The International Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA Nigeria has challenged government at all levels to incorporate the diversity of women and girls in policy formulation, implementation of laws, and in all response and recovery programmes of COVID-19 and post-pandemic.
Speaking at a press conference in commemoration of the International Women’s Day (IWD), at Abuja, Chairperson of FIDA Abuja, Mrs. Rekia R. Adejo-Andrew also expressed grave over the continual rise violence against women noting that cases of sexual violence on women and girls, along with domestic violence top the list.
FIDA according to Mrs. Adejo-Andrew insists: “That effective participation of women in decision–making; elimination of violence against women and girls; and the empowerment of women must be priorities for all if gender equality will be achieved.”
Full text of her speech co-signed by FIDA (Nig.) Abuja’s Publicity Secretary, Mojirayo Ogunlana-Nkanga reads:
“Happy International’s Women’s Day to women all over the World and particularly to women in Nigeria. As women all over the world gather today to celebrate International Women’s Day, it is important that we salute and celebrate the women in all diversities: faith, race, ethnicity, disability, work choice and social background. We choose this day to embrace the progress made in promoting the rights of women and entrenching an equal world where every woman’s right is acknowledged and defended as a human right in all strata of the Society.
“The campaign theme of the International Women’s Day 2021 is: ‘Choose To Challenge.’ This invariably means that women are responsible for their own thoughts and actions every day and thereby challenging the world they live in every day. The theme further signifies that women can choose to challenge gender bias and inequality in the world. People need to celebrate women’s achievements and also make the world a better place to live in with equality.
“Since the year 1908 when 15,000 women took to the streets of New York to protest against work exploitations and demanded for shorter hours, better pay and voting rights, it became a move which necessitated changes around the world. This also invariably affected the call for women’s rights in Nigeria and to mention a few, the 1929 Aba Women’s riot which saw over 10,000 women on the streets of Calabar and Owerri protesting against the policies imposed by the British Colonial Administration which prompted colonial authorities to drop their plans to impose a tax on the market women and to curb the power of the warrant chiefs.
“This year’s campaign theme is very peculiar because it sums up the entirety of what International Women’s Day stands for: #choose to challenge. In the expression of the International Community:
“A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. So, let’s all choose to challenge….”
“There is no doubt that there is much to be challenged in Nigeria today. Even as we celebrate the progress made so far, there’s a lot of gap to be filled and this can only be achieved when both men and women rise up to bring to the attention of Governments, businesses and everyone else that women’s rights are human rights.
Furthermore, we focus on the United Nations theme: “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 world” The theme celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and indeed, recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on humanity generally. Apart from health, there was a myriad of social and economic downturn with a disproportionate impact on women. The pandemic exacerbated poverty and gender inequality; the violation of women’s rights which was recorded all over the world in forms of rape, harmful workplace conditions, domestic violence which increased the vulnerability of women as many in the informal sector were out of jobs during the lockdown. The pandemic most unfortunately also increased women’s unpaid jobs as caregivers to sick and elderly members of their household.
“Women, as usual, rose to the occasion and carried disproportionate burdens during the pandemic as health workers at the frontline, caregivers to sick family members and breadwinners; we remember them and applaud their efforts.
“We note and also appreciate that the pandemic elicited the skills and perspectives that women bring onboard, for which leadership traits are worth celebrating as a way to encourage more women in leadership, to shape a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Despite the pandemic and its challenges, women defied all odds and still championed and accomplished great things, rising to the pinnacles of their careers, in sports, beauty and fashion, media, entertainment, healthcare, education, as entrepreneurs, in government appointments and even the Judiciary. We appreciate you and join in blowing the trumpet for you all as great Nigerian women breaking boundaries.
“Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights embraces the right of every person to take part in leadership of his or her country. As such, FIDA has always promoted the equal access of men and women to power, decision-making and leadership at all levels as being a necessary precondition for the proper functioning of any democracy, such as ours.
“This year’s theme is also in consonance with the priority theme for the 65th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women: “Women’s full and effective participation and decision –making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality, and the empowerment of all women and girls.” These are all efforts towards achieving gender equality and women’s full participation in the public sphere.
“FIDA Nigeria sadly notes that Violence Against Women is still rising astronomically with cases of sexual violence of women and girls, and domestic violence topping the list. FIDA states that effective participation of women in decision–making; elimination of violence against women and girls; and the empowerment of women must be priorities for all if gender equality will be achieved.
“Accordingly, FIDA Nigeria calls on government at all levels, agencies, policymakers, legislators and corporate organizations, to incorporate the diversity of women and girls in policy formulation, implementation of laws, and all response and recovery programmes of COVID-19 and post-pandemic.
“FIDA Nigeria celebrates all women in leadership positions at the local, national and international levels and encourages them to be steadfast and resilient in dealing with the challenges they face. We are still demanding for equal rights, equal pay, an end to all forms of discriminations, violence and an end to exploitation. We will not rest on our oars as we know that we have a lot to achieve because the progress made so far is not equal. We must remember that as long as one woman faces discrimination, prejudice, harassment, sexual assault, offensive and inhuman cultural practices, inequality or oppression, we all do.
“FIDA Nigeria continues to work to support credible, hardworking, meritorious women to break the glass ceiling in their respective spheres of operations.
“We implore everyone to rise up to raise their challenges on behalf of all Nigerian women as we celebrate this remarkable day in history. We, therefore, enjoin all women and men of goodwill to raise their hands high to show and choose to challenge inequality.
“Happy IWD2021.#IWD2021 #Ichoosetochallenge.”
