The President, Association of Wives of FCT Traditional Rulers, Hauwa Ibrahim, has admonished the National Assembly against relegating the importance and roles of women in the country.
She frowned on the failure of the federal lawmakers to consider the gender equality and other bills, describing their action as a vote to deny women the opportunity for adequate inclusion and representation in governance.
Addressing a media briefing in Abuja on Friday, in commemoration of the 2022 International Women’s Day, Ibrahim also noted that the lawmakers demonstrated bias against Nigerian women by not considering the gender equality bill.
She stated, “National Assembly’s rejection of the bills seeking gender equality, once again, brought to the fore the need to consistently speak against the oppression our patriarchal society imposes on women as well as the urgent need to revamp and purge any form of bias based on gender.
“The roles and importance of women should not be relegated in this time and age, especially since there are legal instruments our lawmakers are duty-bound to fully effectuate their domestications and implementations. Ordinarily, all hands should be on deck to ensure the full development of the potentialities of women.
“It is noteworthy that a vote against these gender bills is a vote to deny women the opportunity for adequate inclusion and representation in governance.”
She, however, lauded the House of Representatives for reconsidering the three bills that were earlier rejected and the concerns of women who she said are better actors and ambassadors in the fight against gender discrimination, early marriage of girl-child and sexual and gender-based violence in the Federal Capital Territory.
“While we appreciate the stakeholders’ roles in the ongoing gender equality agitation, our appeal goes to all stakeholders to continuously advocate for more community reporting on gender-based violence and gender discrimination in our society, a move that will propel Nigeria to a better path of prosperity,” the AWTR president said.
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