From Emmanuel Adeyemi Lokoja,
Women in Mining in Nigeria WIMIN has said
Nigeria has 44 mineral deposits in 500 locations scattered across the 36 states of the federation but regretted that much has not been done to tap these mineral resources for the overall development of the country
While saying there are about two million Artisanal Miners and other small scale Entrepreneurs working in those locations, it regretted the population of women in the mining sector was very little due largely to gendeer inequality and discrimination.
To this end, WIMIN , which is a foremost women’s rights group in the solid mineral sector, organized a two-day policy dialogue series in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital. to sensitize women mimers and other stakeholders in the stste
The event which took place in Lokoja on Wednesday was tagged “Safeguarding the Rights of Women and Children in the Solid Minerals Sector”, is aimed at building synergy and collaborations towards protecting the rights of women and children in the mining sector in the state.
The policy dialogue series, funded by the Open Society Foundation (OSF) and in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), is a series of engagements that bring together relevant stakeholders in the mining, human rights, legal, security, and environmental sectors to boost interdisciplinary collaboration and engagements and find common grounds for ensuring women and children affected by the mining sector are protected.
The Guest speakers, Dr Charles Adebayo Oyelami, the Head of the Department of Geology at the Federal University Oye presented a paper titled, “Addressing Gender-based Violence and Harassment in the Solid Mineral Sector: The Role of Stakeholders”.
Dr. Oyelami explained that the time is right for stakeholders including the security agencies to rise against violence that is targeted against Mining workers and professionals. He further advice the mining workers to speak out and report to relevant agencies anytime they fall victim of harassment or an attempted harassment.
According to the President and Founder of Women in Mining Nigeria, Engr Janet Adeyemi, the event in Kogi has put together some of the best brains in the relevant sectors to deliberate on ideas and policy initiatives to push the conversations around the plight of women and children in and around the sector.
The president represented by Ambassador Regina Ike- Edwuah said ” Whether they are actively involved in mining or just resident in mining communities, women and children bear the brunt and we must seek ways to protect them”.
She said “We’re grateful to OSF for the support, and other bodies like the National Human Rights Commission who have seen the need to partner with us in order to provide a shield and succour to the most vulnerable groups in the mining sector”.
“Kogi is blessed with enormous mineral resources, including coal, gemstones, iron ore, and so on. Everywhere you turn, you’ll find women subjected to all manners of hard labour in mining sites and not accorded the requisite remuneration and recognition. In many cases, they are physically, mentally, and sexually abused, and all of these engagements are to find ways to protect their rights and those of their children”.
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