The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has urged Nigerian women to work together with greater intentionality to expand their influence in politics, strengthen economic empowerment, and address systemic barriers that limit their advancement.
She made the call in Abuja on Tuesday at the Beijing+30 Women’s Summit, which is part of the activities to commemorate the 2025 edition of ’16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’.
The event organised by the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement (AIPLA), in collaboration with the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN-Nigeria) and Womanifesto, is a national gathering to reflect on three decades of progress, challenges, and unfinished commitments under the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA).
Speaking further, the minister, who acknowledged her long-standing experience in the gender space both in Nigeria and the UK, said her appointment was a divine opportunity to champion transformative change for women.
The minister criticised the fragmentation that often weakens women’s chances in political contests, noting that women frequently compete against each other instead of uniting behind a single candidate.
“No country in the globe has the kind of resources we have. We are blessed, and we must work for each other,” she said, stressing the need for collaboration rather than competition among women.
“At what time have we been able to impress our political agendas like the men? The men have sponsors. They know how to organise, they know how to stay the course, they know how to manage their disappointments,” she said.
She emphasised that women must be strategic and intentional if they hope to secure meaningful representation in politics, pointing out that limited financial resources also constrain women during campaigns.
The minister also highlighted the broader social impact of empowering women, noting that when women have money, communities thrive.
Drawing from a recent visit to China, she cited examples of women’s economic empowerment, noting that 96 percent of Chinese women own their homes and 68 percent are economically empowered, a model she believes Nigeria can aspire to.
On gender-based violence, the minister shared a personal experience, saying she once faced bullying but rose above it.
She stressed the need for honest leadership, arguing that innovative leadership is insufficient without leaders who speak the truth and confront Nigeria’s democratic and social challenges sincerely.
“We cannot be part of a movement that has no struggles to protect our children,” she said, calling attention to the gaps in Nigeria’s child protection laws, including the Child Rights Act, which she noted must be updated to reflect emerging threats.
She revealed that several ministries, departments, and agencies are now prioritising investments in women because of their critical role across sectors, noting that women constitute about 70 percent of Nigeria’s medical workforce and dominate the SME space, though many have struggled for decades with limited access to formal financing.
“As a nation, if we don’t work together, we will not see results,” she said.
The minister also reaffirmed ongoing efforts to review laws and policies affecting women and children, including adoption processes, orphanage regulations, and broader child protection frameworks, to ensure they reflect today’s realities.
In her remarks, Co-founder of the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement, Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, urged African governments, institutions, and women’s rights advocates to intensify efforts toward achieving gender equality, warning that gains made since the 1995 Beijing Conference remain fragile and under threat.
However, she lamented that progress for African women over the last three decades has been uneven.
“The progress of African women since Beijing has been one of five steps forward and ten steps back,” she said. “We make gains, but our losses keep increasing.”
Adeleye-Fayemi recalled that concern for the future of women’s rights on the continent led to the establishment of the African Women’s Leadership Institute (AWLI) in 1996, targeted at young women aged 25–40.
“Our thinking back then was that we needed a cadre of women across the continent grounded in feminist theory and practice, gender mainstreaming and analysis, with strong leadership capacities,” she said.
Nearly three decades later, the AWLI has trained more than 10,000 women leaders across Africa, many of whom now occupy key decision-making roles, including in Nigeria.
The success of the institute spurred the creation of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) in 2000, a pan-African grant making foundation which has supported more than 4,000 women’s organisations in 42 countries.
Adeleye-Fayemi noted that during her husband’s tenure as Governor of Ekiti State, the state became known for building one of Nigeria’s strongest legal and policy frameworks for gender equality—an example, she said, of what committed political will can achieve.
Adeleye-Fayemi warned of a rising global anti-gender movement but expressed confidence that continued collaboration, capacity-building, and feminist leadership would help safeguard progress.
She urged women’s organisations and stakeholders to remain vigilant, unified, and proactive.
“Our development will continue to be stunted if we do not prioritise the full and equal participation of women at all levels,” she said.
The summit continues in Abuja with delegates from across government, civil society, academia, and international organisations.
