From Everest Ezihe, Owerri
Worried by the poor implementation of gender inclusiveness in Nigeria’s policies and institutional practices, the CLEEN Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has commenced advocacy for greater gender responsiveness in governance and public decision-making.
The advocacy formed part of a three-day stakeholder policy dialogue organised by the Foundation on advancing gender-responsive policy and institutional practices in Nigeria.
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the dialogue on Tuesday in Owerri, the Executive Director of the Foundation, Mr. Peter Maduoma, noted that Nigeria had established a substantial policy and institutional architecture for advancing gender equality and women’s participation in governance and public decision-making.
Maduoma identified the National Gender Policy, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, the Child Rights Act, as well as various state-level gender protection and social development frameworks, as some of the existing instruments aimed at promoting gender equality.
He, however, observed that translating these policy commitments into consistent institutional practice had remained a persistent challenge.
According to him, the workshop was strategically designed to evaluate existing policy frameworks, identify operational bottlenecks across state institutions and security agencies, and co-create measurable institutional commitments towards gender-responsive governance.
“Gender-responsive provisions may exist within laws, policies and strategic plans, yet their implementation is often constrained.
“These constraints include weak institutional ownership, limited resources, fragmented coordination, uneven capacity among state and non-state actors, and insufficient accountability mechanisms,” he said.
The Executive Director added that the workshop would also assess institutional gaps and opportunities in translating gender commitments into policies, programmes, budgets and operational practices.
He said another objective was to strengthen the integration and capacity of state legislators, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and policymakers to design, enact and implement gender-responsive policies.
Maduoma further said the Foundation expected the dialogue to result in an improved understanding of implementation gaps in gender-responsive frameworks and stronger institutional ownership of gender commitments.
He added that the expected outcomes included improved coordination among relevant state actors, increased integration of gender considerations into planning and budgeting, and stronger attention to gender in peace, security and justice programming.
The social justice advocate commended the Norwegian Government for funding the project intervention through the Norwegian Embassy, while reaffirming the Foundation’s commitment to integrity and professionalism in delivering the project.
Also speaking at the workshop, the Imo State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs. Nkechi Ugwu, pledged the Ministry’s commitment to the objectives of the dialogue.
Ugwu, who was represented by the Director of Women Affairs, Mr. Austin Okoro, said the Ministry would continue to partner with relevant stakeholders in promoting gender inclusion and advancing the rights and welfare of women and other vulnerable groups.
Other key stakeholders participating in the dialogue included representatives of the Ministry of Justice, National Human Rights Commission, Imo State Police Command, the media and civil society organisations.
