By Justina Auta

Women’s rights advocates have called for stronger accountability and grassroots implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to end discrimination and promote gender equality.

The advocates made the call during a hybrid capacity-building meeting under the Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership (RWVL) project funded by Global Affairs Canada and ActionAid organised by the 100 Women Lobby Group on Saturday.

The stakeholders urged governments, civil society organisations and communities to collaborate in translating CEDAW commitments into measurable improvements for women and girls.

The Nigerian CEDAW Focal Person, Mrs Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia, described CEDAW as the only legally binding international instrument protecting women’s rights.

She said many activists still lacked adequate knowledge of the convention in spite of its central role in advancing women’s rights globally.

“Many people don’t know about the convention, and activists are working without knowing it is the bedrock of women’s rights work,” she noted.

Eghobamien-Mshelia said state parties were obliged to uphold CEDAW provisions, while the Optional Protocol provided an enforcement mechanism for violations.

She said Nigeria already had laws and policies supporting women’s rights but needed stronger implementation and accountability.

“We have ratified, we have all the privileges, but we have not been able to cascade it to have meaningful impact,” she said.

She advocated adopting the CEDAW Cities model to strengthen gender-responsive governance through measurable targets, dedicated funding, public reporting and community participation.

According to her, the initiative enables governments to address local gender issues through evidence-based planning and performance monitoring.

Also, Niri Tong-Goyit, Women’s Rights Programme Specialist, ActionAid Nigeria, described CEDAW as a practical advocacy tool for influencing policies and holding governments accountable.

“CEDAW is more than an international human rights treaty; it is a practical advocacy tool,” she said.

Tong-Goyit said ActionAid and partners had contributed to 47 gender-related policies through the Women’s Voices and Leadership Nigeria project.

She, however, noted that implementation remained slow in spite of numerous policies supporting women’s rights.

“We are getting tired of governments just giving us verbal commitment and having policies on the shelf,” she said.

She urged partners to mainstream CEDAW into their programmes and extend capacity-building to community-based organisations for wider grassroots ownership.

Tong-Goyit said stronger collaboration would help bridge gaps between government commitments and the lived experiences of women and girls.

She added that implementing the CEDAW Cities initiative would strengthen gender-responsive governance and improve women’s welfare across communities.

The National Coordinator, 100 Women Lobby Group, Dr Felicia Onibon, said that Nigeria’s national CEDAW implementation committee drives the convention’s implementation, monitors developments, document women’s realities and prepare reports reflecting progress on women’s rights.

“We are expected to monitor what is going on in Nigeria and ensure information is well recorded and reported to the global community,” she said.

Onibon said the committee has prepared a national report to provide the international community with information on the situation of women and girls.

She said the group was engaging partners across eight RWVL states to strengthen collaboration and promote implementation of the CEDAW Cities initiative. (NAN)

Edited by Folasade Akpan