As the World celebrates the 2023 International Women’s Day, the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) has called for balancing the Nigeria’s political equation and seeks concerted efforts to eliminate persistent and pre-existing social barriers to gender equity.
This was containéd in a press releases signed by the associtions’s National President Mrs. Ladi Bala and the National Secretary, Mrs Helen Udofia and made available to Journalists.
The Association celebrates Nigerian women for the invaluable roles they play in building homes, and by extension, the nation, in addition to their contributions in both the public and private sectors of national life.
While recognising the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration, which is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”, NAWOJ observed that from the earliest days of computing to the present age of virtual reality and artificial intelligence, women have made untold contributions to the digital world, and their accomplishments have been against all odds, in a field that has not been fully appreciated .
NAWOJ also observed a persistent gender gap in digital access , keeping women from unlocking technology’s full potential, while women’s underrepresentation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and careers remain a major barrier to their participation in technological design and governance.
It also mentioned the pervasive threat of online gender-based violence, coupled with a lack of legal recourse, which forces women out of digital spaces.
A survey of women journalists from 125 countries found that 73 per cent of women had suffered online violence in the course of their work.
While the aim of the IWD 2023: #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to get the world talking about why equal opportunities are not enough, every society should consciously work towards achieving gender equity as true inclusion.
“NAWOJ believes that gender equity is about everyone thinking about it, knowing about it, valuing, embracing it and believing in it, unconditionally.
It could rightly be observed that over the years, Nigeria’s democracy, to a large extent, has been characterised by the exclusion of women in the processes.
And, although women constitute the highest number of voters at polling units on election days, they are denied the opportunity to contribute to governance.
NAWOJ observes that the poor internal democracy and absence of strategic political agenda, on the part of Nigeria’s political parties, pose barriers that inhibit women from playing adequate role in national development.
And, sadly, the exclusion of women in the democratic and governance processes owing to these barriers and inequalities that usually militate against women participation, contribute to shrink the political space for women to engage in politics and governance.
Therefore, as Nigerians go to the poll on Saturday to elect Governors and House of Assembly members, the need for gender equity and balancing in the political equation, readily comes to mind.
It has become pertinent for Nigerians to work towards achieving equity and engendering inclusive governance by giving female candidates opportunities to serve by voting them into office.
It is imperative that Nigerian women, who constitute about 47 per cent (39,598,645 million) of the 84,004.084 million registered voters nationwide, are adequately mainstreamed into governance structure for adequate representation and balancing of the affairs of governance.
NAWOJ urges all hands to be on deck for the social, economic, cultural, and political advancement of women.
Everyone everywhere should play a part, challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion.
As we join the rest of the world to mark the 2023 International Women’s Day, NAWOJ calls on governments, activists and the private sector alike to increase their efforts in making the digital world safer, more inclusive and more equitable to create a better future for women, girls, all humanity and life on Earth.
The Association also called for concerted efforts to eliminate persistent and pre-existing social barriers to gender equity which hinder women’s chances to qualitative education, political inclusion, healthcare, economic empowerment, rights to inheritance, more women’s participation in leadership, and an end to practices that are inimical to the advancement of women and girls in Nigeria, including all forms of sexual and other forms of violence against women and girls.
