Stop All Forms Of Discriminatory Practices Against Women – FCT Senator Kingibe

Chairman, Senate Committee on Women Affairs Senator Ireti Kingibe has called for an end to all forms of discriminatory practices against women in Nigeria.

She made the call during the 2024 International Women’s Day Conference organised by Female Journalists Network Nigeria (FJNN),
in collaboration with the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) in Abuja on Monday.

IWD is annually marked on March 8 to raise awareness about issues that affect women and girls, as well as celebrate women who contributed to humanity.

The Theme for the 2024 celebration is ‘Invest In Women: Accelerate Progress’.

According to her, Nigeria must end all forms of discriminatory practices against women and strive for gender equality across all sectors of the nation.

She commended FJNN for organising the event to draw attention to issues affecting women.

Kingibe said “the overriding concern of every woman is to ensure the safety of their children, especially the girl-child.”

Mr Dakuku Peterside, former Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said “it is time to end marginalisation of women in governance.”

Peterside, a former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, also said “we need to work harder to ensure inclusivity of women in governance.’’

He stressed the need for “an open and honest conversation that must transcend tribal and religious boundaries in listening to women.”

He added that it was imperative to identify collective solutions to issues inhibiting women in governance.

“One shocking development is that in each election circle, we have fewer women in governance; today, there are fewer women in governance compared to what we had in the past two election circles,” he said.

He noted that instead of making progress, the country was closing the space for women,“and we have fewer women on the boards of quotient companies; we have fewer women as vice chancellors. These are issues to be addressed.”

He, however, suggested education as the greatest tool to address the marginalisation of women.

On her part, Vice Chairman NUJ Correspondent Chapel FCT Comrade Grace Ike, said “in spite of efforts so far made, the journey toward achieving genuine equality remains fraught with challenges.”

According to her, women’s voices must persistently be amplified to ensure every woman is afforded the opportunity to be seen, heard and valued.

She said this was a sacred duty ingrained in the sisterhood, adding that it was imperative to lobby the National Assembly to pass gender-sensitive laws that protect and promote the rights of women in the society.