Gender inclusion: Stakeholders Brainstorm As Foundation Kicks-off What Women Can Do Competition
Nigerian women have been advised to take a centre stage in the political activism in the country for them to be valued and reckoned with by their male counterparts.
Legit.ng reports that the advice was given on Tuesday, July 19, during the flag-off of 'What women can do' competition and media conversation on gender inclusive governance organised by Akin Fadeyi Foundation (AFF).
Source: Facebook
Speaking in his opening remarks, the chairman of the board, AFF and chief executive officer, TheCable news, Simon Kolawole, lauded the foundation for the great initiative, adding that the conversation about gender inclusion was needed to enable the concerned people take necessary action.
He, however, lamented that while Nigeria is talking about gender inclusion, other climes talk about gender parity.
Kolawole said:
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"On the global gender report, Nigeria continues to drop. As we move towards the 2023 general election, there is no single woman vice presidential candidate across all the political parties."
"When Goodluck Jonathan was the president, we had about 30% women inclusion in his cabinet but since then it continues to drop. Now, out of 360 members of the House of Representatives, there are 16 women while there are 8 women in the Senate of 109 senators."
He added that the country made progress in 2007 when Patricia Etteh became the speaker of the House of Reps, lamenting that the woman was removed under illegal circumstances.
The media guru noted
"If you ask many people, they will say Etteh stole money but let me tell you, she did not steal a dime. The members of the House of Reps later apologised to her during valedictory session of the 6th National Assembly. The truth of the matter is that some people didn't want a female to lead them."
In his introductory remarks, the executive director of AFF, Akin Fadeyi, wondered why it is difficult for Nigerian politicians to allocate key positions to women.
He emphasised that women must also encourage one another to vie for political positions, saying that most women run down their colleagues if they take a bold step to run for elective offices.
Fadeyi stated:
"Before most of us were born, there were strong women. Do you remember Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, Flora Nwapa among others? These are strong women then but what is wrong now?
"When Funke Akindele, a Nollywood star, took the gauntlet to run as Lagos PDP deputy governorship candidate, some women on social media criticised her by saying: "Go and fix your marriage before talking of fixing Lagos. This shouldn't have come from any woman."
What do women really need to be recognised in politics
One of the panelists and commissioner of information in Ondo state, Bamidele Olateju, said that women have to challenge the patriarchal dominance of politics to achieve their goals.
She added that women must have strong platform to make government to be gender sensitive, saying that if they collaborate as women, nobody would stop them to achieve their political goals.
Olateju stated:
"There is this fear especially in Africa that men would feel threatened if women assumed top political positions. However, women are their own worst enemies too. If we collaborate as women, nobody would stop us. We are the one who vote for men.
"To achieve our goals, we must ensure we support one another and we must hold position in trust. Any woman who holds position must fight for other women to grow."
The executive director of ta connect, Dr. Lilian Anomnachi, said there should be mentorship for women by those who have attained political postiions, saying that this has to be done gradually not overnight.
The senior programme officer, MacArthur Foundation, Nigeria, Dr. Amina Salihu, noted that politics for women does not start when she comes out to contest an election, adding that it starts from the birth.
She, however, said the question should not be what can women do, rather it should be what have women been doing or what are the men doing to support women achieve their potentials.
Salihu noted that women should also be empowered economically, saying that if they do not have economic power, they can't get to the boardroom where decision is made.
She stated:
"Unless we address poverty of time, women go nowhere. We must also ensure there is inclusive participation of women because many women do not have access to technology."
Dr. Chido Onumah, the coordinator of African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRCMIL), said the issue of gender and roles of women in politics must be at the front burner whenever constitution review is carried out in Nigeria.
He noted:
"I don't think media have done enough in term of their reportage on gender inclusion because we have seen different narratives in the mainstream media . The way media report women is a reflection of where women are put in our political consciousness."
The executive director, Women's Right Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Hajia Saudatu Mahdi, emphasised that women have to change strategies, close ranks if they want to be heard or reckoned with politically.
She said that women have to step back and adopt a radical approach, adding that they must recognise they have choices to make - either to be leaders or play a second fiddle role.
In his final remarks after the unveiling of What women can do competition, the AFF boss, Fadeyi stated that ten best participants would be selected for the grand finale.
According to him, the contest is open to female who has attained 18 years of age and above, saying asking them to do a two minutes video telling the world what they can do if they are given positions of power.
He said:
"The participants are expected to do a two minutes video, post it on their social media pages and tag Akin Fadeyi Foundation's social media handles. They are at liberty to state the kind of politics or strategies they will implement if they get to power. The selection would be made based on the number of likes and engagement the video has."
Akin Fadeyi Foundation kicks-off women can do governance inclusive competition
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the AFF, Nigeria’s foremost public accountability non-profit organization, is set to launch “What Women Can Do” competition ahead of the forthcoming general election.
It was reported that the competition would prise open the vast untapped potentials of women as very significant social actors in Nigeria, adding that it is aimed at stimulating a gender inclusive leadership conversation across the cyberspace.
The foundation said the event would kick-off with a pre-event media conversation and convergence on Tuesday, July 19, starting at 11 am would feature media and public policy actors and practitioners.\
Source: Legit.ng
