: UNODC warns against gender-related killings in Africa

IWD: UNODC warns against gender-related killings in Africa
By Lizzy Okoji
Killings
Abuja, March 8, 2019 (NAN) In commemorating the 2019 International Women’s Day, the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), Nigeria, has warned against gender-related killings in Africa.
Mr Sylvester Atere, Outreach and Communications Officer, UNODC Nigeria, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
According to Atere, the UNODC is giving the warning following reports of women and girls falling victims of homicide by intimate partners and family members.
He said that the UNODC Nigeria office was using this year’s celebration to draw attention to the disproportionally high risk of women and girls in Africa to fall victim to gender-related homicide.
He said that a recent UNODC report on gender-related killing of women and girls found that globally a staggering 87,000 women were intentionally killed in 2017.
Atere said that in the report, it was more worrisome that 60 per cent of these killings were perpetrated by intimate partners or family members including parents, children or any other member of their family.
He said UNODC’s Executive Director, Yori Fedotov, at the launch of the report in late 2018, said that women continue to pay the highest prices of gender inequality, discrimination and negative stereotypes.
“While the vast majority of homicide victims are men, women continue to pay the highest price as a result of gender inequality, discrimination and negative stereotypes.
“They are also the most likely to be killed by intimate partners and family.
“This is particularly true for African women and girls who are not only more likely to become victims of homicide than their peers in other regions of the world.
“As they are also most likely to suffer death from the hands of an intimate partner or a family member.
“Out of the total of 50,000 women killed in 2017 by their current or former partners or by any family member, 19,000 were Africans.
“This makes Africa the region where women run the greatest risk of being killed by people they normally should be able to trust the most, they are vulnerable to sorcery and witchcraft related killings.
“The lack of reliable data on homicides in Africa is a strong obstacle to fully understand the trends and scope of gender-related killings as well as the links with other forms of violence.’’
Quoting the UNODC further, Atere said implementing the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS) constitutes a step for States to better collect and analyze data on gender-related killings.
He said that the UNODC also urges that states to ratify and implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as well as its protocols and other international treaties protecting women’s rights.
Atere said that the office also calls for the ratification of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC).
He said that to assist Member States in the effective implementation of these treaties, UNODC supported the development of the Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women.
He explained that this was done in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
According to Atere, the UNODC also provides assistance to countries in strengthening women and girls’ access to justice by supporting the development of domestic legislation that protects the rights of women and girls.
He listed other UNODC assistance to countries to include training criminal justice practitioners in the application of relevant laws and building the capacity of women to serve at all levels of the criminal justice system.
Atere quoted António Guterres, UN Secretary General, saying “not until the half of our population represented by women and girls can live free from fear, violence and everyday insecurity, can we truly say we live in a fair and equal world”. (NAN)
LIZ/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Unplanned pregnancy: Gender exper advocates open discussion among teens, parents

Unplanned pregnancy: Gender expert advocates open discussion among teens, parents

By Yashim Katurak
Sexuality
Abuja, Jan. 26, 2019 (NAN) Mrs Eneh Edeh, a Veteran Activist and Gender Advisor, has called on parents, religious leaders and civil society groups to encourage open discussion with adolescents on use of contraceptive to address the spate unplanned pregnancies and abortions in the country.

Edeh made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.

The expert said that the time to keep silent about sexuality education was past as more and more adolescents were getting exposed to sexual content through the internet.

She said that this exposure to the internet has facilitated their involvement in sexual activities and experiments from an early age, putting them at risk of having unplanned pregnancies and abortions.

According to Edeh, in a complex society like Nigeria, there is so much denial and refusal to face reality about how fast the world and technology is changing the way people think which inarguably is affecting the lives of adolescents negatively.

“Parents, guardians, religious leaders and Civil Society Organisations need to face reality that adolescents are exposed to the internet now more than ever before.

“We must all start addressing this problem by first facing the reality that adolescents are becoming sexually active at an early age and begin to relate and talk to them in a realistic and practical manner.

“If we face the reality of what is happening around us then we will know the right thing to do. This issue is a very delicate one because even talking about sexuality education and getting people to understand and accept basic things they get embarrassed and say this should not be discussed in the open.

“But the reality still remains that this age bracket is sexually active and because of their exposure to ICT, which has no restrictions, you find adolescents knowing things fast and mostly things they should not be exposed to at their age.

“The church, civil right groups, corporate Nigerians and Federal Government should work towards organising and encouraging a sexuality education that will not be harmful to the society.

“You need to teach and enlighten adolescents on a level of sexuality that is practical and realistic. “They should be able to relate to this including the dangers involved and allow them to have knowledge and make choices about the use of contraceptive.”

The gender advisor said that it was paramount that adolescents receive this education very early as the danger of abortion and the danger of ignorance had far more dangerous consequences than the use of contraceptives.

Edeh said: “This does not mean I encourage it but adolescents need to be educated and informed so that they are better able to make informed decisions and choices.”

She noted that there was still a lot of ‘hypocrisy’ among civil right groups concerning the issue which stalled the process of finding better and realistic solution to the problem.

She said that it also fuelled an increase in the spate of unplanned pregnancies and abortions in the country.

“Other countries across the globe and even in Africa discuss this issue openly. Open discussions are held everywhere and the youth ask questions about their sexuality and they are not victimised for that.

“This is what should be happening here in Nigeria; we need to have open dialogue on the issue and religious leaders, parents, civil society groups, religious bodies need to see the reality and get involved.”

Edeh also called on the federal government to expand its health facilities to provide basic education on sexuality and involve individuals and stakeholders who were not extremists, vindictive, partial or religious bigots to be there and provide support.

NAN recalls that at the 2018 commemoration of “World Contraception Day”, Mr Effiom Effiom, the Country Director, Marie Stopes International Organisation Nigeria, an NGO, said that an estimated 20 to 40 per cent of maternal deaths result from abortion complications with a procedure-related death rate of 680 per 100,000 abortions in Nigeria.

Effiom said that abortion remained a public health problem in Nigeria that needs to be addressed.

He said that studies by Guttmacher Institute showed that over 1.2 million unsafe abortions were done in Nigeria every year as against previous studies in 1996 which indicated a figure of just 610,000.

The institute is a research organisation that works to study, educate and advance sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United States with focus also on developing countries.

Effiom said that these unsafe abortions were carried out on women aged 15 to 49 years, adding that over 80 per cent of induced abortions were done by doctors in private settings.

The country director said that six per cent of unintended pregnancies are resolved by abortion and most females who have had an abortion were younger than 25 years.

He however said that with the support of partners, the organisation was in 2017 able to avert over 1.1 million unintended pregnancies through the use of contraceptive. (NAN)
KRY/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Support national data on gender based violence – DG urges stakeholders

By Olasunkanmi Onifade
Women
Abuja, Dec. 14, 2018 (NAN) The Director General, National Centre for Women Development, Mrs Mary Ekpere-Eta, has called on relevant agencies to support the centre in creating National Data-board on gender based violence.

Ekpere-Eta made the appeal during the workshop on Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) policy fora in Abuja.

She explained that the data board on gender based violence was to enhance better tracking and prosecution of offenders, rehabilitate and compensate victims and their families.

Ekpere-Eta said it would also provide for better planning and programmes on gender based violence.

“An identified major challenge to implementing existing laws with regards to gender based violence is the non- availability of a one-stop Centre for data on the trends, patterns, features and driving factors behind gender based violence.

“There is paucity of data on gender based violence, to improve documentation and gender data bank in Nigeria is creating a data board on gender violence trends across the country,” she said.

Ekpere-Eta said that it was only Lagos and Ekiti states who maintained a record on sexual crime, adding that the VAPP Act, 2015, Section 1(4) provides that a Register for convicted sexual offenders should be maintained and accessible to the public.

She however called on law enforcement agencies to ensure that issues of gender based violence were taken seriously, saying that perpetrator should be punished adequately.

The Gender Adviser, Nigeria Policing Programme, Mrs Eleanor Nwadinusi, said the challenges of Gender based violence should be addressing the cultural impediments.

She also said those victims of violence should be assured of confidentiality, saying there should be no hiding place for perpetrators.

The Convener of Women Arise Development and Humanitarian Initiative (WADHI), Mrs Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia, said the convention was one of the core international human rights treaties of the UN and it requires states, parties to undertake legal obligations to respect, protect and fulfil women’s human rights.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that CEDAW is an international human rights treaty which is often described as a bill of rights for women.

CEDAW sets out what governments must do to improve the situation of women living in the country, including addressing gender stereotyping and violence against women, promotion of gender equality in public life and protection of women’s rights to education, health and employment. (NAN)
OEO/OIF/MST
Edited by Ifeyinwa Okonkwo/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Expert advocates positive norms to address gender based violence

Expert advocates positive norms to address gender based violence
By Talatu Maiwada
Gender
Abuja, Nov. 22, 2018 (NAN) Mr Samuel Jinadu, a clinical psychologist, with Karu General Hospital, Abuja, on Thursday said promoting positive gender norms would help mitigate Gender Based Violence (GBV) in rural communities.
GBV is described as “acts that inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty”.
Jinadu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that GBV was rooted in traditional gender norms, hence the need to proffer interventions at community level.
He described GBV as any form of violence directed to an individual based on their biological sex, gender identity or expression which includes physical, sexual, psychological abuse, threats and coercion, among others.
The clinical psychologist listed gender based violence to include domestic violence, battering and sexual abuse such as cases of rape, among others.
He identified gender norm interventions at the community level to include behavioural change communication targeting harmful gender norms.
“Gender norms intervention would educate and increase the knowledge of community members on harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, wife inheritance, child trafficking and girl-child marriage.
“Building the capacity of health workers to integrate GBV and gender norms information into health talks, providing non-stigmatising clinical care, psycho-social counseling, HIV and STI screening, medications and appropriate referrals.
“Collaborating with law enforcement agencies, social workers, healthcare workers, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development for referrals of GBV survivors for legal services and child support services,’’ he said.

Jinadu said such positive interventions could be promoted through various platforms such as community support group meetings, traditional and religious leaders, adolescent forums, healthcare facilities and caregivers.
He said that lack of reportage had contributed to the extremely low awareness of GBV by community members and the inability of hospital staff to identify GBV cases when presented at facilities.
The expert further called on government and stakeholders to improve on identification and documentation of GBV cases at hospitals in the communities.
Others include training and awareness creation activities focused on correcting altitudes, practices and traditions that contribute to GBV as well as proper reportage of such cases. (NAN)
TIM/OYE/MST
Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

VOA to partner NAWOJ on gender, health reportage

VOA to partner NAWOJ on gender, health reportage
By Talatu Maiwada
Collaboration
Abuja, July 31, 2018(NAN) The Voice of America (VOA) on Tuesday said it would support the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) in building capacity on gender reporting and provide technical support in promoting gender issues.
Ms Amanda Bennett, Director VOA, disclosed this during a round table meeting at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) National Secretariat in Abuja.
Bennett said the VOA was proud to associate and promote gender based issues in Nigeria and around the world.
“We are really passionate and interested in supporting and helping women grow in their careers around the world, and helping the younger generation learn from our expertise and experiences.
“It is part of our mission to support women and we are committed in building their capacity in health and gender reporting, giving women a voice and getting them into the discourse.
“Am proud to say that VOA is one of the major news organisations in the world in which the top three positions are occupied by women, all in their sixties,’’ she said.
Bennett disclosed that VOA would commence a broadcasting programme in Nigeria called `Our Voices’ in October which would be hosted by four African women.
She said it would be a unique programme in Africa, a platform where women would talk to each other and discuss major issues around the world and how it affects women participation.
Bennet encouraged women journalists to always speak up, ask for anything they desire, never to worry about their children in building their career while encouraging men to support the women.
Mrs Ifeyinwa Omowole, the President of NAWOJ, acknowledged the impact of VOA in Nigeria especially in the northern part of the country.
Omowole noted that northern women have benefited immensely from VOA broadcast in Hausa language, which had broaden their horizon and scope as well as encouraged them in their local communities.
She appreciated the organisation for its commitment while requesting that it enlarge its scope in reaching out to other communities, such as the Igbo and Yoruba speaking communities.
The NAWOJ president further sought for collaboration in capacity building for women journalists, learning practical ways of writing development stories in a developing society such as health issues, empowerment and poverty.
She added that such exchange programmes would benefit both VOA and NAWOJ in building the capacity of both the women and men journalists through training, mentoring and reporting issues that affect both countries.
Omowole also called for partnership to build a radio studio at the NUJ training institute under construction, noting that radio is the fastest medium to reach out to people in a developing society.
The President, National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Odusile Abdulwaheed, appreciated the VOA for its immense contribution to Nigerian and to the northern communities.
Abdulwaheed said the media in Nigeria was the best in Africa, adding that the NUJ is a platform that supports other African countries to build their media and journalism skills.
He however urged VOA to collaborate with NAWOJ as such would elevate the issues that concern women as well as build their capacity in various spheres of life in the society.
NAN reports that the VOA reaches 68 million Africans every week on television, radio and online in several African languages. (NAN)
TIM/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Centre attributes domestic violence to family upbringing

Centre attributes domestic violence to family upbringing
By Mustapha Sumaila
Violence
Abuja, May 27, 2018 (NAN) The International Centre for Advocacy on Right to Health (ICARH) has attributed the new face of domestic violence in the country to poor family upbringing.

The Litigation Officer of the centre, Mr Martin Chiaha, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja that rising cases of domestic violence, most especially against males by females, was alarming.

Chiaha was reacting to a survey conducted by NAN on the new trend of domestic violence where men were been battered, beaten and sometimes killed by their spouses or girl friends.

He explained that many young ladies who came from irresponsible homes where their fathers were beaten by their mothers, also practice that in their homes thinking it was normal.

“A woman who was raised in a home where her mother assault or beats her father would usually think it’s a norm to maltreat husbands/men,” the lawyer said.

He said that sometime, when women discovered that they were physically stronger than their husbands, it pushes them to maltreat the men with frequent assaults.

“When the man is abusing the woman to the extent that she’s been pushed to the wall she could overreact in a violent manner which might involve use of weapons.

“A man who does not provide for the family needs but rather spend outside stands the chance of domestic violence from the wife.

“When a man is in the habit of not performing his conjugal duties but constantly denies the wife of that right she might develop hatred and harm him,” Chiaha however explained.

A retired civil servant, Mr Mathew Adeika, who described the new trend as an ugly development, said that most of young women were into drugs unknowingly to their spouses.

Adeika said that women addiction to hard drugs was one of the reasons their husbands suffered in their hands by often beating and battering them.

According to him, after taking the drugs, they will be high, lose their senses and then behave in dangerous manner.

He commended the Federal Government for banning the manufacture, sale and consumption of codeine, which was being abused by both sexes, in the country.

From Umuahia, Dr Anthony Agbazuere, a human rights activist and constitutional lawyer, has recommended measures, including patience and tolerance, to check the rising cases of domestic violence in Nigeria.

Agbazuere told NAN that “married couples should learn to be tolerant of each other.
“They should understand that they were not born of the same parents,” he said, adding that “even people born of the same parents do not have the same character”.
He further urged married couples to always bear in mind that the choice to become husband and wife was entirely theirs and not by compulsion from any quarters.
Agbazuere also charged couples “to be ready at all times to reconcile their differences themselves,” adding that extended families should restrain themselves from unnecessary meddlesomeness.
“Extended families should allow married couples to handle their differences but should only interfere when invited.”
He also enjoined men to learn to live a responsible life and devote quality time to their families.
“Men should desist from moving from the office to the bar, spend all the day there and return home by midnight and begin to bicker with their wives.
“Men should also reserve a greater percentage of their income for the upkeep of their family,” he advised.
Besides, Agbazuere advised married women to desist from “comparing their husbands with other men”.
He said that it was wrong and provocative when women challenge and compare their lowly-placed husbands with relatively better-placed, wealthy and flamboyant men.

Also speaking, a retired broadcaster, Mr Peter Okorie, said the phenomenon could also be a carryover from a quarrelsome parental background.
Okorie said that a man or woman from a quarrelsome and violent parent had the tendency to carry the trait into his or her marital home.
“On the contrary, when either couple or both come from a peace-loving parental background, it translates to a peaceful marital home.”
He also said that the rate of domestic violence might have been aggravated by uncontrollable disagreements that often arise when a couple run joint bank account.
He said that the phenomenon could also arise when a couple belongs to different religious denominations with conflicting doctrines and philosophies.
He said that the contest for superiority had wrecked many families, leaving many fatal cases in the trail.
Okorie, a Knight of St. Mulumba, said that the council had always intervened in many domestic crises, and identified parental interferences, economic hardship and influences from friends and relations among the factors that fuel domestic violence.
On his part, Mr Christopher Joseph, a political leader in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of the state, attributed the increasing cases of domestic violence to frustration.
“The domestic violence we are experiencing on a monthly basis – of wives killing their husbands – is borne out of frustration from declining finances, work places and the home itself.
“Some women, who feel that they have been confined to the home of a particular man, often go through frustration.
“They usually feel psychologically depressed and often take extreme actions to express their depression.”
Joseph therefore urged the government to introduce measures to alleviate the economic hardship in the country in order to reduce the rate of frustration among citizens. (NAN)
Reporters/MS/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

NGO launches campaign against gender violence through football

NGO launches campaign against gender violence through football
NAN-HG-5
By Moses Kolo
Campaign
Kafanchan (Kaduna State), March 7, 2018 (NAN) Gender Awareness Trust, a Kaduna-based NGO, has organised novelty football matches in four communities in Zangon Kataf local government area to campaign against gender based violence.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that two football matches were played on Wednesday simultaneously between Fadan Kamantan and Kamuru Ikulu at the LEA Primary School Fadan Kamantan.
The second match was between Ramai Zonkwa and Zannon communities at the LEA Primary school premises at Zonzon.
The campaign was also to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.
Mrs Tyda Abba, a Project Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the NGO, told NAN in Zonzon that the events were the organisation’s Collective Action for Adolescent Girls Initiative (CAAGI) project.
She said the events were to raise consciousness on the ills of violence meted against women and adolescent girls in the society.
“There is no excuse for any form of violence as any aggrieved person is supposed to seek redress from a court of law rather than resort to violence,” she said.
The spokesperson said the organisation engaged men in the campaign as “male champions”, who also played key roles in the advocacy to ending gender-based violence.
She enjoined Nigerians to join the campaign to rid the society of violence for development and enhanced mutual trust and understanding among all sexes.
Mr Ibrahim Adamu, one of the players from Zonzon community, commended the initiative and prayed for its sustenance.
Miss Hajara Sani, a spectator at the event, said she was impressed to see the men folk come together to collectively embrace the idea of ending violence against women.
NAN reports that the matches ended with Fadan Kamantan defeating Kamuru Ikulu 2-0, while Ramai Zonkwa won 1-0 against host Zonzon community, respectively. (NAN)
MGK/DS/MST
Edited by Dauda Shehu/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Pass gender friendly laws, foundation appeals to NASS

Pass gender friendly laws, foundation appeals to NASS
NAN-HG-3
Women
By Olasunkanmi Onifade
Abuja, March 7, 2018 (NAN) The Co-founder of Behive Foundation, Hajiya Iman Sulaiman-Ibrahim, on Wednesday appealed to the National Assembly (NASS) to pass gender friendly laws to enable women to contribute their quotas to national development.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim made the appeal during a rally tagged “civic management march for gender balance’’, to commemorate the International Women’s Day in Abuja.
She explained that there were a lot of women in Nigeria who were gifted with intellect and capacity to deliver good governance.
“Women should be able to come out of their comfort zone and contribute to nation building, men are doing so much on their own but there is need for balance at all levels government.
“Women representation in leadership positions is still low in the country, compared to some developing countries,’’ she said.
She also said that women should be involved in politics in order for their voice to be heard.
She said the foundation was set up to build a solid platform around the principles of impacting political enlightenment and supporting women on their political journeys.
Another co-founder of the foundation Hajiya Hauwa Marwa, advised women to ensure that they had their PVCs to participate in the forthcoming election.
She said this would foster growth, development and create an opportunity in the country for developing gender balance in politics, governance and decision making.
The representative of Kebbi Government, Hajiya Aisha Augie-kuta, said there was need to engage women at all levels.
She suggested that graduates and undergraduates should be targeted through mentorship programmes to prepare the next generation of women for service. (NAN)
OEO/JTJ/MST
Edited by Julius Toba Jegede/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

FG inaugurates gender equality, women empowerment campaign

FG inaugurates gender equality, women empowerment campaign

NAN-HG-3

Campaign

By Olasunkanmi Onifade

Abuja, May 23, 2017 (NAN) The Federal Government has inaugurated the gender equality and women empowerment campaign, tagged “HeForShe campaign’’, in Abuja.

Inaugurating the campaign on Tuesday, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Sen. Aisha Alhassan, said it was designed to secure the commitment of one billion men across the globe.

“Out of the signatories to the campaign in the country, we anticipate that half will take the initial step of making a simple pledge for gender equality.

“We also project that another quarter will pledge and be inspired to engage more fully, taking a second step to donate towards, advocate for, and sensitise themselves and other gender equality issues,’’ the minister said.

She said the final and last quarter would deepen their engagement by pledging and following through on major actions that substantially contribute to social change.

Alhassan said the campaign was not to seek equality with men from the religious aspect but to give women opportunity and bridge the gap with men.

She said the campaign would crystallised into a strategic shift that increasingly focus on actions bringing men and boys side by side with women and girls in order to break the barrier of women and girls from achieving their full potentials.

“HeForShe 10 impact Project’ launched in 2015, the projects brings together 10 heads of states, 10 global Chief Executive Officers and 10 university Presidents or vice chancellors who would sign on to 30 communities to fast track gender equality in board rooms and world capitals.

“Drawing a leaf from their example, I would like to appeal to acknowledge gender champions which includes royal fathers, religious leaders, celebrities, political leaders, civil society organisation actors, private sector chief executives, institutional and social administrators.’’

She said in recognition of the size of the country, a six high calibre men from six segments of the society have been selected; namely the executive, the judiciary, legislature, academia, private sector, traditional and religious institutions from the six geo-political zones.

The UN Women Representative to Nigeria, Ms Comfort Lamptey, said Nigeria was the fifth country to officially launch the campaign advocacy platform after Cape Verde, Liberai, Sierra Leone and Senegal.

She said globally, more than 1.1 million men had joined the campaign movement to date.

“The HeForShe journey begins online with a simple affirmation that gender equality is not only women’s issues, but also a human right issue that requires everyone’s participation and commitment to achieve.

“The campaign is solidarity movement which aims to engage at least one billion men and boys on the topic of gender equality,’’ she said.

The Permanent Secretary, of the ministry, Mrs Nwokedi Phyllis, said the campaign would implement a shared vision of gender equality with norms of gender equality, non-violence, respect and positively shaping the society.

The newly elected President of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Mrs Ifeyinwa Omowole, said the association would support by taking the campaign to the grassroots.

She advised paramilitary organisations to join in the campaign, saying that pregnancy should not be a barrier but rather it shows a woman’s completeness. (NAN)

OEO/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola