By David Lawani
A group, Young Women Advocates, (YWA) a non-profit making organization led by Mrs Joy Ojemoron which is devoted solely to the defense and promotion of Women’s and children’s rights has called for deliberate actions against biase.s, discrimination, and abuse of women’s fundamental rights. The latter should be frowned at by everyone from every sphere of life, noting that the place of Women in our society cannot be overlooked.
As part of activities to commemorate International Women Day, Ojemoron in a statement said since it is a day set aside for recognizing the Economic, Social, Cultural, and Political achievements of women in their various fields, She noted that “It is also a day to celebrate women’s rights.
She reiterated that government and other stakeholders in all fields of human endeavor should create the enabling platforms for women to aim higher and achieve their aspirations. This is necessary because women play a pivotal role in sustaining the home economics of their families, and it, therefore, becomes imperative to expose them to better and fair opportunities, in order to engender social harmony and national goal congruence.
She stated that biases come in different forms, like in the political leadership of the nation, she added that women are substantially discriminated against, as men dominate virtually all elective political positions, save for very isolated exceptions. She said it ought not to be the case since women feel the pulse of the society more and they are at the receiving end of societal dysfunctions.
According to her, in Akoko-Edo L G A for instance, there have been 47 elected males and only 3 elected female councilors since 1999.
In the SENATE in Abuja, we have 102 Males and only 7 Females.
In the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, we have 347 Males 13 Females. While 15 states have no single female in the houses of Assembly, including Edo State. Wetin women do them?
” Therefore, Action is needed to break the Bias. There should be a level play ground.
Collectively we can all ” Break the Bias”
Today, say to yourself “No more Barriers! No more bias! No more Limitations other than myself”.
“Women have been relegated for so long,and for too long. We are not tired of our house chores. Certainly not! We are only saying, give us more responsibilities. We’re under-utilized. We can actually do better than just sit at home and watch the home front or sell in the market. Nigeria is short-changing herself by not giving women a chance. They say “Two heads are better than one”.
” Nigeria has been running on only one engine since independence. it’s time for the men to humbly seek our assistance. The bible describes us as ‘help meet’ for our men. Say to the men “we’re willing to help”. We are not rivals. We have watched you struggle for decades to fix Nigeria to no avail. But this time,we have the recipe for the proper mix, and the dividends of ‘Womenocracy'(i.e women in democracy). We are ready to serve. We are used to it”, she stated.
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YWA Chief Executive advised that every elected official must be responsible to the people who elected them adding that emphasis is now on ‘operation show me your score card’. ” It’s time for results, not stories”.
Ojemoron said women can be empowered through skills acquisition and capacity building, and deploying that in many ways to support the home front needed as a verve for nationhood.
” It’s high time we stood up , seized the moment and repositioned ourselves for political relevance. Because the wind of change is blowing very strong. The signs are written on the walls, on the streets and on the blue skies.This is a time for women to take the bull by the horn.. This is the time to get involved. Don’t wait for anyone to support you. Stand up to be counted. the world will stand up for a woman who knows where she’s going”, she said.
International Women’s day is day that takes place on March 8th every year and women use the opportunity to demand for actions on issues affecting their interests locally and internationally.
