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By Steve Agbota, Lagos
As part of efforts to address the fundamental issues behind gender imbalance, Nigerian women intend to set up a think-tank to study and unveil the factors causing gender imbalance in the nation.
This approach was mooted at the 2022 International Women’s Day celebration organised by the MMS Woman of Fortune Hall of Fame (WoFHoF) Initiative in Lagos.
Delivering the lecture at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of the African Marine Environment Sustainability Initiative (AFMESI), Dr Felicia Mogo, suggested policies that enhance gender balance in other countries be adopted in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, she urged the Federal Government as well as various state governments to address security challenges plaguing the nation, noting that women have been more affected by the increase in kidnappings, robberies and other violent activities.
‘As an outcome from this MMS WoFHoF event or from the Ministry of Women Affairs, there should be a holistic study of the root causes of gender inequality in Nigeria,’ she stated.
‘These findings should be documented and published. There is also a need to agree on a particular benchmark to be attained for gender balance. We can copy from the successful strategies by countries that are doing well in this regard.’
Mogo, who spoke on the topic, “Gender Equality: Puncturing the Stereotypes Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow”, expressed dissatisfaction that the high level of participation by women across various sectors hasn’t translated to significant growth in the leadership cadre.
She said that data collection is very important in appraising the development of women’s participation across various aspects of the nation’s economy and in governance.
In her welcome address, the Chief Host and Chief Executive of Lelook Nigeria Limited, Mrs Chinwe Ezenwa asserted that Nigerian women still have a long way to go with regards fighting for their rights in the country.
She was delighted by the fact that several women in the maritime sector visited the National Assembly in Abuja to mark the 2022 IWD celebration and kick against the recent jettisoning of gender-sensitive bills by the legislators.
‘I’m very happy that we are here to celebrate women who have broken the bias in their respective fields as well as those who are working assiduously to break the bias. As we celebrate, it is important that we really understand this bias before exploring strategies to break it. We have a worthy speaker to tell us more about this bias,’ she said.
In his welcome address, the Founder of MMS WoFHoF Initiative, Mr Kingsley Anaroke stated that the Initiative lends its voice against this gross insensitivity of some of the legislators for gender-related causes.
‘We demand the immediate passage of all women-related bills at the National Assembly. While we commend the leadership of the House of Representatives for rescinding their earlier position on the bills, we call on both chambers to revisit the rejected bills and give them accelerated treatment,’ he said.
