By Omolara Akintoye
Speaking at an empowerment programme recently organised by the Abia state Town Unions Association Women’s Wing, Lagos, held at National Stadium, Ikpaeazu said that if children are properly brought up by their parents or guardians that they will not only be useful to their parents but also to the society.
While encouraging Abia women to come home so as to be involved in the agricultural transformation currently going on in the state, she appealed to women to engage in meaningful businesses that will enable them contribute to the development of their various homes and the society as well.
Also speaking at the event, the founder of ‘’The Wife”, Nkem Okoro, defined empowerment as giving someone authority, ability or power to do something and added that, ‘’It is making people stronger and more confident especially in controlling their lives and claiming their rights’’.
According to Okoro who was the guest speaker and also retired recently as a director in the federal ministry of education, nobody ever attend greatness in isolation, adding that assistance from other source is paramount.
‘’It is well fact that women constitute about half of the world ‘s population . So, if they are not empowered, the global economy will be adversely affected.
Speaking further, she explained that people are empowered socially, educationally, culturally, politically and economically and added that a lot of effort should be put in to the empowerment of women in the above mentioned areas.
Considering the economical empowerment of women, she stressed the need for the removal of the full economic participation of women.
This she said means enabling equal access to resources, knowledge and economic prosperity and leveraging or using to maximum advantage women’s talents, creativity, and determination for economic success.
Also, she stressed the need to increase women’s assets, networks, capabilities to partnership programmes, cooperatives and skill acquisition trainings.
On the political empowerment of women, she advised that the government to adopt and ratify different schemes and programmes of international conventions and human rights instruments to secure equal rights for women.
In addition she affirmed that the government should also, ensure that the constitution and national policies safe guard the rights and legal entitlements of women through the activities of the ministry of women affairs.
To her, women should have control over factors and decisions that shape their lives, saying that women should be empowered to take decisions regarding their lives and well being of their family and society
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