Centre expresses need to expand frontier of gender quality in ECOWAS

NAN-F-19

Women

By Emmanuel Mogbede

Niamey  Oct. 4, 2017 (NAN) Mrs Sandra Fattoh, Director ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, has said that there is need to expand the frontier of gender quality and women empowerment in the ECOWAS to avoid discrimination against women in the region.

She stated this on Wednesday in Niamey at the ECOWAS Parliament Fourth legislative delocalised meeting on gender, women, empowerment,child and social protection, human right and the vulnerable group.

She was represented at the meeting by Mr Awudu Gumah, Head Planing, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation of the centre.

She said  women empowerment was imperative for the achievement of ECOWAS vision 2020 and by extension the sustainable development of the region.

She noted that while significant progress had been made over the past two decades in the protection of gender equality and women´s empowerment in the ECOWAS region, there was still more to be done.

She said there was, therefore, need for all hands to be on deck to ensure a more purposeful and strategic partnership at the national, regional and continental level to achieve desired results.

She tasked the ECOWAS Parliament to promote the adoption of gender parity legislations in member states and to institutionalise gender approach at the national and regional levels, particularly in the adoption of gender-responsive budgets.

She also said that there was need for the parliament to create a framework for the active participation of women and youths in decision making at all levels, including in peace and security process.

Fattoh further said that the parliament should encourage political parties to adopt affirmative action measures in terms of party leadership positions as well as establish a special ECOWAS fund for women.

This, she said, was would be necessary to fight the cause of women in the region and promote gender equality.

The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre is a specialised centre charged with the the responsibility of initiating capacity building through knowledge-based training and transfer of skills, programme development and management.

The centre seeks to transform West Africa into a joint and secure society in which men and women would have equal opportunities to participate, decide, control and benefit from all development initiatives.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the statues of the application of ECOWAS text in terms of men, women equality and the promotion of gender in member states are part of issues to be discussed at the meeting.

Also to be discussed, are the commission´s challenges, perspectives, its role and the respect for women´s rights in members’ states.

The experience of Niger in terms of harmonising national laws relating to gender policies put in place by ECOWAS, and the role of the parliament would also be tabled at the meeting. (NAN)

EEM/YAZ

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