IWD: Buhari celebrates Nigerian women as stakeholders canvass girl-child development

• Chinese envoy: 1995 Beijing Declaration turning point for gender equality
• Governments, activists, private sector tasked on inclusive digital world
• UN: $1tr lost to women’s exclusion from digital world in low, middle-income countries
• HDI, DevComs call for improved localisation of tech, financial inclusion for rural women

In commemoration of the International Women’s Day (IWD), observed today across the world, President Muhammadu Buhari has joined Nigerian women in celebrating and recognising the invaluable role women have played in advancing the progress of the country since Independence.

The President also commended the hardwork and dedication of Nigerian women working tirelessly and achieving results in different fields of endeavour, from those sacrificing daily in markets and farms to train the next generation of leaders, to those breaking limits in education, sports, medical field, arts, entertainment and politics, where they are still largely under-represented.

The President said he is proud to have worked and associated with some of Nigeria’s brightest women in his cabinet, government and the international community.
He thanked the amazons, who have served meritoriously as partners in the progress witnessed on political, economic and social fronts.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, President Buhari noted that, against all obstacles, these women in leadership positions have delivered in a society still largely dominated by men. He pledged the commitment of government to promoting gender equality, respect for the rights of women and working conscientiously to remove all barriers that prevent Nigerian women from realising their universal rights.

On the theme of IWD 2023, ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,’ President Buhari said his administration has leveraged the creation of a ministry dedicated to digital economy to promote the importance of digital skills, innovation and entrepreneurship for the girl-child.
MADAM Liang Huili, wife of Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, also admonished Nigerian women to leverage on girl-child education for socio-economic development.

Huili, who spoke yesterday in Abuja at a forum to highlight development of women in China, maintained that education plays critical role in women development.
Highlighting government policies put in place by Chinese government to ensure gender parity in all spheres of life, she noted in China, “women’s average life expectancy grew to 79.4 years in 2015, an increase of 10.1 years over 1981 and 42.7 years over 1949 when New China was founded.”

According to her, maternal mortality rate has fallen 79.4 per cent from 88.8 per 100,000 in 1990 to 18.3 per 100,000 in 2018, stressing that China has achieved the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ahead of time. While congratulating Nigerian women, she stated that it was her suggestion that the issue of girl education should be taken seriously in the country.

Huili’s presentation was segmented into four, including the milestone of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, mechanism guarantee in China on gender equality, development of women’s cause in China as well as women of excellence in China.

Speaking on Beijing Conference of 1995, Huili said: “Nowadays, the Beijing World Conference on Women is frequently cited and mentioned by different files and occasions, as it is regarded as a significant turning point for the global agenda for gender equality.

“During this conference, the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action were adopted unanimously by 189 countries, constituting an agenda for women’s empowerment and considered the key global policy document on gender equality. China, as a host to the Conference, has made a unique contribution to development of international women’s cause.

MEANWHILE, stakeholders in the media and financial industry have called on government at all levels, activists and the private sector to push more efforts in making the digital world safer, more inclusive and equitable for women.

Chairperson, Nigeria Association of Women Journalist (NAWOJ), Lagos chapter, Adeola Ekine, said women provide skills and imaginative perspective when in position of authority, bringing structural and cultural differences to the table, which drive effective and unbiased solutions.

She urged organisations to address gender inequality by acknowledging and confronting biased practices within their organisations, while reframing conversations about promotions, wage inequities to encourage, provide fair and equal opportunity for all.

In her words: “As stakeholders, we should be ready to call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion. Collective activism is what drives change from grassroots action to wide-scale momentum. Forging gender equity isn’t limited to women, men should also be part of the campaign to show that the change has come to stay, this is important for the social, economic, cultural, and political advancement of women.

“When we embrace equity, we embrace diversity, and we embrace inclusion, we embrace equity to forge harmony and unity, and to help drive success for all. Equality is the goal, and equity is the means to get there, through the process of equity, we can reach equality,” she said.

Adding that women represent more than half of the world population, she said it is only fair to have equal participation, representation in world democracies and their contribution to the social and economic development of societies.

IWD is celebrated worldwide on March 8 to embrace equality and celebrate the achievements of women and girls across all walks of life, recognising the enormous obstacles they face from structural injustices, marginalisation and violence, to cascading crises that affect them.

UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in his message to commemorate the day, said women’s exclusion from the digital world has shaved an estimated $1 trillion from the GDP of low and middle income countries in the last decade, with a loss that could grow to $1.5 trillion by 2025 without action.

Guterres noted that the year’s theme stresses the need for technology and innovation to advance gender equality, expanding pathways to education and opportunities for women and girls, technology can also be used to amplify abuse and hatred.

Also, UN Women in their message to commemorate the day, said there is a persistent gender gap in digital access that keeps women from unlocking technology’s full potential.

Adding that women underrepresentation in STEM education and careers remains a major barrier to their participation in tech design and governance with the pervasive threat of online gender-based violence coupled with lack of legal recourse, too often forces them out of the digital spaces they occupy.

Executive Member, Access Women Network (AWN), Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, said women bring balance to the workplace due to their natural capability of multitasking. She further called on the inclusion of women in the digital world.

Also, to achieve a greater and sustainable digitALL society for gender equality in Nigeria, Human Development Initiatives (HDI) foundation has called on government at all levels to re-engineer the education system to encourage girls to venture into the field of science and technology, which is currently dominated by males; and remove all economic and socio-cultural barriers that limit girls from dreaming big.

In a statement, the Executive Director of HDI, Olufunso Owasanoye, said given the current challenges with implementation of the cashless policy, the Federal Government, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), financial institutions, telecommunication firms and all other private sector players should provide adequate inclusive technology and innovations that will be accessible, affordable and usable by all, with a goal to reverse the unfolding exclusion of rural women and women in SMEs in Nigeria.

“We, therefore, call for more sensitisation and awareness in rural communities on existing hands-on digital platforms that promote financial inclusion.
In the spirit of IWD 2023, we encourage men to celebrate and support women and girls to embrace technology and innovation to build an equitable society.

“As part of today’s celebration, Human Development Initiatives Foundation will be presenting a token to indigent mothers of children with disabilities for their courage and resilience.”

In same vein, Development Communications Network (DevComs) has called on civil society organisations (CSOs), women movements and other stakeholders to come together for the achievement of the key approaches proposed in several reports upon which the 2023 celebration is based. 

The body noted that there is a need for improved collaborations across sectors to bridge the gender gap and ensure equality and access to digital skills in Nigeria.

“Women in Africa and especially Nigeria have suffered all forms of discriminations and denial such as lack of access to healthcare services, business and entrepreneurship opportunities and use of digital technology. While women represent more than half of the global population, they are still under-represented in the digital sector, especially in developing countries like Nigeria.

With the current situation in Nigeria, it has become pertinent to acquire knowledge and digital technology skills due to the numerous benefits for individuals, businesses and organisations which transcends the promotion of equal opportunities for both gender, access to digital skills is also of economic significance.”