In commemoration of the 2020 International Women’s Day (IWD), the Center for Democracy and Development (CDD) has called for an improvement in women participation in the education sector.
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The statement also said there was a need to address systemic barriers plaguing women rights in Nigeria.
It stated that a three-pronged approach, known as ‘identify’, capacitate and negotiate would help in getting more women into power, while identifying potential women aspirants, “develop their capacity to run for office and negotiate for the space that will allow them to do so.”
It further noted that there was a need to provide financial aid to women running for office, to address the perennial challenge of lack of access to finance, ensure media access and positive profiling of women candidates in elections and create and strengthen support networks for women politicians, “and aspirants to enable them to learn from each other.”
It added: “We align ourselves with the UN Women campaign on Intergenerational Mentorship. There is a need to do more in terms of showcasing and expanding opportunities for the girl child and women. There is a need to increase the numbers of ongoing women mentorship programmes as well as support to encourage women to aspire to jobs not-traditionally held by women, both in the formal and informal sectors.
“CDD calls for more targeted and tailored messaging by the media to promote the key roles and contribution made by women in the country. This should not be limited to politics and economy, but include work done, often unpaid, on issues such as peacebuilding.
“Violence against women and girls is a widespread form of human rights violations in Nigeria. From forced and early marriages to the physical, mental or sexual assault on a woman, nearly three in 10 Nigerian women have experienced physical violence by age 15 (NDHS 2013). Violence against women manifests itself in physical, sexual and psychological ways, and are mostly unreported due to an endemic culture of impunity, fear of stigmatisation, and shame.