FG committed to gender balance says Women Affairs Minister.

[FMINigeria]

                        The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment at ensuring gender mainstreaming and women empowerment in all its systems and activities, so as to ensure gender balance that would guarantee women's full participation in the decision making process.

Speaking when she received the Director of the Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies of the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Prof Funmi Soetan, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina expressed appreciation to President Goodluck Jonathan for giving the Nigerian women a pride of place in the Scheme of things.

"Nigerian Women had never had it so good in this country. We are lucky to have a gender-sensitive President, who has made it possible for Nigeria to achieve the affirmative action target mark in the area of political appointments;" she stated.

According to the Minister, women now control 33% in the federal cabinet and strategically placed in all aspects of the economy.

"Women are now in charge of the economy, petroleum, water resources, education, power, environment, housing, defense and communication technology.

And even more significantly, Mr. President took the bold step of appointing the first female Chief Justice of the Federation, the President of the Court of Appeal and the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission. And in every appointment, we now see women coming up in a significant number. This is unprecedented in the history of our country," she stressed.

She said that the Federal Government would partner all relevant stakeholders, including research institutes, the private sector and development partners in the areas of women empowerment, gender mainstreaming and balance towards gender transformational policies and programming in the country.

Earlier, Professor Funmi Soetan said that they were in the Ministry to establish collaborative mechanisms as well as invite the Minister to serve as an external member of the Governing Board of the Centre.

She disclosed that while the Centre started from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at OAU in 1986 as the Programme in Women's Studies and Child Survival, it was formally approved by the University Senate as a semi-autonomous University Research Centre in 1996; its name was changed to Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies.

"The Centre has been providing an institutional base for research, policy design, action programmes and community service on issues of child survival and development and gender aspects of health, governance, poverty and other related development areas," she revealed.

Professor Soetan said for the past 3 years, they have been focusing on Science and Technology, and concentrating more efforts on closing the wide gap in female students' enrolment as well as offering fellowship to female lecturers in those areas through support from Kennedy Foundation and Wives of Ekiti, Oyo and Ondo States Governors.

She said the University has a Gender Policy to facilitate gender equity and balance in their affairs, adding that the Centre offers Certificate, Post Graduate, Masters and Doctorate Degree Courses on Gender Studies and invited the Ministry to partner with them.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria