NAN-HG-5
Women
By Talatu Maiwada
Abuja, June 8, 2017 (NAN) Mrs A spokesperson for INEC in FCT, Ndidi Okafor, has stressed the need for Nigerian women to take advantage of the media space to achieve gender equity by 2030.
Okafor, a former parliamentary reporter, expressed the view on the sideline SHE Forum Africa Conference 2017, in Abuja on Thursday.
She said the media space presented opportunities for every woman to gain relevance in the society.
“It is a space to have our voices heard, a platform for us to engage those in authority and the citizens, a tool that could gain us relevance.
“Determination, development, and discipline must also be our watchword as we envisage a world where all women and girls have equal opportunities and rights by 2030.
“The attainment of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls would indeed foster inclusive and quality education for all,’’ she added.
Okafor said some women in political offices did not know when to latch onto a popular or controversial public discourse, especially those in the Senate or House of Representatives.
She urged women in politics and female journalists to form media constituencies like their male counterparts who had small circles of journalists they could call to advance their political ambitions.
“A woman can be the national chairman of a political party; we can do more than just dancing and clapping our hands for the men.
“Every woman who seeks to excel in the political sphere must be ready for controversy and to know when to make contributions to national issues.
“The road is not rosy but we can do it,’’ Okafor said
She decried the role of women who restricted their girls to domestic work and groomed the boys for leadership and called for an end to the practice.
“Women enable and help to entrench the patriarchal system in their homes.
“ They tell their girls to wash the plates, wash the clothes and cook the food while the boys play, read their books or wait for daddy.
“The Nigerian society is traditionally patriarchal but we all have roles to play in changing it and we can change it gradually, ’’Okafor said.
She advised women to fight for political and economic opportunities and not be affected by issues or traditional beliefs about a woman to build a better and stronger economy. (NAN)
TIM/GOM/JCE
Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam/Chukwudi Ekezie