FG, CSOs Urge States To Domesticate Women’s Empowerment Policy

The federal government in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has called on state governments to prioritise the domestication and implementation of the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) policy to advance inclusive growth and gender equality.

The call was made yesterday at a stakeholders’ retreat on the Kano Women’s Economic Empowerment (Kano WEE) Policy, supported by the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) and WEE Catalyst Fund Partners, Fable Advisory and the Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative (IWEI) in Abuja.

The minister of women affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, represented by the director of economic services department of the ministry, Mrs. Blessing Anunike, described the WEE policy as a strategic tool and coordinating framework designed to guide the government and partners on how to effectively support women’s economic advancement.

“The beauty of the WEE Policy is that it doesn’t operate in a vacuum. It serves as a holistic, multi-sectoral blueprint to empower Nigerian women and close the gender gap,” she stated.

She commended the Kano State government for its proactive efforts.

“Kano is taking the lead in what we hope will become a national movement to empower women economically across sectors such as health, education, agriculture, and commerce,” she said.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim also highlighted the establishment of a High-Level Advisory Council (HLAC) to oversee implementation, noting that it consists of “credible and innovative actors from government, private industry, and civil society.”