The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has joined the global community to commemorate the 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD) to draw attention to issues regarding gender equality, reproductive rights as well as violence and abuse against women.
Speaking on the eve of the 2023 IWD celebration in Abuja, the NHRC Executive Secretary, Chief Tony Ojukwu, praised women as being prudence in resource management and developmental skills and arguably remains the pillar of the future.
“However, women’s prudence in resource management and developmental skills cannot be overemphasized, therefore they unarguably remain the pillars of our future, given the enabling environment and opportunity; women have the potential to turn things around to make the world great and a better place for everyone to live in”, he stated.
The ES further harped on the imperatives of gender equality, said women holds the key to all-round development in every facet of the society.
Ojukwu pointed out that it is high time the issue of gender equality and gender inclusiveness defined the way our society is governed because it is obvious that gender discrimination usually comes with a lot of denials to the detriment of the society as women with great talents and potentials are neglected merely on the basis of gender.
According to the ES, the theme of this year’s commemoration, “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality “Gender equality” is very apt considering the proven capacity of women in diverse fields of life such as medicine, pharmacy, digital technology, engineering and literature just to mention a few.
Therefore, entrenching the policy of affirmative action will not be a misplaced priority because it will provide the opportunity for those women who were hitherto relegated to the background in the so-called men’s world to spring surprises that will take the society to greater heights.
“Nigerian women and other women elsewhere have on different occasions proven that they can perform excellently in drawing policies and making decisions that could turnaround the society; therefore they should be encouraged to unleash their best potentials for the development of the entire society”, the Executive Secretary added.
While condemning the inability of the National Assembly to pass landmark legislations on women during the constitutional reforms, Ojukwu used the opportunity of 2023 International Women’s Day to once more call on the federal lawmakers to consider and pass the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill, CEDAW Domestication Bill and other bills supporting affirmative action as obtainable in other developing countries and in Africa.
He added that it will help reduction of gender-based violations and legally equip women to challenge the inequalities confronting them including Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) which has continued to rear its ugly head in the society.
He said the Commission will continue to promote women’s rights in the country. “We have put different measures in place to address the issues relating to violence against women, even as he encouraged Nigerian women to remain focused on the struggle to achieve affirmative action.
