UN Peace Day: Involve Women To End Insecurity – FIDA President Tells FG

The National President of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Amina Suzanah Agbaje, on Thursday, said in order to tackle insecurity in the country, the government must get the women involved.

Agbaje made the call during a one day symposium titled: The Role of Women as Mediators in Peace Building and in Reconciliation, hosted by Mrs Adaora Onyechere Sydney Jack, a broadcast journalist and UN Ambassador of Peace, in commemoration of the United Nations international day of peace held at Carlton Hotel, Asokoro Abuja.

The lawyer lamented the exclusion of women in peace building and meditation, saying the society has neglected the role of women in mediation.

She said: “As it is often said, ‘unity must be everybody’s business’. Therefore we are all here to talk about our business.

“In order to achieve a peaceful environment, all persons must deliberately participate. However, society has neglected the role of women in mediation.

“The representatives of conflict management usually exclude women or at least involve only a token number of women.”

Agbaje further lamented that the domain of conflict management system is so much male dominated.

“The tendency is assumed that conflicts are best handled by men as combatants while women are the passing victims,” she added.

She also noted that despite all these, women have had to maintain Nigeria’s social fabric system even in pressing situations and in a place of destroyed social services by fitting into some inroads like in education, employment and so on.

The FIDA president highlighted some challenges women are faced with such as gender discrimination, limited representation, violence, lack of resources

“But for me as a person, while it is good to talk about challenges and problems it is better to talk about solutions and therefore I have come up with some solutions and recommendations which I hope will form part of the communique here.”