Friday, the 8th of March, Nigeria will join the rest of the world to celebrate the 2013 International Women's Day as part of global commitment to celebrate womanhood and highlight on the efforts of UN member-states to address issues and concerns of women all over the world.
"The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum" is the 2013 theme of International Women's Day celebrations in Nigeria while the UN theme of global celebrations is "A Promise is a promise: Time for Action to end violence against women."
According to the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, the theme recognizes the achievements made towards gender equality and women empowerment over the years, especially as Nigeria celebrates her centenary as a nation.
Maina observed that the UN theme for the 2013 International Women's Day appropriately captures the challenges being faced with regard to gender based violence in Nigeria and the rest of the world.
"It also gives consideration to the contributions of the ordinary Nigerian woman to sustainable national development", she stated.
2013 International Women's Day.
Friday, the 8th of March, Nigeria will join the rest of the world to celebrate the 2013 International Women's Day as part of global commitment to celebrate womanhood and highlight on the efforts of UN member-states to address issues and concerns of women all over the world.
"The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum" is the 2013 theme of International Women's Day celebrations in Nigeria while the UN theme of global celebrations is "A Promise is a promise: Time for Action to end violence against women."
According to the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, the theme recognizes the achievements made towards gender equality and women empowerment over the years, especially as Nigeria celebrates her centenary as a nation.
Maina observed that the UN theme for the 2013 International Women's Day appropriately captures the challenges being faced with regard to gender based violence in Nigeria and the rest of the world.
"It also gives consideration to the contributions of the ordinary Nigerian woman to sustainable national development", she stated.
The Minister said the Federal Government of Nigeria has signed and ratified key frameworks that define the global gender agenda.
These, she explained, include the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Discrimination Against Women as well as the Millennium Declaration and Goals particularly Goal No. 3 on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.
She added that at the continental level, Nigeria is a party to the protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and is a signatory to the African Union Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality.
"Nigeria identifies with the continental and global agenda while defining the national agenda through existing laws and policies. The Constitution guarantees the equality of all its citizens.
The National Gender Policy (2006) is the national framework for mainstreaming gender into all policies and plans at all levels and there is a strong gender component of the Transformation Agenda of the President as evidenced in the unprecedented number of women in the Cabinet", she added.
Hajiya Maina said the Federal Government of Nigeria recognizes the significance of empowerment of women and attainment of equality and seeks to ensure that women as well as men contribute to national development.
She said, several interventions have been introduced by government to ensure a more integrated approach to development that incorporates the needs of women in programmes. These include the Financial inclusion Strategy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the You Win programme and the SURE-P that specifically targets women and various project initiatives of the Ministries of Agriculture, Water Resources, Works and of course, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
"Evidently, there are still challenges as inequalities still exist which impede the ability of Nigerian women to participate in national development.
"In this regard, concerted efforts are being made to ensure that our laws and policies fully conform to the principles of equity and guarantee the enjoyment of fundamental human rights for all its citizens.
"To this end, the women's movement in Nigeria is seeking constitutional and legal reforms to improve the representation of women in elected offices and the general well being of Nigerian women", she stated.
In addition to amendments being sought to the 1999 Constitution to make it gender friendly, the Minister pointed out that two Bills are presently before the National Assembly which if passed into law, will greatly enhance the capacity of Nigerian women to enjoy their fundamental human rights. These are the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill and the Violence against Persons Prohibition Bill.
She added that the widespread existence and tolerance of various forms of violence against women is a stark indication of the deviation from the constitutional principle of justice, equality and peace for all.
"The approach to address violence against women involves the enforcement of laws, enactment o new laws with stiffer penalties, instituting rehabilitation programmes and the establishment of shelters for survivors of domestic violence.
"What is urgently required is for an attitudinal change to eliminate gender based violence in our communities.
"The theme of the International Women's Day also affords us the opportunity to applaud the men and women who have worked hard to ensure that men as well as women can walk side by side to build our dear nation, "she stated.
International Women's Day is celebrated around the world on 8th March each year with events that call attention to the economic, social and political achievements of women.
The Day is celebrated in recognition of the contributions and the different roles women play in national development. It provides a platform for governments, civil society, the private sector, the academia and indeed women from all walks of life and backgrounds to unite with the common purpose of celebrating womanhood.
Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria