The minister of Women Affairs, Hon Imaan Ibrahim has assured Nigerian women, youths and the vulnerable that the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu would ensure more jobs for women and youths by reviewing many of its existing economic empowerment initiatives and enacting new ones to enhance women economic empowerment for self-reliance.
According to her, experience in the past has shown that all interventions committed to economic recovery programmes, must factor in the gender gaps in the designing and implementation process.
She stated this in Jos, the Plateau State capital at the 24th regular National Council on Women Affairs with the theme: “Renewed Hope Agenda: Promoting Women Economic Empowerment, Health, Education, and Justice for Global Competitiveness and Relevance.”
The well-attended event included commissioners of Women‘s Affairs from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), development partners, and Non-governmental Organisations (NGO), among others.
She added that, that is why the National Gender Policy was reviewed to align with the current realities and the capacities of the states.
Reeling out what the ministry has achieved, she noted that the ministry‘s proactiveness and support from all stakeholders have placed Nigeria on the global map in harvesting Best Practices around issues of Gender-Based Violence, as spotlighted at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2020.
Continuing, she said: „This has made Government at all levels to respond positively not only to eliminate harmful practices against women and girls; but also, to curb the rampaging impact of SGBV.
“I am pleased to note that remarkable progress has been made in the availability of GBV Data in the country with the support of UNDP under the spotlight initiative.“
Sulaiman-Ibrahim also encouraged the women to continue to stand strong, and draw strength from the shared goal of advancing the Renewed Hope Agenda, adding that as a nation, we must move beyond ethnic and regional divides to build a Nigeria that prioritizes equity, opportunity, and prosperity for every citizen.
On his part, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda stated that all the Memoranda submitted by the Federal and States Ministries as well as other Ministries, Departments and Agencies, whose mandate impact the sector were considered.
