.By Funmilayo Adeyemi
As women continue to celebrate the International Women’s Day (IWD), Hajia Hajara Alayande, the Director, FCT Mass Education has charged women to advocate for promotion of the state of women in rural communities.
Alayande made this known during a road walk to the palace of Etsu of Karu in Abuja on Wednesday.
A road walk for a clean environment in commemoration of the 2022 IWD has as its theme: “Gender Equality Today for Sustainable Tomorrow #Breakthebias”.
She also charged women across the country to connect with one another and as well as help one another to have a meaningful society.
According to her, all women must be sensitised to know their rights and this we can do by connecting them.
“The focus of the celebration is to join hands to break bias. We should connect women and encourage them to stay focused and get engaged in meaningful enterprise.
“We are going out to the rural community of Karu to sensitise rural women to the fact that they have to have their ears on ground and be informed.
“We also need to tell them to always stay connected and help themselves.
“Though we appreciate the support of the men but we don’t want to be disconnected, we want to get involved in things that will also add value to us,” she said.
Princess Doo Agbadu, the Executive Director, Esteem Hub International, an NGO said that women were being discriminated in the society and it was time to end it.
Agbadu said that the partnership with FCT mass education to take campaign to the grassroots was laudable as it would give the rural women a sense of belonging.
“A lot of women are going through one indiscrimination or the other and we are focusing on grassroots women because that is where they can express themselves and share their thoughts with their children.
“This is because when the change starts from the ground, it goes up. So we want women to work together to have a sustainable environment.
“Women are more home grown and we must all work together to achieve the desire dream; we have been clamouring for,’’ she said.
Agbadu, therefore, appealed to the National Assembly to reconsider the rejected bills on the affirmative action of women in politics.
Also, Ladi Memman, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, Cancer Care and Medical Outreach Foundation, an NGO advised the women to take adequate care of their health.
Memman, who is a survival of cancer, said that there was need for the sensitisation of women on the issues around cancer and proper ways to handle and manage the disease.
“As we all know, cancer is all over the place and most women pass through the cancer of the breast, which I experienced same as a survival.
“So I felt I need to create awareness as we celebrate the IWD on how to go about taking care of ourselves as it is not a death sentence,” she said.
Memman said that women needed to rise up and fight for their rights, saying that women need to empower themselves to be relevant in the society.
Mrs Victoria Nwaorgu, AMAC Zonal Coordinator of the Department of Mass Education, said that in addition to the sensitisation programme to the women, the department had also embarked on empowerment programme for the women.
Nwaorgu said that the women were being given some skills acquisition in soap making and reusable pad to mark the IWD.
She said that the training would equip the women to have lifelong skills that could help feed them and their families.
(NAN)
