By Justina Auta

The Country Director, Oxfam International Nigeria, Mr Constant Tchona, said that over 10,000 rural saving groups established by the organisation had accumulated over N2.5 billion within five years.

Tchona disclosed this at a panel discussion in commemoration of the International Women’s Day (IWD) organised by the Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP) a World Bank Assisted Project held in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to him, the international organisation has established 10,000 saving groups across eight states in Nigeria.

“For the past five years, we have been able to establish over 10,000 savings groups across Nassarawa, Benue, Plateau, Bauchi, Taraba, Katsina, Adamawa and Kebbi States.

“And, the 10,000 groups have about 200,000 members with over 70 per cent of them women, collectively in terms of the assets, they have been able to accumulate N2.5 billion to this day.

“They use it for different services like petty trading, marketing, farming activities, they are using it for their children’s education, for their own health care and others,’’ he said.

According to him, these have further empowered the predominately rural women, who make up 70 per cent of the group with finances as well as opportunities to take responsibilities both in their homes and their communities.

“Basically, they are in the rural areas, we still have some scattered in Lagos, Delta and Enugu. But the majority of them are in the other states earlier mentioned.

“Most members of the groups reside in rural areas without access to the banking system, microfinance banks and others.

“ So what we have been able to do is to help them have that access to credit, savings and insurance,’’ he said.

Speaking on the benefits of improving economic productivity of women, Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, said the benefits of the Women Affinity Groups managed by the NFWP would empower them with skills on record keeping, financial literacy, Gender Based Violence (GBV) prevention and risk mitigation and negotiation skills.

“The groups will also serve as an avenue to influencing social norms that limit women’s voice and participation in the community and household levels, decision making and access to critical economic opportunities,” Tallen said.

According to her, the economically active women in the groups are supported through the provision of livelihoods grants and entrepreneurship skills and access to market-based on sound analysis of the livelihood sectors and market demand they choose to identify with.

Also, the Country Director, World Bank, Shubham Chaudhuri, said the organisation  keyed into the Federal Government’s initiative of lifting over 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.

Chaudhuri added that they were working hard to ensure that Nigerian women had access to finance, education and some basic amenities.

Also, Dr Oyefunke Koleowo, Institutional Capacity Building Adviser, NFWP stressed the need to empower women to enable them take -up leadership roles.

Koleowo explained further that investing in women also empowered them with knowledge on savings and credit, investments and awareness of their rights. (NAN)

By Ikenna Osuoha

Mr Steven Onyekwelu, Spotlight Project Manager, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), on Monday, said President Muhammadu Buhari demonstrated great inclusion of women in governance.

Onyekwelu said this at the occasion of the International Women’s Day (IWD) in Abuja, with the theme of this year’s celebration “Choose to Challenge.”

The project manager said UNESCO was satisfied with President Buhari’s commitment to women empowerment and equality.

“We are satisfied, as a matter of fact, His Excellency the President is doing a lot to ensure that inclusion in every area, in terms of governance, education, in terms of health, women are included,” he said.

The UN official, who congratulated women on the IWD, noted that UNESCO had through the spotlight project, empowered 6000 women in an accelerated second chance education.

“Why we are here today is to issue certificates to the 6000 women and girls that graduated from the programme of accelerated second chance education,” he said.

Hajiya Titalayo Olayande, the Director of Mass Education, FCT, commended the  FCT Administration for being committed to the education of women and girls.

Olayande said that the FCT had structured programmes as second chance education for women and girls as roadmap to guaranteeing literacy for women.

She explained that the FCTA had extended the programme to rural communities to redeem the educational image of woman at the grassroots.

Mrs Victoria Nwogu, the Zonal Coordinator, Mass Education, Abuja Municipal Area council (AMAC), emphasised the imperatives of collaboration to achieve women empowerment through education.

Nwogu said that a government and private sector partnership in all spheres would drive the project for literate women before the year 2030.

“For the women, it is not too late to learn, at any point, they can learn,” she added. (NAN)

By Justina Auta

The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, says the incessant cases of abduction of students is a set-back in the gains made in advancing girl-child education in the country.

Tallen made this known on Monday at a news conference in commemoration of the 2021 International Women’s
Day (IWD) and Zero Discrimination Day celebration in Abuja.

The IWD is celebrated globally every March 8 to mark the social, economic, cultural and political achievements
of women and has “#ChooseToChallenge” as its theme for this year.

According to her, available statistics between 2014 when the Chibok girls were kidnapped and now shows that
1,157 students have been kidnapped in seven years.

She added that 279 schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Jangebe in Talata Marafa Local Government
Area of Zamfara were abducted in the early hours of Friday, Feb. 26, 2021.

“This is indeed a set-back in the gains made in advancing girl-child education in the country.

“The frequency of these kidnappings are meant to instill fear in our citizens and undermine our corporate existence but
we will not be deterred,” she said.

While calling on the abductors to release the students, the minister appealed to security operatives to ensure incidences like that did not recur.

Tallen also stressed the need for leaders at all levels to pay attention to infrastructure development and security in schools.

“These schools contribute largely in shaping the mindsets of students and must be properly furnished and secured to provide holistic development of the Nigerian child,’’ she said.

She urged mothers to unite in the fight against terrorism.

According to her, Nigeria as a member state of the UN, will join other countries of the world on March 8 to take stock of how far women have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development.

The minister, therefore, stressed the need for the participation and inclusion of women in addressing discrimination in all its forms and dimensions, especially as they bear the brunt of the health, social and economic fallouts of COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Edward Kallon, the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, said the COVID-19 pandemic had contributed immensely to gender inequality globally.

Kallon, represented by the UN Women’s Country Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Comfort Lamptey, said the pandemic had also affected 36 million girl-child access to education.

“Discrimination of girls’ rights to education is a human rights abuse and I join the Federal Government in condemning it and call for the release of the abducted girls,’’ he said.

Mr Danladi Plang, the National Programme Manager, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Programme, British Council, said the oragnisation would identify and spotlight women who contributed toward promoting issues affecting women
and girls at the grassroots.

Plang stressed the need for stakeholders to continue the fight to end all Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) against women and girls in the country.

Similarly, Sen. Khairat Gwadabe, formerly representing FCT, stressed the need for rehabilitation of abducted school children after their release and called for urgent strategies to forestall a recurrence. (NAN)